SPECIAL INITIATIVE GROUPS
To facilitate the development of more focused and fruitful activities relevant to cohesive subsets of Consortium members, the AAC has developed a process to form Special Initiative Groups (SIGs). Since individual organizations may not be able or motivated to support these mission-specific activities, it is suitable for the Consortium to take the lead. SIGs are focused efforts formulated by a subset of Consortium members to pursue a mission-specific activity.
The AAC includes the following SIGs:
1) Autism Awareness and Education through the Arts (active since 2013): The goal of this initiative is to provide awareness and acceptance of autism and associated neurodiversity, through education and by using the arts as a popular medium and teaching tool. This SIG collaborates for instance with the CDC and other local/national organizations to implement the annual Autism event in April, especially the “Autism through the Arts” segment of the event.
2) Leadership Training and Social Networking For and With Young Autistic Adults (active since 2015): The overall goal of this initiative is to build an active community of young adults members of the AAC. If you would like to mentor young adults transitioning to adulthood or if you are yourself a young autistic adult looking for increasing your social and professional network and leadership skills, join us!
3) Research Collaborations: The purpose of this SIG, reflecting the initial activities of the Consortium, is to facilitate and improve scientific communication and research collaborations between scientific members of the AAC community. This SIG is currently seeking interested members and leaders.
4) Policy and Insurance Reform (active from 2013-2015): The mission of this SIG is to propose a plan to help reform Georgia’s insurance laws to provide improved insurance coverage and treatment for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. This SIG was a key player in the drafting and ultimately passing of the “autism insurance reform SB 1”, better known as Ava’s Law, in 2015.
5) PreK-12 Education: The purpose of this SIG is to empower people living with autism and other similar disabilities through their educational experiences. We seek to engage all relevant stakeholder communities involved in educating individuals with autism from preK through high school. This SIG is currently seeking interested members and leaders.
6) Better Living Together: Better Living Together (BLT) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in the fall of 2016. They are a diverse group of parents, caregivers, and individuals with disabilities in the greater Atlanta area who have come together to create inclusive affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities.
If you are interested in becoming a member of one (or several) of these SIGs, please join the AAC first. After becoming a member of the AAC you will also have the opportunity to join any SIG and to develop and propose SIGs on new topics.
For more details, you may also email our Executive Director at salvarez@atlautism.org.