Nonprofit Highlight: Autism Connections

Autism Connections’ mission is to uplift the Southwest Ohio autism community through education, connections, resources, and lifelong support. Formerly known as the Autism Society Greater Cincinnati (ASGC), they were founded by local parents and professionals in 1971. They work with autistic individuals and their families from diagnosis through their lifespan, offering a variety of programs, activities and supports. In the 50+ years since their founding, they have grown to be the leading resource in Cincinnati for individuals and families living with autism.

Their programs include:

• Multiweek L.I.F.E. (Learning Independence for Everyday) Skills for teens and adults that explore social and workplace relationships. In Fall 2024, they will add a financial literacy course to the L.I.F.E programs.
• Support groups for teens, adults, siblings and parents and recreational programs for all ages.
• Autism Helpline, their longest running program, offers connections and resources to anyone with a question about autism.
• A variety of community, business, and first responder trainings to grow awareness and acceptance of autism. Their goal is to help the broader community better understand autism.

“PBPO has been an invaluable resource for Autism Connections. They have helped ensure that our organizational policies are sound and reviewed them as we have grown. One of the biggest ways PBPO has supported us is when we made the decision to leave the national network and become an independent nonprofit. Our 501(c)(3) was associated with a group exemption and there was a great deal of paperwork and hoops to navigate to make us an independent nonprofit. This was a daunting task to begin with and would have also been a very expensive and cost prohibitive task had we taken it on without PBPO. Now as a fully local Cincinnati nonprofit, we are able to make decisions about how we serve our local community that brings the most benefit to our community.” – Mary Helen Richer, CEO

Learn more about Autism Connections and their programs