Autism Alliance of Canada is a not-for-profit coalition with a membership of Autistic people, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and representatives from organizations across Canada. We represent, convene, and mobilize a shared leadership committed to guiding a National Autism Strategy that addresses critical gaps in funding and policies currently preventing Autistic people and their families from exercising their full rights as Canadians. We harness the power of collective impact to generate and support community-driven innovation and research. Our work drives change at a pan-Canadian level as we enable different sectors and governments to address the diverse issues facing Autistic people across the lifespan
Our Vision
Autistic people and their families, exercising their full rights and realizing their full potential.
Our Mission
Our mission to inform policy and practice at a national level by bringing our members together, identifying priority issues, and developing meaningful ways to address them.
Our Principles
- Respecting and learning from each other.
- Sharing leadership and meaningfully including persons with lived experience.
- Adding value to the neurodevelopmental and broader disability community.
- Ensuring equity in representation across all stakeholder groups.
- Encouraging diversity of thought and ongoing dialogue.
Our Process
Convene
- Bring diverse stakeholders to form learning communities and be thought leaders.
- Coordinate community-driven evidence-to-policy pipeline.
Catalyze
- Enable action on emergent and complex issues through innovation and multisector solutions.
- Build community capacity through knowledge exchange, education and skills development.
Collaborate
- Leverage the collective to mobilize evidence to inform policy development, implementation and evaluation.
- Partner to develop, spread and scale pragmatic solutions.
- Grow through partnerships across disability, diagnoses and identities.
Our Strategic Priorities| 2023-2028
We bring together those with lived experience, thought leaders and decision makers to inform common policy goals, primarily through the development and implementation of a National Autism Strategy.
Our work will result in a more inclusive Canada through the development of an autism policy that captures the diverse perspectives of Autistic people in Canada and their loved ones.
We conduct autism systems and policy research in priority areas identified by Autistic people and the people who support them. We do this by leading and supporting multi-regional grants and national studies, partnering with Autistic people and their loved ones, researchers, clinicians, service providers, and developing fellowships to increase the capacity of diverse autism-focused researchers.
Our work will result in Canadian evidence, co-generated by Autistic people that can inform system level changes, policy and improve outcomes for Autistic people and their loved ones. We will generate relevant data, externally recognized for research excellence and usefulness. Through our initiatives we will build a workforce of neurodivergent trainees with competence in leading research and policy initiatives.
We convene people from multiple sectors with experience and expertise to collaboratively solve real-world problems.
Our work will result in the advancement progress on priorities that are identified, endorsed and supported by our members. Transformation of the social and economic landscape to improve the quality of life of Autistic people and their families.
We are committed to growing our organization and empowering our team to conduct work that fulfills our mission and strategic priorities.
Our work will result in a highly efficient organization that influences system change for Autistic people and their loved ones and provides a supportive environment for diverse employees to make their best contributions.