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Partnerships for Empowerment, Autistic Acceptance, and Knowledge or PEAAK

We are community members who want greater access, understanding, and acceptance for autistic children and families with a focus on metro Atlanta. We developed the Georgia Autism Hub.

Our Values

  • Supporting meaningful outcomes for young autistic children

  • Empowering families with education, tools, and support to help their child and family

  • Strengthening connections across Georgia families and supports 

  • Improving understanding and acceptance of autistic and disabled individuals

Current Projects


We are an advisory board based in Atlanta. We support autism communities in Georgia by:

  • Supporting families before or following early autism diagnosis

  • Developing priorities for early intervention research

PEAAK Team

Past and Present Board Members

Our advisory board includes people with different autism experiences. We are advocates, parents, therapists, students, and community leaders.  

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Clarissa Blanco

Parent

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Emma Chatson

Graduate Student

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Dionna Douglas

Parent 

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Nina McKennon

Early Educator

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Michael Morrier
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Patrick Thorbourne

Clinic Executive Director

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Fredrick L. Bishop

Advocate

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Jennie Couture

Retired Community Leader

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Tranae Harris-Bingham

Mental Health Specialist

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Susan V. M. Perdue

Early Educator

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Arianne Weldon

State-Level Center Director

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Mayira Bunting

Community Leader

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Hannah Davies

Fulbright Fellow

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Nicole Hendrix

Psychologist

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Brittany Mauzy

Mental Health Specialist

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Katherine Pickard
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Kevin M. Byrd

State Level Deputy Director

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Eren Denburg Niederhoffer

Advocate

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Patrician Moran

Retired Early Educator

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Cidjah Somersall

Parent and Pediatrician

We also thank many others who have supported this resource, including:

Kadie Ulven Hopkins
Alisa Newsome
Megan Walsh
Tracy Argueta
Victoria Lane
Yvette Garrett
Marcus Neurodiversity Task Force

This project is supported by the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), and by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR‐P) grant, UT2MC39440. The information, content and/or conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by OAR, HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. The recipient owns the copyright for materials that it develops under an award issued pursuant to this notice, and HHS/OAR reserve a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use those materials for federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so. In addition, pursuant to 45 CFR § 75.322(d), the Federal Government and OAR have the right to obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use data produced under this award and has the right to authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for federal purposes, e.g., to make it available in government-sponsored databases for use by others. If applicable, the specific scope of HRSA rights with respect to a particular grant-supported effort will be addressed in the NOA. Data and copyright-protected works developed by a subrecipient also are subject to the Federal Government’s copyright license and data rights.

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