From Idea to Impact: Tackling Autism’s Greatest Challenges Together

Innovators across the globe are working to help people with autism live great lives filled with learning, engagement, safety, and independence. Many game-changing initiatives already exist in local communities, university labs, and the minds of entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, innovating in the autism space comes with a unique array of obstacles that leave the entire community falling behind. As a result, the distance between idea and impact has become too far to meaningfully challenge the magnitude and severity of autism. Multiple is working to change that.

 
 

A Challenge of Magnitude & Complexity

In the United States, over 5.4 million adults and 1.4 million children live with autism—a condition that is frequently accompanied by comorbidities like epilepsy, ADHD, self harm, anxiety, and fine motor and sensory challenges. The existing interventions for people with autism are not powerful enough to provoke change at such a large and complex scale.

 
 
 

Barriers to Equitable Opportunities

Individuals with autism and their families experience a wide range of challenges related to education, healthcare, and human services.

Many individuals lack access to diagnosis, treatment, and support. These barriers often lead to low-income or unemployment, even for those who have earned a high school or college degree. Others struggle to communicate verbally, navigate comorbidities, or live independently

 
 
 

A Fragmented Community

The early-stage autism innovation community is disconnected, disorganized, and disenfranchised.

Just as there are countless expressions of autism, there are an endless number of ways to treat it. The lack of clarity surrounding best practices is often at the source of the community’s divide. Behavioral therapists, who identify positive and negative behaviors, often compete with developmental therapists, who work to improve and enhance the abilities of their patients. When it comes to technology, many providers and payors are skeptical due to limited information and access.

 
 
 

Disintegrated Innovation, Too Slow to Emerge

Without a pathway for widespread access within the autism community, technology is often slow to emerge and difficult to execute.

  • Awareness of and access to innovative solutions is highly limited

  • High-potential products often struggle to gain traction outside of the laboratory

  • Funding is low due to misperceptions surrounding market viability

  • Payors tend to lack the expertise or incentives needed to adopt new solutions

  • State-level support is limited, inconsistent, and unreliable

  • Without a centralized platform to convene around, critical networks remain disconnected

 
 
 

Accelerating Towards Positive Impact Together

 

At Multiple, we bring together leaders, innovators, advocates, mentors, philanthropists, and partners around innovative solutions for the largest challenges facing autism.

  • Increase awareness of the unmet needs of the autism community

  • Break down the barriers surrounding technology and innovation

  • Support innovators who are building life-changing interventions

  • Enable institutions and individuals to elevate and adopt solutions more quickly

  • Address ongoing market gaps and inaccessibility

 
 

Generating Impact With Accountability and Multiple Returns

 

Social and financial returns go hand in hand. In order to track and elevate these returns, we measure a wide range of qualitative and quantitative properties, including:

  • Number of people with autism and caregivers served

  • Number of people employed and educated

  • Funding growth rates

  • Number of new funders

  • Number of funded start-ups

Learn More

If you want to learn more about our unique and actionable insights, reach out.