How Do I Get Involved?

CARES Collaborator Information

At CARES (Community-led Autism Research, Engagement, and Service), we’re building a team of Autistic collaborators to shape research from the ground up. If you’re passionate about shifting the narrative on Autism research, we’d love to have you join us.

Who can be a Collaborator?

To be part of the CARES team, you’ll need to:

• live in the United States.

• be 18 years or older.

• have an autism-related diagnosis or self-identify as Autistic.

• use any form of multimodal communication—AAC users are absolutely welcome.

• be able to access the internet and project platforms (e.g., email, Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom), with or without support.

• be able to meet the responsibilities outlined below.

What does a Collaborator do?

As a CARES collaborator, you’ll:

• attend virtual meetings twice a month on Zoom.

  • You can participate by speaking, using the chat, or both.

  • Meetings will be about 1 hour long.

• contribute between meetings by communicating with the team and completing tasks as needed.

• plan for about 1 - 2 hours of work per week outside of meetings (this may change depending on the project and your role).

• check your email or Slack at least once a week for project updates.

• meet deadlines the team agrees on.

• communicate respectfully and collaboratively with the team.

For more details about what it means to be part of research, visit our “What is Research?” and FAQ pages.

How to Apply and Join the Team

We’re committed to building a diverse team—including collaborators with different skills, interests, support needs, racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities, and lived experiences. We especially encourage non-speaking or minimally-speaking Autistic people, and Autistics with intellectual disability, to apply.

Support people are welcome to help you complete forms, communicate with the team, and attend meetings if needed. No research experience or formal education is required to be a collaborator.

We’ll select collaborators based on:

• meeting the requirements listed above.

• ability to fulfill the collaborator responsibilities.

• ensuring a diverse mix of experiences and perspectives on the team.

Preference will currently be given to those who can commit to staying with the project through the academic year (June 2025 - June 2026). That said, we continuously collect applications for our waitlist with the goal of eventually giving as many opportunities as we can to those interested.

To Join CARES:

1. Fill out the online application form.

2. Sign the consent form.

If selected, you’ll also need to:

• Sign a confidentiality agreement.

• Attend a project orientation meeting.

• meet CITI IRB training requirements.

Questions? Contact us.