Making Donations Work for Autism

Autism Speaks couldn’t be happier to have Toys“R”Us – and the “R”Us family – as a national partner. This joint venture has propelled our efforts in funding critical and ground-breaking research into the causes, treatments and an eventual cure for autism.

It’s a sobering fact that autism has increased by 600% over the past two decades, now affecting 1% of the U.S. population. We need to know why this is happening, and we need to know now. The funds and awareness raised through our partnership with the “R”Us family, have allowed us to examine more closely the etiology, biology, diagnosis and treatment for autism. Plainly, we are looking to solve a mystery. Research and programs we fund today will one day allow us to answer these questions:

• Why does someone get autism?
• What are the biological problems associated with autism?
• How do we know if someone has autism?
• How can we help individuals with autism?
• How do we translate autism science into practice?

Finding the answers to these questions has been put on the fast track. But we could not begin to do this without considerable resources. The “R”Us family has been a supporter of our organization since 2007, and we are tremendously grateful.

Additionally, donations received from Toys“R”Us are beginning to filter into our communities. To date, Autism Speaks has provided $1.9 million in funding for Family Services Community Grants to help programs across the country expand existing programs and create new ones that demonstrate true innovation. These grants aim to promote services that enrich the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and focus on several special areas of need: Education, Recreation/Community Activities, and Young Adult and Adult Services.

We thank Toys“R”Us and all our corporate sponsors and donors for helping us get closer to achieving our goals and those of the autism community.

Mark Roithmayr

President, Autism Speaks