The mission of the Autism Society of America is to promote lifelong access and opportunities for persons within the autism spectrum their families, to be fully included, participating members of their communities through advocacy, public awareness, education, and research related to autism.
The chapter's purposes are:

l. To support and advocate for the general welfare of persons with autism and related disorders;

2. To support the advancement of all ameliorative preventive therapy, research, care, and cure of persons with autism;

3. To increase public awareness of autism throughout the greater Philadelphia area and to support public awareness throughout Pennsylvania and the United States of America;

4. To support the education and training of persons with autism and to foster the development of integrated care on their behalf;

5. To support the establishment of diagnostic, therapeutic, educational, recreational, employment and residential services for persons with autism;

6. To serve as a hub for information networking among the 5-county area.
MEMBERS CONSIST of BOTH FAMILY MEMBERS and PROFESSIONALS. Members can submit information for the Autism community.

Two other listservs are restricted to family members.
**For parents, relatives and caregivers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, who are interested in an exchange of information and support between family members, TalkASAPhilly is available. Messages are posted without the moderator's approval. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/TALKASAPhilly/

**For Families of Older Adolescents, age 17+ and Adults, FamiliesOfAdultsAutism-ASAphilly is available for parents, relatives and caregivers of older adolescents and adults. Messages are posted without the moderator's approval. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/FamiliesOfAdultsAutism-ASAphilly/