ASAN
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[image description: a rainbow-colored wheel with black text that reads "ASAN: Autistic Self Advocacy Network"]
Thumbnail image from autisticadvocacy.org
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) is a non-profit grassroots organization that is led by autistic people. They are the biggest autistic-led non-profit related to autism in terms of revenue. They were started in 2006 by Ari Ne'eman and Scott Robertson to counter the harmful narratives about autism that were at large. ASAN was also started as a way of getting more autistic people more involved within the greater Disability Rights Movement. They adopted the slogan "Nothing About Us Without Us" as a way of demonstrating their commitment to disability rights. Their focus is on federal autism policy. Initially, they were an all-volunteer organization comprised of people from across the United States and a few other countries as well. They eventually gained 501 (c)(3) status, making them a non-profit, around 2011 and opened their office in Washington D.C., where they have been based ever since.
ASAN Chapters
At first, ASAN operated with chapters. They did this both before and after they were established as a non-profit. ASAN did chapters until around 2017, when they moved to having affiliate groups instead. Below are the websites that remain from when they had chapters.
Logos
The current logo ASAN uses has several curved lines that represent the colors of the rainbow shaped to resemble a wheel. However, it is not the logo they have always used. Below is their original logo that they used from 2006 to around 2012 when it changed to what it is today.
[Image description: the letters "ASAN" colored in blue and gold. The As are gold while the S and N are blue. There is an arrow-like shape surrounding the letters, also colored in gold and blue]
ASAN has a YouTube channel that started in 2011. There are several videos on there that give an idea of what the organization does. Some of the content on their channel includes recordings of past galas, campaigns like Stop Combating Me and Autistics Speaking Day, and PSAs. It can be found in the link above.
Social Media
There was an event called Project for Awesome (P4A) that encouraged YouTubers to raise money for charities. ASAN participated in this, producing a short video starring Sam, who is non-speaking. It serves as a commercial of sorts for ASAN.
#StopCombattingMe was a campaign to change the name of the Combating Autism Act, which was first signed into law in 2006. It was up for renewal in 2014. Many autistic people found the name insulting and wanted to change it, as well as the goals of the act. A flashblog was started in collaboration with ASAN.