Autism Speaks Canada Closing Down!

Post Reply New Topic

The nation’s largest autism advocacy group is shuttering part of its organization.

Autism Speaks will close Autism Speaks Canada at the end of this month, the nonprofit said.

Autism Speaks officials indicated that no changes are being made in the U.S. with regard to the nonprofit’s offices or scope. Further, the organization said it plans to “continue fostering key collaborations with Canadian institutions and other global partners.”

Autism Speaks Canada was created in 2006, not long after the organization’s inception in the U.S. in 2005. Financial reports to the Canada Revenue Agency indicate that the group had over $2.8 million in revenue in 2023, down from a high of $5.55 million in 2020.

Nonetheless, Autism Speaks officials stressed that closing the Canadian entity was not a financial decision.

The decision to close Autism Speaks Canada was made based on a number of strategic factors and partner conversations,” Autism Speaks said in a statement to Disability Scoop. “Our belief is that the progress our organization has made over the last two decades, combined with the strong foundation that has been established by our network of partners in advocacy, research and supports for autistic people, has well positioned Canadian institutions to continue this work across the country. We are proud of what we have achieved together and we look forward to partnering with them in the future as we all continue to build a better world for autistic people, their families and friends.”

The nonprofit pointed to its work advocating for the National Autism Strategy in Canada’s Parliament in 2024 and establishing research and scientific collaborations with DNAstack, McGill University and The Hospital for Sick Children, known as SickKids, in Toronto.

In addition, Autism Speaks Canada offered support to families through its Autism Response Team and My Autism Guide and provided nearly $5 million in community grants, the organization said.

Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said she hopes that Autism Speaks leaving Canada will lead to less support in that country for interventions like applied behavior analysis, which some people on the spectrum have reported negative experiences with. She also is optimistic that it will mean that “autistic advocates working towards inclusion and meaningful research can get more traction.”

“I don’t think we can assume that similar changes are coming in the U.S.,” Gross said.

Regardless of the reasons for Autism Speaks’ departure from Canada, Tiffany Hammond, an author and speaker from Texas who has autism and is the parent of children on the spectrum, said the move begs the question of what will happen to the families the organization is serving.

“Whatever I feel about an organization, I do know someone is being served,” Hammond wrote on Substack. “They might not be served in the way that they deserve, but they are receiving something they otherwise would not have if not for that organization.”

Hammond noted that despite her own qualms with Autism Speaks, the organization provided her son with his first iPad and her family has found community and valuable resources at the organization’s annual walks.

To date, Autism Speaks said that no other organization has agreed to take over its Autism Response Team in Canada, which provides information and referrals to support services.