Applications are open for the 2020 Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI) Leadership Academy! The ACI summer leadership training prepares Autistic students to engage in disability advocacy on their college campuses.  ACI participants learn about making student groups, understanding disability policy, and talking to people in power. After the Academy, students get help from ASAN to meet their advocacy goals at their college.  ACI participants will travel to Washington D.C. from June 13th to June 20th, 2020. ASAN pays for travel and rooms for all ACI students.

Past students have learned new skills and information about topics in different fields, including disability policy, building student groups, intersectionality in activism, and campaign strategies.  During ACI, all participants go to the U.S. Capitol to meet with their Senators and Representatives’ offices about policies important to the disability community. After ACI is over, students return to their campuses to share what they’ve learned, improve campus accessibility, and create policy change on a local, state, and national level.

To apply for Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI), you must: 

• Be on the autism spectrum, or have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (an Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, PDD-NOS, or another Autism Spectrum Disorder). You do not have to have an official autism diagnosis to apply.
  
  
• Be a student at a college or university with at least one year left before you graduate.  Students in TPSID programs (Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities), 2-year community colleges, 4-year colleges, and graduate school are eligible to apply.
  
  
• Live in the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada (Please note: the policy sections of our program will focus on the United States).
  
  

We especially encourage students of color, LGBT students, low-income students, students with intellectual disabilities, AAC users, and students from other marginalized communities to apply.

To apply, please submit a completed application by Sunday, February 23rd, 2020 to Haley Outlaw at [email protected].

If you need assistance or accommodations at any stage, or have any questions about ACI, please contact Haley Outlaw at [email protected].