NEXT for AUTISM is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 to address the needs of autistic people and their families. The organization was founded by Laura and

Harry Slatkin Harry Slatkin (born August 14, 1960) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. ''The New York Times'' called him the "king" of home fragrance and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Elton John use his home fragrances. Founder ...

and Ilene Lainer. One of NEXT for AUTISM's most well known accomplishments was opening the first charter school in New York to exclusively serve autistic students. Every two years, NEXT for AUTISM partners with

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

to produce an autism benefit called "Night of Too Many Stars". The event features performances from various comedians frequently including

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

, Amy Poehler, and

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

. The organization also founded Project SEARCH Collaborates for Autism, a program to help autistic high school students transition from school to work. In June 2013, they opened the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain on the New York-Presbyterian Westchester campus to provide clinical services to autistic people throughout their lives. The organization began as the New York Center for Autism, then changed its name to New York Collaborates for Autism in 2012. It has since changed its name to NEXT for AUTISM. In April 2021,

Mark Rober Mark B. Rober is an American YouTuber, engineer, inventor, and educator. He is known for his YouTube videos on popular science and do-it-yourself gadgets. Before YouTube, Rober was an engineer with NASA for nine years, where he spent seven y ...

and Jimmy Kimmel announced they would be hosting a live stream in support of NEXT for AUTISM. As of May 1, they have raised over $3 million. The organization has received criticism for its endorsement of Autism Speaks and

applied behavior analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also called behavioral engineering, is a psychological intervention that applies empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance. ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.nextforautism.org/ Autism-related organizations in the United States Mental health organizations in New York (state) 2003 establishments in New York City Organizations established in 2003