Autism Resource Association
Dedicated to changing the world around the person with autism.
It’s time to create a world that embraces autism.
Are you ready?
It’s time to successfully integrate those with autism spectrum, especially those with high functioning autism, into the general population in schools, the workplace, social and community organizations, legal circles, when engaging with emergency personnel, and in entertainment venues. But most don’t know how. That’s where we step in.
Membership has many benefits.
All members receive:
- Discounts on products and services
- Free Micro-trainings
- Free Access to Business Resource Directory
- Weekly Autism-related Motivational Message of encouragement
- Curated Library of Articles
- Shareable Best Practices white paper for schools and homework
- Access to Feature Member Success stories
- Free webinar Library
- Access to Podcast library
- Weekly Blog post email
- Community Forum email updates
- Featured Business Member emails
- Educational Email series
Industry Partners
Membership to the Autism Resource Association is an important and impactful decision that supports you, friends, family members, neighbors, school, churches, and other organizations and businesses who are interacting with individuals on the autism spectrum.
Why Embrace Diversity?
Benefits In Society
For the growth of society at large, and the long-term social and financial health of the nation and the world, understanding autism is a monumental and very vital first step in integrating the exploding population of individuals living with autism.
Whether you’re a family member, business, social or cultural organization, or civic servant, there are benefits to membership for you!
If you review the list of famous, world changing, and impactful inventors, creators and paradigm changers, many of those are on the list of people with autism.
Without their creative insights, steadfast drive to find answers, and ability to break new ground, our previously enjoyed rocket-pace of social and technical development could be dramatically impeded. Temple Grandin has so elegantly said…
“People talk about curing autism. But if you got rid of all those traits, who’s going to make the next computer?”
Temple Grandin
The ARA is inspired by the mission of smoothing the way for easy and effective incorporation of individuals with autism so that the world can continue to prosper and develop with their special brand of gift, as well as insure that, as individuals, they can live successfully and independently.
The United Sates, and other 1st world countries, are facing a social and financial crisis in years to come. If the burgeoning population of individuals with ASD are not successfully integrated into our business and cultural communities starting now, there will be an impending resource crisis that strikes when the parents of this generation of children with ASD reach maturity if the current unemployment rate of employable individuals remains steady, and their parents are no longer able to care for them due to financial or health challenges or death.
According to Autism Speaks, unemployment or underemployment is 80% (or more) among those with autism! We have to act NOW to shift our culture, expectations and level of understanding to continue to capture all the benefits of life with the diversity inherent in autism.
It is a crucial step in stemming an unnecessary and wasteful future resource crisis, and a socially appropriate good choice!
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Benefits For You
Soon everyone will know someone on the spectrum. Whether a family member, coworker, customer or passer-by on the street, interactions with those on the autism spectrum can be pleasant gratifying and effective. For everyone to enjoy that experience, it’s necessary for everyone to have a basic understanding of the experience of the people with autism.
In deepening your learning and understanding on a personal level, you are embracing the fastest growing population of people whose long-term impact on our society, our government resources and finances could be impaired if we don’t proactively seek inclusion now.
Benefits in Business
If you are a business, there are measurable benefits to embracing autism, and employing those on the spectrum. Whether you are a retailer looking to provide meaningful customer service to meet the unique needs of the new generation of customers with autism, or you are in a corporate environment who needs to expand the base of available personnel, your membership will provide you with resources and support in maximizing your goals, and improving the bottom line.
While an effective the hiring process may look different, successfully placing an individual with autism among your rank and file has many benefits. It will enable you to leverage the strong skills, consistency, stability in performance in any level of opportunity, and likely at a lower attrition rate!
The ability to be satisfied, content, and fulfilled by repetitive tasks that others are less skilled at or might find difficult or frustrating can provide exceptional results in many areas of a business, like coding or the ability to assess data and find anomalies. Many people with ASD have a wide range of creative, analytic and other abilities and can apply them from a unique perspective.
While every individual is unique, on the whole, those with autism are very loyal and steadfast compared to many other employees.
Much has been learned to dispel the myth that hiring those with special needs is “a nice thing to do if you can afford it!” Major corporate innovators such as Walgreens, have had remarkable success in their application of diversity to their business, with astounding results. Not only have they found that they did not need to lower their performance standard requirements to accommodate those with disabilities, but might even be able to raise the bar from previous standards set my individuals without disabilities.