John,

Missing out on early detection and treatment can have lifelong consequences for a child on the autism spectrum.

As early as age 2-and-a-half, Karl showed signs of his autism. He would line all his toys in rows and obsess about mechanical things versus connecting with people. But young Karl was never diagnosed or treated.

Much later, at age 44, he saw the movie "Rain Man" and his long-held suspicions were triggered. "I remember seeing it and thinking to myself, boy, this guy’s a really extreme version of myself," he says.

Throughout his career as an electronics engineer, Karl had struggled with non-technical skills — flexibility, adaptability, social interaction, any kind of communication or management skills.

"I did an internet search about autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Every single trait, every single behavior directly applied to me."

A specialist confirmed Karl’s condition. If he had known earlier why learning new things, adapting quickly and simply communicating were such challenges, it might have changed a lot. Relationships. Promotions. Even being downsized out of a job he excelled at.

Still, Karl did find a tight-knit support group of other autistic adults. Now he leads the meetings for a group focused on social events especially for this community.

Today your gift DOUBLES because of an anonymous $250,000 matching gift challenge.

Autism Speaks, through supporters like you, offers programs and other resources to help children, teens, adults and families come together. Our services empower even those who learn about their autism very late to build lives of joy and fulfillment.

Now, the Autism Speaks community has some exciting news about how we all can generate twice as much impact for people with autism, no matter when, where or how they discover their connection.

When you join our $250,000 matching challenge, you are playing a vital role in ensuring a more successful start in 2023 for the work we do and the resources and understanding we provide together.

Our Season of Giving opportunity to DOUBLE your gift today makes a huge impact in the lives of people with autism. John, thank you for caring about children and adults in the autistic community. When you give now you have the chance to help 2X more people like Karl get the help they need sooner.

P.S. If you’ve already donated, thank you. We’re updating our records now. If you haven’t had a chance, you only have a limited time to see your gift multiplied 2X to provide twice as many meaningful services.