2024 was another successful year for the Autism Society Greater New Orleans. Continuing a multi-year trend, every one of our program areas saw increased numbers of engagement and access. Every year, we strive to better serve Autistic individuals and their families in our service area, and we are constantly re-evaluating and adapting our programs and services based on the needs we identify. Due to increased requests and concerns from caregivers and community members about lack of access to learning opportunities, and lack of knowledge about Autistic individuals, during 2024, we expanded our educational opportunities for caregivers, educators, and mental health professionals. Our 2024 Autism Festival was our biggest yet with 60 participating organizations and businesses and over 500 attendees.
We also continued our Vaccine Education Initiative through a grant awarded by USAging. In 2024, we were able to train 120 school-based health providers across the state on Autism and our accessible vaccination model. Lack of accessibility of care is a serious barrier to health for Autistic individuals, and our organization will continue to seek out initiatives, funding, and programs to participate in that help us to break down barriers, and increase access to inclusive care environments. This funding also allowed us translate our Communication Boards into over 15 different languages, and to provide accurate, and helpful information to Autistic individuals and their caregivers on vaccinations, and how to get them comfortably, and in an inclusive environment. We also shared hundreds of flyers on Autism, Supporting Sensory needs, Autism and Vaccines, and Autistic Communication styles with community members, healthcare providers, and families. All of the documents associated with this program can be viewed and downloaded here.
Thanks to funding from the Beignet Fest Foundation, we were able to continue our Online Social and Support Groups which provide caregivers, and Autistic adults vital opportunities to connect with their peers multiple times a month. Our organization continues to host the only caregiver support group in the area that meets in Spanish. We also hosted a series of 6 Caregiver Training and Support seminars that connected caregivers with information, and with each other. These events were hosted in a hybrid format, and recorded, so the information will be able to reach more than the original attendees.
Due to increasing reports of need for training on Autism and how to support Autistic students in the classroom, our Executive Director Claire Tibbetts delivered 4 trainings during 2024 for over 100 educators and school support staff around the city at both public and private schools. These trainings focused on Autism and Sensory supports in the classroom and provided vital information for our educators to better serve their Autistic students. If you are interested in having this presentation done for your school, please reach out to Claire at info@asgno.org.
Thanks to our continued partnership with Morrison Law, we were able to help 18 families get a FREE General Power of Attorney. This crucial document helps caregivers ensure they have someone to make decisions on their behalf in a crisis, and also provides Adult Autistic individuals a less restrictive method to ensure a trusted support person can help them make decisions in their lives without surrendering their rights through interdiction. We appreciate Morrison Law’s commitment to our mission, look forward to this event returning in 2025. They will also be providing three webinars on important future planning topics in 2025.
The Autism Society Greater New Orleans is thankful to our donors, sponsors, and community partners for being the connection, and allowing us to provide vital supports, programming and services to our local area. Because of your support we can continue to develop resources, create new programs, and advocate for inclusive policies and practices at the local and state level, and build connections, not only to resources, but also to each other. It is clear from the consistent increases in people accessing our events and programs that the need in our area is great. It is vital that we continue to increase our funding to continue to meet the needs of our community. As effective stewards, we continually strive to be responsive and accessible to societal needs, challenges, and opportunities that arise. Through the work of our affiliate, individuals and families can connect with each other, with resources, and with supports and services so that they may live full, vibrant, self-actualized lives. Thank you to all the individuals, families, businesses, and community partners that have played a crucial role in fulfilling our mission and positively impacting the lives of so many.
The connection is you.
Claire Tibbetts, RKT
Executive Director
2024 Impact Report– PDF