NEXT for AUTISM

Created by NEXT for AUTISM in 2008, HARPP provides Board-Certified Behavioral Analytic training to educators and related service professionals who work with people with ASD, especially in the public school system.

Based on the Have Dreams model, BOOST! opened at Jewish Community Centers in NYC and Long Island in 2008. The program teaches communication and socialization to children with ASD in group settings with typically developing peers.

The Project SEARCH Autism Enhancement employment training package addresses the need for high-quality training so that young adults with autism can gain meaningful employment. Known as PSAE, the training package is disseminated nationally to organizations and educational institutions, and is the result of a long-standing collaboration among NEXT for AUTISM, Project SEARCH at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the TEACCH Autism Program at the University of North Carolina.

CADB is a state-of-the-art diagnostic and clinical center founded in 2013 by NEXT for AUTISM, NY-Presbyterian Hospital and its affiliated medical schools, Columbia and Weill Cornell. Led by world-renown, autism expert Dr. Catherine Lord, CADB is a centralized center for diagnosis and coordinated treatment of people with ASD across their life span.

AFAA is a consortium of national, regional and local autism organizations that seeks to set national priorities and to transform public policy and programming for adolescents and adults with ASD. NEXT for AUTISM and Autism Speaks co-founded AFAA in 2008.

To enable adults with autism to work and live as independently as possible, NEXT for AUTISM collaborated with Autism Speaks and the Poses Family Foundation to expand ADVICE, an innovative program to hire, train and retain employees with ASD. ADVICE connects national companies to local disability resources and service providers, such as job coaches and vocational programs that introduce the companies to job candidates. Those companies gain access to an untapped, diverse labor pool, along with expert support and training from ADVICE to help ensure a good match and an ongoing relationship.

ADVICE also helps companies develop long-term strategies and systems that create an autism-inclusive workplace. Services include on-the-job support, job modifications, accessing state and federal financial incentives, diversity training and retention strategies.

Through our Night of Too Many Stars benefit, NEXT for AUTISM funds initiatives and organizations across the United States whose programs are educational, vocational, social and community-based. Beyond funding, we also provide strategic or tactical guidance to select grantees. Night of Too Many Stars 2015 supported 50 organizations in 22 states and Puerto Rico.

NEXT for AUTISM designs and implements customized autism & disability inclusion programs to help corporations attract, hire, and retain employees with autism. Our services enable people with autism to thrive, resulting in higher productivity, greater retention rates, and a positive return on investment for employers.