“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

In January 2008 a team of six volunteers will travel half way around the globe to help a country in need – a country that has been asking for help. The six volunteers are from AACTION Autism, a 501(c)3 humanitarian organization dedicated to making the world a better place for children with autism. The country is India - AACTION has been working with two incredible women in India (Merry and Jayashree) who have taken on the role of angels for children with autism. In India, there are an estimated 7 million individuals with autism. Sadly, there are far too few trained autism professionals to identify or effectively treat even a small percentage of the population with autism. The majority of children with autism fail to receive best practice medical and educational intervention. In India, mothers often feel to blame for their children’s autism even though the cause of autism is neurological in nature and not the result of the parent’s wrongdoing. Despite all of this Jayashree and Merry have set up two of only a handful of schools designed to meet the unique learning needs of children with autism. From January 5-22 of 2008, the six volunteers will be working with Jayashree, Merry, and hundreds of other professionals in India to provide information and training which will allow them to help thousands more understand and treat autism more effectively.

AACTION began in 2005 when a team of educators from Chicago attended an international conference on autism in North Carolina. One of the speakers was Yinka – she is the only developmental pediatrician in the whole of Nigeria working to help children with autism. She spoke passionately about her work and her goals for change in Nigeria and also about the unfortunate mistreatment that most children with autism face. After hearing her speak, the team from Chicago met with Yinka and listened with heavy hearts as Yinka talked more about the seemingly insurmountable odds she was facing to make a difference. Yinka needed help.

Upon returning to Chicago the team began thinking about how they could help Yinka. While collaborating with other professionals and making plans, stories started to come from other countries around the globe. A mother from Bangladesh fled her country and left her family to bring her young daughter with autism to the United States because there was no proper treatment available in her country. A family from Vietnam brought their son to the United States for evaluation because there is not a word for autism in Vietnamese. The team realized the lack of information which leads to effective intervention for children with autism was much bigger than Yinka and Nigeria – it was a worldwide problem.

AACTION was born – with the motto “Action speaks louder than words”. AACTION is the only organization in existence that is addressing the issues of global autism through hands on training – all at no cost to the countries we visit. In May of 2007, AACTION brought Merry and Jayashree to Chicago for training and planning. Based on the meetings and the mission of AACTION there are several goals for working with India:

After a 3-5 year commitment to India, there will be two centers (Bangalore and New Delhi) where parents, doctors, and teachers struggling with autism can go for training and information in best practice treatments of children with autism

AACTION will train autism professionals in the use of effective diagnostic instruments to better identify individuals with autism

AACTION will work with Inidan researchers to stimulate interest and projects relating to autism

AACTION will learn and benefit from Indian professionals and parents from their vast experiences working with children with autism

In the future the goal for AACTION Autism is to have several training teams traveling the globe to help countries that are seeking information in the same ways they are helping India.

AACTION could not be more excited to send our first training team abroad. The team that is traveling to India in January is made up of doctors, educators, and a video documentarian. Through hard work, determination, and the generosity of individuals and organizations like The Young Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago they have raised the funds necessary to send the volunteers. To keep costs down the trip has little frills – accomodations will be sleeping bags on the floors of friends and family and there is little time for sightseeing and rest. As an organization, AACTION is extremely proud of the fact that over 90% of donations do directly towards our mission.

After years of planning and work, AACTION is finally ready to be the change we want to see in the world.