Letter From the Director
At CASSI, our commitment to improving the lives of individuals with autism drives everything we do, from advancing research to expanding programs that support individuals and families across the lifespan. As we recognize Autism Acceptance Month, we are reminded of the importance of fostering understanding, inclusion, and access to high-quality care.
This month, we hosted our World Autism Month Miniseries, offering expert perspectives on topics such as AAC, medical care, neurodiversity-affirming behavioral supports, and safety considerations like wandering. These sessions are part of our continued effort to share practical, accessible knowledge with the communities we serve.
In this edition, we are pleased to introduce a new Employee Spotlight, featuring Dr. Yoreidy Tavárez and her leadership of Autismo Latino. This program provides culturally and linguistically responsive care for Latinx autistic children and Spanish-speaking families, helping to reduce barriers and improve access to services.
We are also looking ahead to our annual CASSI Golf Outing this August, which supports the CASSI Compassionate Care Fund and helps families access essential resources not covered by insurance.
Finally, we are proud to share our 2026 Impact Report in this newsletter, highlighting the progress we have made together and the meaningful impact of your support. Together, we are creating real, lasting change.
Warmly,
Rebecca Landa, PhD, CCC-SLP
Founder and Executive Director, CASSI
Kennedy Krieger Institute
Impact Report
2025 Impact Report: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures
What happens when research, care, and community come together?
At CASSI, it looks like earlier access to services, stronger outcomes, and more than 7,100 individuals and families supported this year alone. It looks like progress that reaches beyond our walls into homes, schools, and communities.
Our 2025 Impact Report offers a closer look at the work behind these numbers and the progress made possible through your support.
We invite you to take a closer look at all your generosity provides.
👉 Read the 2025 Impact Report
New Employee Spotlight Autismo Latino: A state-of-the-art clinic for Latinx autistic children and Spanish-speaking families
It is known that Latinx autistic children from Spanish-speaking families experience intensified barriers to care leading to delayed diagnosis and access to services. They also face difficulties navigating the complex medical system when communication is only or mainly available in English. Additionally, there is an increasing need for interventions that are culturally informed and empirically developed or adapted for the heterogeneous Latinx culture in the United States. To further identify and address these systemic barriers and needs at the local and national level, Dr. Yoreidy Tavárez, a bilingual (Spanish/English) child psychologist at CASSI, has expanded CASSI’s service line specializing in the care of Latinx, autistic children and their families.
The Latinx autism clinical program at CASSI, Autismo Latino, specializes in delivering innovative, culturally attuned, and collaborative clinical service models designed for Spanish speaking families. The goal of this state-of-the-art clinic is to improve the quality of clinical service and patient experience of Latinx children with autism. Dr. Tavárez oversees interdisciplinary bilingual diagnostic evaluation teams consisting of bilingual providers and coordinates care for Latinx families across CASSI disciplines (e.g., speech-language therapy, developmental pediatrics, social work), Kennedy Krieger departments, and the community.
The bilingual clinical team conducts evaluations and interventions in both English and Spanish, or completely in Spanish, depending on each patient’s needs. Dr. Tavárez is also adapting, trialing, and disseminating novel intervention models that are culturally informed to the perspectives and needs of Latinx families including a behavioral parent-training program for autistic children (RUBI in Spanish). Under her supervision, bilingual psychology fellows at CASSI also obtain unique clinical training in the delivery of empirically based assessment, and mental health and behavioral intervention models in Spanish, and address a gap in care by serving patients and families in their native language.
Through Dr. Yoreidy Tavárez’s visionary leadership, clinical expertise, and commitment to equity, Autismo Latino has emerged as a model for culturally and linguistically responsive autism care, meaningfully improving access, quality, and outcomes for Latinx autistic children and their families.
Turn Your Passion Into Impact
Everyone has something they care about—what if you could turn that into something meaningful?
With Fundraise Your Way, supporters are creating their own events and initiatives to benefit CASSI. From birthday celebrations and community events to fitness challenges and workplace fundraisers, people from all backgrounds are finding creative ways to make a difference.
Every fundraiser helps support programs, research, and resources for individuals with autism and their families. Expanding access to care and creating new opportunities for growth and independence.
Getting started is simple: choose your idea, share your story, and invite others to join you. Whether you’re personally connected to CASSI or simply want to give back, your efforts can have a lasting impact.
Research Spotlight
Our research has revealed the very early signs autism in toddlers. These include, for example, low rates of social imitation, inconsistent eye contact, immature play, and infrequent attempts to engage in social back-and-forth with others. We leveraged our discoveries to design an innovative early screener – the Social Communication Interaction and Play Screener (SCIPS). The SCIPS is a virtual, video guided screener for autism and communication delays in 1- and 2-year-olds. Parents complete the screener using their phone, tablet or computer. Duringthe SCIPS, parents view seven sets of brief videos illustrating and explaining expected developmental milestones and indicators of autism or communication delay in toddlers. Each set of videos focuses on specific aspects of early development. After each video se, parents answer questions about their child’s development. Families with, and without, concerns about their child’s development are invited to join our research to establish the SCIPS scores that would indicate whether or not a developmental assessment would be recommended. Having this information is important because early detection opens the door to early intervention access, improving outcomes. Learn more at Join the SCIPS Research Study Now! | Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Events
World Autism Month Miniseries – April 2026
In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, join us for our Autism Miniseries, a collection of virtual sessions featuring expert insights on important topics in autism care and support. Topics include AAC, medical FAQs, neurodiversity-affirming practices, and safety strategies.
Thursdays in April | 12–1 PM ET | Virtual
5th Annual CASSI Golf Outing – August 3, 2026 – Country Club of Maryland
Join us on Monday, August 3, 2026 for the Center for Autism Golf Outing. The event will be held at the Country Club of Maryland in Towson, MD. The proceeds from this event will benefit the Center for Autism Services, Science and Innovation at Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Save the Date: Celebrating Diversity, Driving Change-24th Annual Autism Conference October 20, 2026
Join us virtually this fall for our Annual Autism Conference, bringing together professionals, caregivers, and community members to explore the latest research and best practices in autism care and education.