Providing Help and Hope
The Center for Autism is home to a team of experts in the field of autism and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Our Mission
Providing help and hope to children, adolescents, young adults, and their families living with an autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders through excellent and innovative clinical care, education & training, research, and community engagement.

Our Impact
The Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders (The Center) serves Southern California's diverse population. In the past year, we helped over 3,000 families through over 18,000 visits. Nearly half of these families relied on Medicaid/CalOptima and one-third were non-English speaking. Current diagnostic rates of autism spectrum disorder as reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is 1/59. Our goal is to ease this burden by expanding the clinical services offered at The Center, by building capacity in our community through professional training and to better understand autism spectrum through our ground-breaking research.

Our Vision
To be the local and national leader in creating opportunities and removing all barriers toward a fulfilled life for people with autism spectrum and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Our History
In late 2012, a catalytic investment by the Thompson Family Foundation and the Children and Families Commission of Orange County was provided to create The Center. The level of quality and ambition of this venture is reflected in The Center’s alignment of major partners, including University of California Irvine, Chapman University, CHOC Children’s, Thompson Family Foundation and the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. When community partners such as these are committed to the vision of change, truly remarkable things happen: advocacy, innovation, funding…and transformation…of services, programs, organizations, and perspectives.