National Council on Severe Autism

National Council on Severe Autism Pursuing recognition, policy and solutions for the surging population of individuals, families and caregivers affected by severe forms of autism.

We are committed to improving the long-term welfare of individuals, families and caregivers affected by severe forms of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. To that end, we

โ€ข ๐—˜๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ about these disabilities, and how they require special attention and services.
โ€ข ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ for think tanks and serious discourse addressing policy and services.
โ€ข ๐—˜๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€

about the impact of legislation and policy on our vulnerable, growing, and often overshadowed population.
โ€ข ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ต into therapeutics, neurobiology, and causes of severe forms of autism and related disabilities.
โ€ข ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฎ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ of individuals, families, and caregivers affected by severe forms of autism by giving voice to their realities and needs. The nonprofit NCSA is the nation's leading voice pursuing recognition, policy and solutions for the surging population of individuals, families and caregivers affected by severe forms of autism and related disorders. More information: www.NCSAutism.org



๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€
โ€ข Focus discussions on severe autism and related support needs
โ€ข Respect the lived experiences of families and caregivers
โ€ข Acknowledge the distinct challenges of severe autism versus other parts of the spectrum
โ€ข Maintain civil discourse even in disagreement
โ€ข Share personal experiences respectfully and constructively
โ€ข These guidelines aim to create a supportive, focused space for our community.



๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—น ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐˜€๐—บ (๐—ก๐—–๐—ฆ๐—”) ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ-๐˜๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐˜€๐—บ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€. Our moderators have full discretion to take immediate action against any violations of our community guidelines, including but not limited to:

โ€ข Harassment of families and caregivers
โ€ข Dismissal or minimization of severe autism challenges
โ€ข Hate speech or discriminatory comments
โ€ข Trolling or intentionally disruptive behavior
โ€ข Spam or promotional content

While warnings may be issued, moderators are not required to provide prior notice before taking action. Comments may be removed and users may be banned immediately based on the severity of the violation. This discretion is necessary to maintain a safe, supportive environment for our community.

๐—•๐˜† ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐˜€. All moderator decisions are final. NCSA reserves the right to modify these guidelines at any time to protect our community members.

08/26/2026
Dolly Parton leaves behind a legacy of charity for children, education, medical research, and community. To her loved on...
08/25/2026

Dolly Parton leaves behind a legacy of charity for children, education, medical research, and community. To her loved ones and all who found themselves in her music, we at NCSA extend our condolences.

Watch live East Tennessee broadcast: https://youtu.be/itN9jq_tkLc

Fans of Dolly Parton will get a chance to pay respects to the late ...

๐Ÿ”ฌ Study Opportunity ๐Ÿ”ฌ(Contact Meghan Burke with questions: Meghan.burke@vanderbilt.edu)Exploring the Experiences of Adul...
08/25/2026

๐Ÿ”ฌ Study Opportunity ๐Ÿ”ฌ(Contact Meghan Burke with questions: [email protected])

Exploring the Experiences of Adult Siblings of Autistic Individuals and/or Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS)

What is the purpose?
The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of siblings of individuals with autism and/or SMS.

Who can participate?
For this study, Vanderbilt is surveying adult siblings of individuals with autism and/or SMS.

What will you do?
Complete a screening and, if eligible, a 20-30 minute survey.

How can you enroll?
If interested in enrolling, please complete the following survey: https://redcap.link/xeriiut6

08/24/2026

๐Ÿ”ฌ Study Opportunity ๐Ÿ”ฌ(Questions should be directed to [email protected].)

INVITATION to PARTICIPATE:
You are invited to complete a 10โ€“15 minute anonymous survey for a study titled: Associations Between Treatment Intensity, Parent Training, and Standardized Assessment Scores in Autistic Adolescents
Seeking volunteers that meet these requirements:
ยท Are 18 years of age or older.
ยท Are the parent or legal guardian of an autistic adolescent between the ages of 13 and 18 years.
ยท Your child has received applied behavior analysis (ABA) services within the past 12 months.
ยท Your child has received ABA services for at least 6 months.
The survey will be open until the end of October.

To complete the survey, please click Parent Research Questionnaire โ€“ Fill out form:

Severe, Intense, or Dangerous Behaviors in NDD"Tracking Outcomes of Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Dangerous Behavio...
08/24/2026

Severe, Intense, or Dangerous Behaviors in NDD

"Tracking Outcomes of Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Dangerous Behaviors" with Dr. Mindy Scheithauer and Dr. Nate Call. Register here for the Zoom link:

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Tracking Oucomes of Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Dangerous Behaviors. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

NCSA welcomes the National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert initiative announced August 21 by the U.S. Departm...
08/22/2026

NCSA welcomes the National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert initiative announced August 21 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Department of Justice and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Read our full statement: https://www.ncsautism.org/ncsa-policy-archive/ncsa-statement-hhs-national-autism-missing-and-endangered-person-alert-initiative-august-2026

โ€ For Immediate Release: August 22, 2026โ€ National Council on Severe Autismโ€ โ€ Contact: Jill Escherโ€ โ€ [email protected]โ€โ€ โ€ National Council on Severe Autism Applauds HHS Autism Initiative โ€โ€ โ€ The National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) welcomes the National Autism Missin...

SURPRISE! ๐ŸŽ‰ NCSA has just launched its rebuilt website. Head over to NCSAutism.org and check it out. Let us know what yo...
08/21/2026

SURPRISE! ๐ŸŽ‰ NCSA has just launched its rebuilt website. Head over to NCSAutism.org and check it out. Let us know what you think. We will continue to migrate content, and there will likely be a few bugs to work out in coming weeks, but we are so excited to share this update with you.

The old site grew with us over eight years. The new one was built for what the work has become: a national policy record and a national advocate network for families whose children, siblings, and adult dependents need continuous, lifelong support.

Three things we built the new site to do:
1. Put families first
2. Make the record findable
3. Make taking action easy

The new site got a major accessibility upgrade, and our donation options have received an upgrade, too. We can now accept digital wallet apps, DAFs, crypto, and stocks as easily as cards.

Head to NCSAutism.org to take a look. Do you have a favorite page or feature? We'd love to hear! If you encounter any broken links or bugs, please notify Jackie at [email protected].

How often do families get a chance to help build the tools we need? Join us top of the hour! (8pm ET) Register here:
08/19/2026

How often do families get a chance to help build the tools we need? Join us top of the hour! (8pm ET) Register here:

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Community Feedback with specialneeds.help. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

YOUR ideas and feedback can help build the best resource directory on the planet. Join us tomorrow to share your thought...
08/19/2026

YOUR ideas and feedback can help build the best resource directory on the planet. Join us tomorrow to share your thoughts. Why not try out the site before attending? You can start anywhere, but one of the siteโ€™s great features is The Future Care Plan which helps families with disabled loved ones document everything a new caregiver would need to know โ€” and identify the gaps before a crisis forces the issue. Free. Private. Guided. Built by and for the disability community. See you tomorrow at 8pm ET! Click the photo โ€œIt takes a communityโ€ below to register.

Future Care Plan: https://abilityvillage.com/future-care-plan

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Community Feedback with specialneeds.help. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

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PO Box 26853
San Jose, CA
95159

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