The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Autism is to improve the quality of life for individuals with autism and their families through facilitating cooperation among service providers, building community awareness, providing professional development activities, and supporting families and caregivers through diagnosis and referral, workshops and trainings, activities and support groups, and advocacy for public policy.

Our Focus

Working together with persons with autism, their families, caregivers, and other organizations, agencies, and individuals in the Northwest Ohio region:

• The Great Lakes Center for Autism influences policy and practice to ensure the best possible education, care, support and life opportunities for persons of all ages with autism in the region.
• The Great Lakes Center for Autism raises public awareness about what autism is, and how it affects the lives of individuals and families in the region.
• The Great Lakes Center for Autism provides and promotes exemplary services and training in education, care, support and life opportunities for persons of all ages with autism, as models of innovation and excellence in practice.

Our constituents include:

• Persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
• Family and caregivers of persons with autism spectrum disorders
• ASD Service Providers and System of Care
• Academic Community—ASD Research and Training
• Northwest Ohio Region

Our Vision

Northwest Ohio will be a place where individuals with autism and their families/ caregivers can thrive, where ASD services across the lifespan are easily accessible, coordinated, integrated, non-duplicative, sustainable and of the highest quality.

Our Goals

GLCA's overarching goal is that NW Ohio has adequate service system capacity for persons with ASD and their caregivers, across the life span. To fulfill this goal the following goals have been identified:

• Ensuring Access to Services across the Lifespan
• Ensuring Quality of Life across the Lifespan
• Creating Plan for a Building to House GLCA
• Bringing Influence to Bear on Decision Makers
• Widening Understanding about Autism
• Acting as regional center for NW Ohio and SE Michigan
• Promoting and facilitating training/research site for the academic community
• Support Processes – Governance, Finance, Funding, Monitoring, Evaluation and Review.