Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia

Our motto is “Families Helping Families: Education. Community. Support.”

Education

Parents Of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC-NoVA) and its predecessor organization has worked for more than three decades to improve the quality and quantity of education for students with autism in Northern Virginia.

By meeting regularly with the decision makers in Northern Virginia school districts, POAC-NoVA strives to keep our members’ concerns front and center. We have developed relationships that allow our members to not only have their concerns heard, but acted upon.

We also closely follow the education budget process at the local and state level and alert our members when programs that serve our kids are in jeopardy.

Community

POAC-NoVA offers a private member listserv and monthly newsletter when you join.

We also hold meetings several times per year on topics of interest to our community. Topics include expert advice on developing a successful IEP for your child, inclusion opportunities within schools, adapted sports and recreation opportunities for your child and your family, and many more.

Free childcare is generally available at these meetings. Learn more information about upcoming meetings.

POAC-NoVA also hosts a BBQ pool party in July and a holiday party in December.

Support

We offer support group meetings for parents several times per year, providing a forum to talk frankly to other parents who are dealing with this diagnosis. We have found that one of the best sources of information have been other parents who truly understand how autism affects not just one child, but the entire family. Please visit our Events page to see our scheduled group meetings.