Autism Society Of Southern Arizona Inc

CREATING CONNECTIONS AND EMPOWERING THE AUTISM COMMUNITY WITH RESOURCES NEEDED TO LIVE FULLY.

ASSA'S NAVIGATING AUTISM PROGRAM ADDRESSES DAILY INQUIRIES RELATED TO RESOURCES, SUPPORT, AND PROGRAMS. OUR BILINGUAL INFORMATION & REFERRAL SPECIALIST OFFERS SUPPORT IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH. WE ARE TYPICALLY THE "FIRST CALL" PARENTS OR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS MAKE WHEN LEARNING ABOUT THE DIAGNOSIS. ASSA PROVIDES INFORMATION ON THERAPY OPTIONS, LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS, TRANSITION RESOURCES, SCHOOLING, AND MUCH MORE. OUR WEBSITE FEATURES A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA PROVIDERS AND RESOURCES. WE ALSO PROVIDE CUSTOMIZED AUTISM TRAINING TO SCHOOLS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND BUSINESSES ABOUT OUR EVER-EVOLVING UNDERSTANDING OF AUTISM. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, WE HAVE SERVED 708 INDIVIDUALS AND 564 THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY TRAININGS.ASSA STRIVES TO CREATE A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE IN THE AUTISM COMMUNITY IS CONNECTED TO THE SUPPORT THEY NEED, WHEN THEY NEED IT.

IN 2021, ASSA SERVED 2,000 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS, INFORMATION & REFERRAL SUPPORT, AND OUTREACH. THE PIMA COUNTY TRANSMISSION RATES WERE STILL HIGH, SO WE CONTINUED TO DELIVER VIRTUAL PROGRAM OPTIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. WE OFFERED THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS ON A MONTHLY BASIS: ADULT SOCIAL CLUB, TEEN MEETUPS WITH PLAYFORMANCE, PARENT PEER SUPPORT GROUP, EMPOWER HOUR, STEPPING STONES PARENT TRAININGS, SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES, ZOOM WITH SANTA, AUTISM TRAININGS, AND THE NAVIGATING AUTISM PROGRAM. OUR PROGRAMS AND REFERRAL SUPPORT SERVED OVER 2,000 INDIVIDUALS. ASSA OFFERS AUTISM TRAININGS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY AND IN 2021, WE EDUCATED UNITED WAY OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA'S FAMILY SUPPORT ALLIANCE, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY'S POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL, BANNER UNIVERSITY HEALTH CARE LUNCH & LEARN ATTENDEES, AND LA PALOMA ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL. OUR TRAININGS REACHED OVER 500 INDIVIDUALS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PIMA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE PRESENTED OUR FIRST ANNUAL VIRTUAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE. THE AUTISM EDUCATION & EQUITY VIRTUAL CONFERENCE WAS A PUBLIC HEALTH DISCUSSION THAT TOOK PLACE ON JUNE 22, 2021. THIS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTED THE DEPARTMENT'S EFFORTS TO BRING ATTENTION TO AUTISM RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE MORE EQUITABLE ENVIRONMENTS, SERVICES, AND WORKSPACES IN PIMA COUNTY. THIS CONFERENCE ALLOWED THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ALIGN PRIORITIES AND LEVERAGE RESOURCES WITH IDENTIFIED PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT ITS WORK SUPPORTS AUTISTIC POPULATIONS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. OUR VIRTUAL PROGRAMS PROVIDED SUPPORT AND EDUCATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM AND THEIR FAMILIES. THE ADULT SOCIAL CLUB AVERAGED 12 INDIVIDUALS PER MONTH AND SERVED 144 IN 2021. THE ADULT SOCIAL CLUB MET VIRTUALLY ON THE THIRD FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH FROM 6 - 8 PM. THIS GROUP PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ADULTS WITH AUTISM TO ENGAGE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND "HANGOUT" VIRTUALLY. THE GROUP IS FACILITATED BY OUR PARTNERS AT UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY AND OUR BOARD MEMBER/SELF-ADVOCATE WHO BOTH CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR CULTIVATING FRIENDSHIP AND COMMUNITY.TEENS CONNECTED ON A MONTHLY BASIS THROUGH OUR PLAYFORMANCE MEETUPS. THIS GROUP PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM TO CONNECT WITH THEIR PEERS AND STAY ACTIVE WHILE AT HOME. THE MEETUP IS FACILITATED BY COACH KEVIN FROM PLAYFORMANCE. THE GROUP LEARNED NEW GAMES, INTERACTED WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND OVERALL HAD FUN. THIS EVENT IS SCHEDULED ONCE A MONTH. ASSA PARTNERED WITH THE AUTISM SOCIETY OF MAHONING VALLEY TO OFFER THIS PROGRAM TO OHIO TEENS. WE SERVED A TOTAL OF 171 TEENS AND ON AVERAGE 14 INDIVIDUALS ATTENDED EACH MONTH.ONE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS WE DISCOVERED FROM PARENTS THROUGH THE PANDEMIC WAS SOCIAL ISOLATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN. IN RESPONSE TO THIS NEED, WE PARTNERED WITH A SPEECH PATHOLOGIST, GUY GARCIA TO OFFER SOCIAL SKILLS CLASSES. THE FOUR-WEEK PROGRAM OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN TO PRACTICE SOCIAL SKILLS THAT FOSTER AUTHENTIC SOCIAL INTERACTIONS THAT FOSTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRIENDSHIPS. ASSA OFFERED FOUR CLASSES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH THREE PARTICIPANTS IN EACH CLASS AND SERVED A TOTAL OF 12 INDIVIDUALS.DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON, ASSA ALSO BROUGHT SANTA TO 22 FAMILIES THROUGH THE ZOOM PLATFORM. EACH FAMILY RECEIVED A DIGITAL POSTCARD AND THE TIME WITH SANTA PROVIDED MANY SMILES AND JOY DURING A SOCIALLY DISCONNECTED SEASON.

IN 2021, THE AUTISM PREVALENCE NUMBERS WERE REPORTED BY THE ARIZONA DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM (ADDSP). THE STATISTICS HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD). ABOUT 1 IN 40 CHILDREN IN AN AREA OF ARIZONA WERE IDENTIFIED WITH ASD BY ADDSP IN 2018. AT ASSA, WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE DESERVES TO LIVE FULLY. AT THE CORE OF ASSA'S WORK IS A GOAL TO INFLUENCE MEANINGFUL CHANGE IN SUPPORT OF THE AUTISM COMMUNITY. ASSA CONTINUED TO DELIVER OUR PROGRAMS AND INFORMATION & REFERRAL VIRTUALLY DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. IN AUGUST 2021, ASSA TRANSITIONED BACK TO OUR OFFICE AND WOULD RETURN TO IN-PERSON PROGRAM OPTIONS BY MAY 2022. THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, ASSA CONTINUED TO DELIVER RESOURCES, PROGRAMS, AND SUPPORT TO SOUTHERN ARIZONA.