Building the College Autism Network
Tax deductible
www.CollegeAutismNetwork.org [a 501(c)3 non-profit organization run by volunteers; donations are tax-deductible]
Underrepresnted. Undersupported.
By the year 2020, roughly 400,000 students with autism will be enrolled in college. But current statistics suggest fewer than 1/2 will graduate.
The College Autism Network is working to change that statistic through advocacy, research, and training.
We CAN do better. We CAN make change. We CAN improve lives.
Together, we CAN.
Founded as a national nonprofit organization in January 2016, the College Autism Network (CAN) aims to connect stakeholders from across the United States who are committed to evidence-based efforts to improve access, experiences, and outcomes for college students with autism.
WHO WE ARE…
Advocates: We empower college students with autism by amplifying their voices within the academic community and by providing free access to materials designed to facilitate their successful transition into, through, and out of college.
Scholars: We facilitate research that uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the systemic, institutional, and personal conditions that shape college access, experiences, and outcomes for students on the autism spectrum.
Educators: We conduct professional development workshops and distribute training materials to administrators, researchers, students, parents, and instructors.
Staffed entirely by volunteers (mostly students), our nonprofit freely gives away nearly everything we produce via Creative Commons license. For more information about our mission, values, and activities, visit: http://collegeautismnetwork.org/about/
HOW WE GOT STARTED…
2014 Our Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Bradley E. Cox (Brad), first learned of his son’s autism diagnosis in the summer of 2014. For six months, he read everything he could find about autism. But he could find almost nothing about students with autism going to college. 18 months later, Brad would found the College Autism Network with a team of faculty colleagues, student affairs administrators, and students dedicated to improving college access, experiences, and outcomes for students with autism. Read his initial blog post here.
2015 A small group of faculty and students at Florida State University (where Brad is an Associate Professor of Higher Education) began several studies, one of which would subsequently generate the very first article in a top-tier higher education journal to ever mention autism. Recognizing that research was not enough, our team expanded and took steps that would lead to the founding of the College Autism Network.
2016 Our team incorporates Advocacy and Training as critical components of our work and we are joined by Dr. Lee Burdette Williams as Director of Higher Education Training and Development. Lee has presented over 20 times at national and regional conferences, speaking on the importance of college staff and faculty learning about how to support students with autism.
We started sharing news stories related to autism in college, developed a database of institutions offering autism-specific programs, and had proposals accepted to give 12 presentations at 6 conferences for higher education professionals. Our research team receives a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to expand our research.
2017 The very first article in a top-tier higher education journal to ever mention autism is published, and we began releasing "Fast Facts " from our NSF-funded research. Our first annual College Inclusion Summit is held in Burlington, Vermont, attracting dozens of advocates and researchers from around the country. We release a comprehensive issue brief of research highlighting just how urgently we need meaningful research and action to support college students with autism.
WITH YOUR DONATION, IN 2018 WE CAN...
Share students' stories about college by publishing short videos, pictures, and essays created by college students with autism as part of our CanDoCollege project. Donations will provide students with compensation for their time in documenting their stories and will be put towards producing videos and other media for wider distribution of their stories.
Make college campuses more welcoming for students with autism by creating and distributing educational training materials for students, parents, professors, and college administrators. Donations will be used here to print and mail physical training materials for educators and students who wish to start CAN chapters on their campus, as well as towards the development of comprehensive online training modules for educators.
Spread awareness and acceptance of autism in college by actively updating our website, Facebook , and Twitter pages with important updates, news stories, and summaries of the latest research literature. Donations will be used here to increase our reach on social media and to compensate individuals for blog posts published on our website.
Train hundreds of college administrators from across the country through our 2018 College Inclusion Summit and through presentations at major conferences in autism and higher education (e.g., NASPA, ACPA, ASCA, ASHE, AERA, FYE). Funds will be used here to compensate speakers at the 2018 College Inclusion Summit, pay for a venue, and to cover travel to and from conferences for our researchers.
Pledge Your Support Today
Donate here on our GoFundMe, or via PayPal. Note that PayPal charges CAN lower fees than does GoFundMe, so more of your donation will go directly to help research, advocacy, and training if you donate through PayPal. Please consider making a monthly recurring donation to the College Autism Network through PayPal to help us ensure continued financial sustainability for the future
For additional questions, please email us at info.collegeautismnetwork.org or call at 850-888-260.
Thank you for your support
Underrepresnted. Undersupported.
By the year 2020, roughly 400,000 students with autism will be enrolled in college. But current statistics suggest fewer than 1/2 will graduate.
The College Autism Network is working to change that statistic through advocacy, research, and training.
We CAN do better. We CAN make change. We CAN improve lives.
Together, we CAN.
Founded as a national nonprofit organization in January 2016, the College Autism Network (CAN) aims to connect stakeholders from across the United States who are committed to evidence-based efforts to improve access, experiences, and outcomes for college students with autism.
WHO WE ARE…
Advocates: We empower college students with autism by amplifying their voices within the academic community and by providing free access to materials designed to facilitate their successful transition into, through, and out of college.
Scholars: We facilitate research that uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the systemic, institutional, and personal conditions that shape college access, experiences, and outcomes for students on the autism spectrum.
Educators: We conduct professional development workshops and distribute training materials to administrators, researchers, students, parents, and instructors.
Staffed entirely by volunteers (mostly students), our nonprofit freely gives away nearly everything we produce via Creative Commons license. For more information about our mission, values, and activities, visit: http://collegeautismnetwork.org/about/
HOW WE GOT STARTED…
2014 Our Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Bradley E. Cox (Brad), first learned of his son’s autism diagnosis in the summer of 2014. For six months, he read everything he could find about autism. But he could find almost nothing about students with autism going to college. 18 months later, Brad would found the College Autism Network with a team of faculty colleagues, student affairs administrators, and students dedicated to improving college access, experiences, and outcomes for students with autism. Read his initial blog post here.
2015 A small group of faculty and students at Florida State University (where Brad is an Associate Professor of Higher Education) began several studies, one of which would subsequently generate the very first article in a top-tier higher education journal to ever mention autism. Recognizing that research was not enough, our team expanded and took steps that would lead to the founding of the College Autism Network.
2016 Our team incorporates Advocacy and Training as critical components of our work and we are joined by Dr. Lee Burdette Williams as Director of Higher Education Training and Development. Lee has presented over 20 times at national and regional conferences, speaking on the importance of college staff and faculty learning about how to support students with autism.
We started sharing news stories related to autism in college, developed a database of institutions offering autism-specific programs, and had proposals accepted to give 12 presentations at 6 conferences for higher education professionals. Our research team receives a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to expand our research.
2017 The very first article in a top-tier higher education journal to ever mention autism is published, and we began releasing "Fast Facts " from our NSF-funded research. Our first annual College Inclusion Summit is held in Burlington, Vermont, attracting dozens of advocates and researchers from around the country. We release a comprehensive issue brief of research highlighting just how urgently we need meaningful research and action to support college students with autism.
WITH YOUR DONATION, IN 2018 WE CAN...
Share students' stories about college by publishing short videos, pictures, and essays created by college students with autism as part of our CanDoCollege project. Donations will provide students with compensation for their time in documenting their stories and will be put towards producing videos and other media for wider distribution of their stories.
Make college campuses more welcoming for students with autism by creating and distributing educational training materials for students, parents, professors, and college administrators. Donations will be used here to print and mail physical training materials for educators and students who wish to start CAN chapters on their campus, as well as towards the development of comprehensive online training modules for educators.
Spread awareness and acceptance of autism in college by actively updating our website, Facebook , and Twitter pages with important updates, news stories, and summaries of the latest research literature. Donations will be used here to increase our reach on social media and to compensate individuals for blog posts published on our website.
Train hundreds of college administrators from across the country through our 2018 College Inclusion Summit and through presentations at major conferences in autism and higher education (e.g., NASPA, ACPA, ASCA, ASHE, AERA, FYE). Funds will be used here to compensate speakers at the 2018 College Inclusion Summit, pay for a venue, and to cover travel to and from conferences for our researchers.
Pledge Your Support Today
Donate here on our GoFundMe, or via PayPal. Note that PayPal charges CAN lower fees than does GoFundMe, so more of your donation will go directly to help research, advocacy, and training if you donate through PayPal. Please consider making a monthly recurring donation to the College Autism Network through PayPal to help us ensure continued financial sustainability for the future
For additional questions, please email us at info.collegeautismnetwork.org or call at 850-888-260.
Thank you for your support
Organizer
College Autism Network
Organizer
Tallahassee, FL
College Autism Network
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
