Autism Society Of Minnesota

Summer camps: we ran six sessions of camp during summer 2024, hosting 259 campers. Ausm camps are for autistic youth and young adults. Parents and caregivers rest assured knowing that their campers are cared for by trained, experienced staff, while campers make memories that last a lifetime.

Multicultural grant programs: in 2024, through the family-to-family grant funded by the minnesota department of human services disability services division, we have continued to expand our reach by building meaningful partnerships with organizations serving minnesota's diverse cultural communities. These collaborations have allowed us to develop culturally responsive resources, establish support networks, and amplify the voices of families navigating autism in unique cultural contexts. In 2024, our partners hosted support groups that reached 58 new east african parents, 10 new latine parents, and 6 new south asian families. These groups provide a safe space for families to share their experiences, seek guidance, and advocate for their children. In 2024 we released nine tip sheets, all of which have been translated into spanish and which will be translated into additional languages through the help of our partner organizations. Additionally, we have ventured into multimedia resources, producing videos in english, somali, amharic, and oromo.

Other program services included education programs and events, community support, advocacy, and information & resources. We provided training to 50 organizations and hosted over 1300 attendees at our four major events. More than 670 people attended educational workshops and classes, and we received over 900 calls, emails, and texts to our information and resources line. 687 people attended our support groups in 2024, including women's support group, lgbtqia+ support group, independent adults with asd support group, and family members of adults on the spectrum support group. We created 13 new online resources and had 170 participants in our social group, coffee club.this year our policy team, in collaboration with community partners, made history by passing legislation that recommends ableism and disability justice training for teachers.