During 2002, a group of four parents began talking about the need for a support group that provides education, advocacy, and networking for families who have a member with autism spectrum disorder. This group represented two families from Rockingham County with young children, one family from Harrisonburg with two adult children living at home, and one family from Rockingham with an adult, living away in a residential school.

The group met with Sally Chappel, a former teacher of students with autism who is now a coordinator with the Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC) at James Madison University, to begin exploring the possibility of starting an ASA Chapter in the Shenandoah Valley. Parents, professionals and interested parties met in April 2003 to begin work on this endeavor.

After many months of hard work the steering committee discovered that the National ASA changed their policy for new chapters. Because of the high costs and requirements associated with starting a chapter, the team decided that it would be in the best interest of this group not to pursue this affiliation at this time. The team proposed a new name (The Shenandoah Valley Autism Partnership) and began seeking other avenues to become a formal organization.

After researching several options the committee concluded that the best route would be to become an affiliate of The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. The Arc Board supported this decision and has provided great support to this organization.

Currently, we have a steering committee representative of parents and professionals who meet to plan events and make decisions about the organization. A representative from the committee is the liaison between the Shenandoah Valley Autism Partnership and The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. This person attends The Arc’s executive board meetings.