The National Autism Association of North Texas (NAA-NT) is a 501c3 non-profit organization established in 2008. NAA-NT is a chapter of the National Autism Association, a well-established and well-respected national organization serving families with autism. We are a 100% volunteer-driven organization. Our board members are mothers who have children with ASD and professionals who work with children and individuals on the autism spectrum. We are a group of women who diligently work to remove the isolation often felt by bringing the community together to better our children’s lives. We award scholarships for therapies, medical needs, communication and safety devices, and advocacy.
Our Needs
NAA-NT is raising funds to support our scholarships, grants, community events, and support groups for the next 12 months. North Texas Giving Day is our biggest fundraiser of the year. The dollars donated during this campaign set our budget for the year and determine how many scholarships and grants we are able to provide for our local families. Since 2008, NAA-NT has awarded over $200,000 in scholarships and grants to our North Texas community.
Families apply for scholarships to serve a variety of needs. Scholarships are applied towards therapies, treatments, insurance deductibles, communication devices, advocacy support, biomedical interventions, homeschool needs, and more. Drowning is the number one cause of death in children with autism. Therefore, we believe learning to swim is a vital life-saving skill for children with ASD. To support this need in our community, we award swim scholarships to qualifying families every summer to support the cost of swimming lessons.
Families can also apply for emergency grants due to job loss, funeral services, and other unforeseen life events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Oftentimes, grants are applied toward mortgage payments, rent, and utility expenses. Grants may also be used to provide support after a natural disaster. For example, we were able to award over $8,000 to victims of Hurricane Harvey. This enabled families to stay in places more suitable for their children or buy emergency supplies and special diet foods.