Our Focus
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming and empowering multicultural communities by providing effective support and education for autistic children and their families.
Education & Training
Understanding what autism is and what it is not is essential in creating an environment that supports an autisic individual and helps them to thrive. Through video and in person trainings, MAAN seeks to educate not only the families with autistic individuals, but also the service providers and special educators who need to understand how to interact, engage and create an optimimum environment for growth.
One-on-One & Group Support
Finding out that you have a loved one with Autism opens a door into a whole new world.
We provide one-on-one and group support for families that have received an autism diagnosis and are unsure what they should or should not be doing.
Advocacy
Legislative changes can have a big impact on the amount of resources available to the autistic community. MAAN has taken on the responsibility to actively communicate the impact of such changes, essentially becoming the voice of the communities they serve. MAAN brings the community to the legislative process and, in turn, brings the legislative process to the community - building awareness and understanding, and establishing a secure future for those directly affected.
Our
Programs
These are a few of our most recent programs. Each and every year, we reach out to the multicultural communities within the Minnesota area, as well as to the providers who work with autistic indiviuals, to share our stories, our learnings and to empower these individuals with the knowledge and resources to make a visible difference.
All of our trainings are available in Somali, Oromo, and English. We can work in partnership with other organizations to provide presentations in other languages upon request.
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![A group of people wearing masks are standing in front of a banner that says sensory friendly vaccine event.]()
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![A group of people are posing for a picture together.]()
Focus Groups
Click Here to see our most recent focus group resultsMAAN regularly conducts focus groups with parents of autistic children to better understand their experience with encountering stigma, the challenges they face with obtaining resources, etc.
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![A woman is giving a child a high five in a classroom.]()
Educator Training
ButtonMaintaining a safe, nurturing environment outside of the home is crucial to the development of an autistic child. Our special educator training helps educators understand what an autistic child needs as a student, how to make them feel included and how to effectively communicate with their parents.
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![A dad and a child are taking a photo together.]()
Family Training
ButtonFamilies who have received a recent diagnosis may not know what they should be doing, what is covered by insurance, who they should be speaking with. MAAN provides the guiding hand for families in need with one-on-one training and support.
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![A camera is sitting on a wooden table next to a laptop and a cell phone.]()
Video Production
Click for our Video LibraryMAAN uses the medium of video to communicate with the Oromo, Somali and Spanish communities where language barriers have been a major barrier in the past
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![A group of children are posing for a picture together and smiling.]()
Advocacy
Click to Learn MoreFor those that do not understand the system or because of language barriers, stigma or other causes are unable to speak for themselves, MAAN is committed to be the voice of the voiceless and to to speak up and build awareness of the impacts legislation can have on the quality of life of the autistic individual.
Other Family Trainings
- How to prepare for a MNChoices assessment
- IEP basics: what parents need to know
- Transition from childhood to adulthood
- Charting the LifeCourse
- If I Knew then What I Know Know - Parent Stories about Raising Children with Disabilities
Training for Providers
- Working in with multicultural communities - how to be a good guest
- Autism: what parents and autistic adults want you to know about working with our children
- Dismantling ableism: a primer for providers
- Disability stigma in multicultural communities
