"Team Michael" was started in 2014 and is led by Michael Cleary who is a young man with autism. Team members can commit to either running or walking a 5K on April 16, 2023 at the Garnet Valley High School track, or virtually sometime in the month of April. You are also welcome to join the team and create your own run or walk goal. All team members who complete a 5K run or walk will receive a medal, and those who raise $50 will receive a gold OAR run shirt.

Michael is a healthy and happy 19-year-old man whose life has been impacted by Autism. He likes to swim, play soccer and basketball, build puzzles, ride bikes and of course run with friends. His cognitive development is years behind his peers in school, and he requires assistance with tasks many of us take for granted. Michael is not dying from autism, but his disability certainly impacts his life as well as those that surround and care for him. There is so much about autism that we do not understand. What we do know is that the prevalence of autism is rising. We do not know what causes autism and there is no cure, but research provides hope and a promise of a better quality of life for those affected by autism. The incidence of Autism is growing at an alarming rate. Today, 1 in 44 children are born with autism.

Please help support OAR by making a contribution on behalf of "Team Michael" to our fundraiser and sharing this page with your family and friends. Every dollar we raise will advance Organization for Autism Research's great cause!

WHY RUN FOR AUTISM?
1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism. By joining the RUN FOR AUTISM team, you’re supporting OAR’s mission to fund research and resources that help people with autism and their families today.

Here are some of the ways that OAR uses the funds raised by the RUN FOR AUTISM team:

$10 provides a Curriculum in a Box professional development set to general education teachers.
$25 provides 15 copies of A Guide to Safety to families and first responders.
$100 provides the Kit for Kids peer education resource to an entire elementary or middle school.
$150 provides 100 copies of a Life Journey through Autism guidebook sent to a community support group or military installation.
$1,000 provides a research grant for a graduate student studying autism.
$3,000 provides a scholarship for a student with autism to attend college.
$40,000 fully underwrites an applied research pilot study.