Being a Catalyst for Life-Enhancing Research Breakthroughs

How we help Federal Funding

Autism Speaks is helping to lead faster implementation of best practices and more informed autism research for personalized care and treatments through health networks, advancements in virtual learning and strategic advocacy. We administer the world’s largest open access autism genomic databases; have invested $234 million in scientific grants resulting in an additional $1 billion in public sourced funding focused specifically on autism; and advocated with and for our community, resulting in $3.9 billion increase in federal research funding for autism to date. With your support, we remain steadfast in our mission to promote solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of people with autism.

Here are a few of our FY21 accomplishments:

  • Launched the Autism Care Network, a first and only learning health system of its kind focused on better autism care, delivered at scale and at speed, to improve the health and quality of life for children with autism and their families throughout North America and find solutions that improve care years earlier than traditional research.
  • Established the Precision Autism Treatment to Health (PATH) research initiative aimed at advancing precision autism research and care improvements. PATH integrates autism genomic and clinical sciences to develop personalized treatments at various stages of life to better understand how biology and genetics are at work in autism.
  • Increased the number of community providers and autism centers participating in Echo Autism, a telehealth monitoring and educational learning network, by 50 percent to nearly 1,500 providers in 28 communities.
Dr. Brittany Hand
Dr. Brittany Hand
I feel it is important in my line of work to study real-world issues facing the growing population of autistic adults living today
Read Dr. Brittany Hand's Story
Ryan Yuen, Ph.D.
Ryan Yuen, Ph.D.
I think understanding autism better will help us understand what is unique about being a human, which in turn may help me understand more about myself
Read Ryan Yuen, Ph.D.'s Story
Meet Dr. Angela Chan, M.D., MPH Meet Dr. Angela Chan, M.D., MPH  Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, New York City
Meet Dr. Angela Chan, M.D., MPH
It has been a great privilege for me to come full circle and return to the place that inspired my work in public health.
Read Meet Dr. Angela Chan, M.D., MPH's Story