A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: Unscripted Learning Organization Type: Community-based Grant Categorie(s): Social WHO THEY ARE Unscripted Learning hosts unique educational programs for autistic teenagers and young adults. Using the theory of improv comedy, participants develop skills in teamwork, creative problem-solving, and leadership. Providing weekly workshops, autistic individuals are […]
Grantee Spotlight
NEXT IMPACT: UCF–Transitional Living Cohorts
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: University of Central Florida–Center for Autism and Related Disabilities Organization Type: Community-based Grant Categorie(s): Home WHO THEY ARE The University of Central Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UCF-CARD) is a key player in a statewide network that supports individuals with autism spectrum […]
NEXT IMPACT: Urban Autism Solutions
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: Urban Autism Solutions Organization Type: Community-based Grant Categorie(s): Work WHO THEY ARE Founded in 2012, by Julie & Mike Tracy, the parents of a young man with autism, Urban Autism Solutions (UAS) is dedicated to changing outcomes for young adults with autism through an […]
NEXT IMPACT: Blue Forge Group
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: Blue Forge Group (Create4U) Organization Type: Autistic-led Grant Categorie(s): Work WHO THEY ARE Since their formation in 1989, Blue Legacy (Blue Forge Group) has worked with autistic artisans of all ages to “empower, educate, and elevate” through its free art programs. Founded by autistic […]
NEXT IMPACT: Shepherd’s Way
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: Shepherd’s Way Organization Type: Community Grant Categorie(s): Home WHO THEY ARE Shepherd’s Way was formed in response to an 18-year-old with autism, who found themselves living in a homeless shelter. The model centered around a 1:1 peer live-in mentor, teaching the independent living skills […]
NEXT CONNECTS: A Mentorship Connection Founded on Business
NEXT CONNECTS: A Mentorship Connection Founded on Business NEXT CONNECTS is a bi-directional mentorship initiative developed by NEXT for AUTISM. NEXT matches professionals who have established careers with autistic college students who will soon be seeking entry into the workforce. Mentors will provide support as well as collaboratively set personalized mentoring goals, promote career advancement opportunities, […]
NEXT IMPACT: The Arc Westchester–Project Search
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: The Arc Westchester (Project SEARCH) Organization Type: Community Grant Categorie(s): Work WHO THEY ARE The Arc Westchester was founded in 1949 by parents who saw a need for a family-led organization to provide services embedded in the community. Today they provide innovative support to […]
NEXT IMPACT: The Ed Asner Family Center
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: The Ed Asner Family Center Organization Type: Community Grant Categories: Social WHO THEY ARE Established in 2017, The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC) empowers individuals of all abilities with dignity, confidence, and self-respect through innovative arts and vocational enrichment programs. Their comprehensive offerings encompass […]
NEXT IMPACT: Sibling Leadership Network
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: Sibling Leadership Network Organization Type: Community Grant Categories: Social WHO THEY ARE Founded in 2007, the Sibling Leadership Network has a mission to provide siblings of individuals with disabilities the information, support, and tools needed to advocate WITH their brothers and sisters and to […]
NEXT CONNECTS: An Animated Mentorship
NEXT CONNECTS: An Animated Mentorship Success Story NEXT CONNECTS is a bi-directional mentorship initiative developed by NEXT for AUTISM. NEXT matches professionals who have established careers with autistic college students who will soon be seeking entry into the workforce. Mentors will provide support as well as collaboratively set personalized mentoring goals, promote career advancement opportunities, engage […]
NEXT IMPACT: Communication 4 ALL
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Grantee: Communication 4 ALL Organization Type: Autistic-Led Grant Categories: Home, Social, Work WHO THEY ARE Communication 4 ALL is on a mission to ensure that more than 30 million people with nonspeaking autism worldwide have access to communication and education. Founded on April 7, 2022, […]
NEXT IMPACT: B3 Coffee Pours It On
A NEXT for AUTISM Grantee Spotlight 2022 NEXT for AUTISM Color the Spectrum Grantee: B3 Coffee Organization Type: Austistic-Led Grant Category: Work WHO THEY ARE B3 Coffee started as a nonprofit pop-up coffee shop that provides positive visibility and community connection for adults with and without neurodevelopmental disabilities. Today they have a permanent location in […]
NEXT for AUTISM Announces 2022 Community Grant Recipients
NEXT for AUTISM, the leading nonprofit dedicated to transforming the national landscape of services for people with autism by strategically designing, launching, and supporting innovative initiatives, announces more than $1.3 million awarded to 42 organizations in 20 states. 16 grant awards went to autistic led or centered initiatives. The 2022 Color The Spectrum Community grants […]
Adjusting to the New Normal
ADJUSTING TO THE NEW NORMAL Like everyone else, the team at Project SEARCH Autism Enhancement (PSAE) had to respond rapidly to the forced shut down due to the COVID-19 crisis – and they did, achieving a smooth transfer to remote learning for each intern and resuming the program’s regular schedule, five days a week. While […]
Banding Together
Banding Together, a Night of Too Many Stars grantee, offers music therapy to hundreds of individuals with autism and developmental disabilities each year in San Diego County, California. Everyone gets a chance to play in these music sessions, while also learning skills such as expressing emotions, connecting with others, and socializing. What’s more, there are […]
There May Be An App For That
https://nextforautism.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/id-check-v2-600×338.jpg A guest blog by The Arc of Northern Virginia, a Night of Too Many Stars Grantee Every parent worries about their children’s safety, especially when the children are out in public. But parents of young adults with autism can live with heightened levels of concern. A casual excursion can easily turn into a traumatic […]
2019 Year End Review
Read about our 2019 work and accomplishments in our Year End Review!
Making the Arts Accessible to All
https://nextforautism.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Arts-Ed-Resize-300×300.png Museum outings are popular family affairs — meaningful activities that everyone can enjoy which are also educational. One challenge? The sensory stimuli can be overwhelming to some children, and even more so for some children with autism. Now, three museums across the country are doing something about it. Educators from the Kansas Children’s Discovery […]
The Case for Meaningful Work
https://nextforautism.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Copy-of-The-Case-for-Meaningful-Work-600×428.png by John Bryson, M.S.E, Sr. Manager, Corporate Employment Consulting, NEXT for AUTISM I’m often asked why I work in disability employment helping young people with autism and other disabilities prepare for and find meaningful work. My answer is always the same. I’m motivated by a case that lit a fire in me. Its senselessness […]
The Women of PSAE Get to Work!
https://nextforautism.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Screen-Shot-2019-09-03-at-4.49.42-PM-600×399.png By: Alison Bush, M.S., BCBA Meet Shannon. She’s one of two women who graduated in 2019 from our Project SEARCH Autism Enhancement internship and employment program or PSAE. Shannon was driven to land a meaningful job after the hard work that she’d put into the training program, and she did. She’s thrilled to be […]
Embracing the Amazing
On a recent afternoon, representatives from Queens Public School 219 brightened our day with an uplifting story about their school’s campaign to celebrate diverse abilities, “Embracing the Amazing.” The K-8 school in Flushing, Queens enrolls 700 students, twenty-seven percent of whom are on the autism spectrum. During the month-long celebration, children in the lower school […]
2018 A Year of Empowerment
We empowered people with autism to thrive at work, at home, and in our communities with new programs and services. READ OUR ANNUAL REVIEW HERE
Video: What’s Next for Autism?
What’s Next for Autism? Meet Tamar, a recent graduate of our employment training program, as she embarks on a hopeful start at her first job. Laura Slatkin and Ilene Lainer provide impassioned interviews on NEXT for AUTISM’s vision for programs that support young adults like Tamar. Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-Vanderweele of the Center for Autism and […]
PS-AE: 9 Interns, 9 Graduates, 9 Jobs
Project SEARCH Autism Enhancement Graduation 2018! As the 2019 class of employment training interns begins this fall at Project SEARCH Autism Enhancement, we thought everyone would enjoy this video of the previous year’s graduation. Note the pride as these graduates share their accomplishments. We, too, are proud. 9 Interns, 9 Graduates, 9 Jobs. Here’s to […]
“I Want to Keep You Every Day”
Launching a child into adulthood is, by all standards of motherhood, an endeavor of balance. It requires both faith in your child’s ability to be independent and confidence that she will circle back to you for support and love. For a mother of a child with autism, gaining interdependence with your child can be elusive, […]
Working Toward Adulthood
As Autism Awareness Month draws to a close, we at NEXT for AUTISM would like to highlight a key focus of our work – advancing the future for adults with autism by creating more opportunities for them. Our work addresses every life stage of individuals with autism and their families, so designing and building model […]
Game On, Big Easy!
Golf may not be what first comes to mind when thinking about therapeutic interventions for young people with autism, but as taught by the Els Center of Excellence at the Els for Autism Foundation in Florida, it has turned out to be a winning choice. The Els for Autism Foundation, started by South African world […]
A Second NYC Autism Charter School Opens in the South Bronx
NEXT for AUTISM had the proud pleasure of celebrating the opening of the second NYC Autism Charter School in the Bronx this fall. NEXT for AUTISM had the proud pleasure of celebrating the opening of the second NYC Autism Charter School in the Bronx this fall. Like the first autism charter school in Harlem, founded by […]
Night of Too Many Stars Grantee Spotlight: Spectrum Designs
We first worked with Spectrum Designs, the maker of customized apparel, totes and hats made by young people with autism in 2012. A small company with a big heart and expansive ambitions, Spectrum Designs is a success story still unfolding. Beyond producing merchandise for regional and autism-specific organizations, the firm recently signed with national and global […]
New Charter School for Children with Autism Opens in Bronx, NY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Quynh Thai, [email protected] (212)759-3775 A new charter school dedicated exclusively to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will open on Thursday, September 7th, in Bronx, New York. This is the second school under the umbrella of NYC Autism Charter Schools. The first school opened in East Harlem in 2005. The NYC Autism Charter School […]
Surfers Healing a NEXT for AUTISM Grantee
Every parent can relate to the helplessness that Izzy and Danielle Paskowitz felt as they watched their young son lose himself in a tantrum at the beach one day. But not every parent would have arrived at their impromptu solution, which was to toss their son into the ocean to disrupt his internal storm and […]
Fertile Ground for Collaboration
Through Night of Too Many Stars, NEXT for AUTISM proudly funds grantees whose programs improve the lives of people with ASD across the country. When we have the opportunity to pair two grantees, thereby enhancing each program, we feel even greater satisfaction. Not only does each grantee benefit from the collaboration, the field of autism services […]
The Lucky Ones
Pictured above: Edwin (left), Leo (center) and Kevin (right). When Ed Tournu’s leg was amputated due to a medical condition, he felt that his life was over. “I thought I was going to sit in a wheel chair all day and do nothing,” he recalled. Eight years later, Ed has worn out three prosthetic legs. […]
Theatre Development Fund- Night of Too Many Stars Grantee Spotlight
Grantee Spotlight: Theatre Development Fund New York, NY Since 2011, Theatre Development Fund (TDF) has been sharing the magic of Broadway with children and adults with autism and their families through their Autism Theatre Initiative (ATI). According to Lisa Carling, Director of TDF Accessibility Programs, “As we talked to parents, special education teachers and psychologists, […]
Exceptional Minds- Night of Too Many Stars Grantee Spotlight
Grantee Spotlight: Exceptional Minds Sherman Oaks, CA Kevin Titcher with Stargate Studios CEO Sam Nicholson Exceptional Minds is a vocational school and working production studio that fosters remarkable creativity and talent among young adults with autism interested in pursuing a career in the digital arts. The organization, located just miles outside of Hollywood, offers a […]
The Homestead- Night of Too Many Stars Grantee Spotlight
Grantee Spotlight: The Homestead Cedar Rapids, IA Pictured above: Jeff, Taylor, Leighton and Lindsey. Founded in 1991 by a dedicated group of parents and professionals in Central Iowa, the Homestead was created to address the lack of services being provided to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. Over the past two decades, […]
Growing Solutions Farm- Night of Too Many Stars Grantee Spotlight
Grantee Spotlight: Growing Solutions Farm Chicago, IL Growing Solutions Farm is located on 1.2 acres in the heart of Chicago. Launched in 2013 by the Julie + Michael Tracy Family Foundation (JMTF), as part of JMTF’s Urban Autism Solutions initiative, it was created to address the nearly 90% unemployment rate among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders […]
