Autism Awareness Association - Davis

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6428835843/

Contact Email

[email protected]

Established

2007

Club Office Location

One Shields Avenue, Davis

Meeting Times

Every other Wed at 7:10pm, See below

Meeting Location

Davis Campus Buildings

The Autism Awareness Association, founded in 2007, is a student organization at UC Davis that is dedicated to spreading knowledge about autism spectrum disorders. We are the first college student organization to promote education and awareness about autism spectrum disorders, and we accomplish this by working closely with the prestigious M.I.N.D. Institute in Sacramento and other organizations associated through the University of California, Davis and the surrounding community. Experts in the autism field often give short presentations at our general meetings to debunk some of the misconceptions of autism and other developmental disorders, such as researchers, teachers, and social workers. The Autism Awareness Association also offers connections to internships at the MIND Institute and participates in community service events, such as volunteering for the Special Olympics, which are just some of the opportunities for members to see how autism effects people in everyday life.

Officers

2016/2017

President: Amy Ezaki [email protected] President: Connor Osato [email protected] Treasurer: Gayathri Dileep [email protected] Secretary: Garrett Chan [email protected] Public Relations: Shailee Vishnubhatt [email protected]

Co-Founders: Jay Lytton [email protected], Tanya Shtutman [email protected]

Upcoming Events

2017 Autism Awareness Association 6th Annual 5k/2k Fun Run Saturday April 29th 2017 at the UC Davis West Quad. Registration begins at 8am. Payments can be made at http://www.active.com/davis-ca/running/distance-running-races/autism-awareness-6th-annual-fun-run-2017?int Also, if you have any questions, check out the Facebook event! https://www.facebook.com/events/263672367392204/

Past Events

First Fall Quarter 2015 General Meeting Wednesday Oct 14th in Olson 251. Learn about our organization, how you can get involved with children and adults who are autistic, and make new friends. We will be discussing upcoming volunteer opportunities and internships.

Autism Awareness at the MIND Institute Thank You Party 2015 Saturday, December 5 (Set-Up December 4) MIND Institute holds a party for all of the families that participated in research throughout the year. There will be activities and volunteers will have chance to get to know children of all ages and their families.

5K Fun Run 2016 Saturday, May 14, 2016. Autism Awareness Association will hold the 5th annual Fun Run. This event welcomes Davis and surrounding community members to be part of it, to run/walk, connect and raise awareness as a big family. Half proceeds from the event will be donated to Team Davis.

4th Annual Fun Run On Saturday May 2nd on the West Quad, we are holding our 4th annual Fun Run. Registration is $15 until 5/1 and $20 the day of the event. Registration includes the run/walk through the UCD campus, a tshirt, and food & water. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Team Davis.

3rd Annual Fun Run Saturday April 26th was our third annual run! Thank you all who came out and supported two amazing organizations, CARE and Team Davis. If you came to the event we are working on getting all the t-shirts to you! We hope to see you next year.

Second Spring 2014 Meeting Tuesday April 22nd we will be meeting at 7pm in Olson 151 to make posters for the Fun Run and go over final preparations before the big day! Look for an email that has a google doc where you can sign up to volunteer at the Fun Run. Also share the event with your friends so we can make this event a success!

First Spring Quarter Meeting Tuesday April 8th in Olson 141 at 7pm, we will have Mark Shen as our guest speaker. He is working on his PhD and specializes in cognitive neuroscience at the UCD MIND Institute. He recently just published an article based on the significant finding of extra axial fluid and its relation to autism.

Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign We are teaming up with Team Davis and Best Buddies on Wednesday March 5th to table to spread the word to end the use of the R-word. We will be tabling at the Silo and MU all day so individuals can take the pledge to stop the harmful use of the R-word. There will also be stickers and games, so make sure to stop by!

Brain Awareness Week The association will be supporting Brain Awareness Week by helping table at the Farmers Market on March 8th from 7am-1pm with the help of other devoted organizations. This is a great experience for those interested in research to talk to community members about their interest in autism and the technical side behind it.

Winter 2014 Meeting Tuesday January 21st we watched and discussed a couple videos about Autism and society.

Autism Awareness at the MIND Thank You Party At the end of the year, the MIND Institute holds a party for all of the families that participated in research throughout the year. This year the party was Space-themed and volunteers helped out with the decorations as well as monitored the bounce-houses. There were games and treats and volunteers socialized with children of all ages and their siblings or parents.

Fall 2013 Meeting Tuesday October 8th at 7pm in Olson 146. Dr. David Amaral, a distinguished professor and Director of Research at the UC Davis MIND Institute will be coming to speak about Autism and his research.

Volunteering

Running with Team Davis practices will start October 20th. The team practices Tuesday from 5:30-6:30pm at Community Park. More information contact Team Davis ([email protected])

Team Davis website: http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/olympics

Storytime Through the Seasons: Under the Persian Oak Autism Awareness members are encouraged to join the UC Davis Arboretum in reading stories and leading activities for local children, specifically children with special needs. This would be a great opportunity to work with children and their parents in a fun, low key setting. For more information, email Erin at [email protected].