Human beings, working together, created our systems and human beings, working together, can change them.

Who We Are:  Click here for general information about the Commission. 

The Commission’s Next Steps:  In 2020, OCASD began a new phase to begin to solve some of the most frustrating problems facing our community.  We have created a new Long-Term Vision and Strategic Plan to guide our work. Click here to see these documents. As of November, 2022, all Commission slots except the one for an Oregon House member were filled.  However, some members resign before their terms end and several of our members are currently holdovers who will step down once we have found replacements.  So if you are interested in becoming a Commission member, we invite you to contact our staff at staff@orcommissionasd.org.  We circulate Commission member openings to all who have expressed an interest in the past.  

The Commission has four subcommittees at present and will launch a fifth in January (the Subcommittee on Social Services and Adult Supports).  We are actively recruiting for this fifth subcommitee and would also like to launch subcommittees on health care and education when we have enough members.  There are no limits on the size of subcommittees, and for some members subcommittee membership is a way to get familiar with the work before committing to becoming Commission members.

Oregon’s Challenge:  We need to provide better supports for families raising autistic children and caring for autistic youth and adults at home.  We need to improve services to youth and adults based on actual needs and what current science tells us.  We need to improve processes and funding to better integrate services and supports that exist in separate, sometimes conflicting silos.  We need to improve services within health care, education, and social services.  We need to address the long-term needs of the growing population of autistic adults.  We need to better educate a broad range of professionals about human behavior generally and autism specifically.    Finally, we need to collaborate with others in the disability and broader communities to pursue common goals. 

How You Can Help.  Our Participation Opportunites page explains the different ways you can help. 

What’s in It for You?  You can help make needed change in the lives of autistic individuals and their families.  You will learn and share what you know about autism and add to the big picture of how services and supports are delivered in Oregon.  You will get information that is useful in your personal or professional life.  You will meet people who care about autism from all over the state.  If you choose to take on a leadership role, you can grow your skills by managing a collaborative process with the support of Commission leadership.

Diversity.  OCASD is especially interested in expanding its ethnic, gender, and geographic diversity.  We encourage participation by anyone in the broader autism community who is also part of an underserved community (black, indigenous, people of color, other ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+) and/or who lives in a rural area of the state.