Joining Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer at Danya, in speaking at the event:

• Ms. Ayda Sanver, original creator of AutismOnline.com and parent of a young girl with autism, commented “Seeing the new site with all its features and enhancements is like watching a child grow up.”
• Dr. Laura Anthony, Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Children’s National Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine, provided an overview of the significance of Web sites like AutismOnline.com. She encouraged audience participants to continue to search for resources for the autism community.
• Dr. Roy Richard Grinker, Professor of Anthropology in Human Sciences and International Affairs at George Washington University and researcher, writer, and father of a 19-year-old daughter with autism, presented on how autism is perceived in the United States and other cultures around the world. He discussed prevalence rates, socioeconomic barriers, and myths about autism in South Africa, South Korea, and India.
• Dr. Cynthia Baker, Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator at Danya, reported on several Danya-developed autism-related products, and introduced a video montage of products developed by Danya. To view the video, please click here.

A demonstration of the new AutismOnline.com web site was provided. The new web site includes an interactive toolbar at the bottom of the screen, which allows users to search within the AutismOnline.com web site and on Google, translate pages into twelve different languages, and share website pages over several forms of media, including Facebook, Twitter, and email. The toolbar also allows real-time user statistics, including how many people are currently viewing the site, what pages they are viewing, and geographic location. A widget will be added to the Web site, which will feature YouTube videos of clips from the AutismVision: Creating Connections product series and other autism products, a Twitter feed that streams all tweets that mention “autism”, Facebook, and direct access to the Web site’s shopping cart.

Danya has been developing and evaluating educational products for individuals of all ages with ASD since 2002. “By providing an online community resource for research-based, high-quality, affordable products created by Danya and other autism organizations, AutismOnline will provide much needed access to resources for the autism community,” Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman.