Victoria Handy was diagnosed with autism at 17 and grew up without the supports she needed. Now, she’s driven by a dream to ensure autistic children—like her own daughter—have access to early diagnosis and care. Today, Victoria is studying to become a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. Her pursuit reminds us that behind every dream is a story of resilience and determination.
Stories like Victoria’s—an Autism Speaks Champion of Change—inspire our vision and shape the future of our work. These perspectives are essential to driving progress and ensuring our efforts reflect the communities we serve.
With your support, this year we’ve accomplished so much together:
- Secured $400M in federal funding for autism research and quality-of-life programs.
- Launched a groundbreaking grant program to empower autistic scientists.
- Delivered free, online Caregiver Skills Training to nearly 27,000 families, supported by live facilitators.
- Connected over 5,000 autistic jobseekers from 60 countries with workforce development opportunities through Workplace Inclusion Now™.
- Gave over 412,000 people access to local autism resources, and shared information with another 3.1 million people through social media and podcasts.
- Helped over 300,000 parents take the first step toward seeking help by offering access to a free autism screening tool.
As we look ahead to 2025 and celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are excited to continue to listen, learn, share, and build connections with autistic people and their families across the country—underscoring what matters most: putting autistic voices at the heart of everything we do to tackle some of the toughest challenges our community faces.
To that end, we are hosting the Empower Summit and Challenge this year to bring our communities together in Chicago, Houston, Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Columbus to strengthen our collective voice, highlight the experiences and ideas of autistic people, and reimagine what we can achieve together over the next20 years.
But we can’t do it alone. We need others to step up their commitments and focus their resources on the most urgent issues facing the autism community. This is the only way for stories like that of Victoria and millions of other autistic people to move from dreams to impact.
Thank you for your support and for working with us to realize a world where all people with autism can reach their full potential.
Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year!
Keith Wargo
President & CEO
Autism Speaks
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