Oklahoma Family Center for Autism

Meaningful connections with others and quality of life are the goals for all individuals with autism, and our goal is to create opportunities for them.

Through a holistic approach, we create opportunities for families, children, teens and adults to have more happiness, joy and a higher quality of life, for life.

AutismOklahoma was founded by parents in Oklahoma to improve quality of life and create opportunities for our loved ones with autism. We strive to encourage parents, providers and the community to think about how they might also create a unique opportunity for someone with autism.

We measure our program effectiveness based on outcome measures for individuals, families and the community.  Individuals:
Help individuals to discover and recognize their talents
Individuals will be encouraged to expand their personal engagement path
Individuals will be engaged and empowered for personal growth 
Families:
Families are proud, show pride for their family members
Families are optimistic about their future
Families show confidence in problem solving
Families show peace of mind
Families try new things
Families have hope 
Communities:
Help communities understand, embrace differences, and become part of the solution

Since 2002, AutismOklahoma.org has provided support, education, opportunity, outreach, inspiration, and more to thousands upon thousands of autistic children, teens, adults and their families. We remain dedicated to providing our programs free or nearly free as we have for 20 years.

Our small staff of just four all have autistic children. We live it and we know what works to build success upon success. We have a proved model that Interest + Opportunity = Magic. We create and design programs based on the often narrow interests of our participants, and that is is where the magic happens.

Our programs and events provide a platform for connections in safe and nonthreatening ways. We have families who drive over 100 miles so their child can participate. Our participants are becoming leaders, many now independently joining and connecting with others with a shared interest.

We have been with many families for 20 years and have watched as their child eats a new food, gets their driver's license, gets married, gets a job, raises their hand, makes it through the entire school day, hugs a friend. The unique nuances of autism make it hard to assign specific milestones of progress, and we believe strongly in the uniqueness of each individual and what they have to offer the world We help them catch their dreams and open doors to reveal their talents.

We believe that our participants can best describe our progress and our impact on their lives:

"Honestly, I'm surprised our kids actually asked me about the Santa hats! They normally don't want to wear anything like that. This makes my heart happy when they feel free to be themselves and not feel they have to hide their quirks, stimming, and other things considered "abnormal behaviors" by other "normal" people. I can't express how grateful we are for this group!!"

"The AutismOklahoma programs allow my son to meet new friends, true friends not just people who tolerate him and his interests. Events offer him a safe place to be himself and not worry about what other people think of his challenges. I love these events because I don't have to worry about judgements being made about my parenting, everyone here is pretty much in the same boat."

"The mere opportunity and ability for persons on the spectrum to freely express emotions through mediums that enhance social skills, talents, confidence, and enjoyability in an environment such as AutismOklahoma and their programs are undeniably important. The communication barrier that many people fear are torn down by these programs. Our family is blessed to participate."

" I found other parents going through the same struggles and celebrations that I was. I gained knowledge, understanding, and most of all acceptance. Simply knowing that I wasn't alone in our journey and that my issues had been experienced by so many others gave me the strength to pull myself up by the bootstraps and become a better mom for my daughter. Not only has AutismOklahoma given me confidence in myself, it has given my daughter a circle of friends who accept her just as she is. I truly can't thank everyone involved enough for the incredible impact you've had on our lives!"