Illinois is home to a wealth of autism & special needs service providers. While it is wonderful to have abundant resources available, it can take parents countless hours to research all the options and find the best fit for their child. Likewise, it is difficult for service providers to connect with potential clients in this time of isolation and social distancing. 

To help parents and service providers better connect , Chicago Autism Network and The Answer Inc are teaming up to present the Autism & Special Needs Expo. At this virtual event, parents and exhibitors will be able to connect on one user-friendly app. Exhibitors will be able to personalize their profiles with text, images, videos and downloadable PDF brochures. They can also connect their own Zoom accounts (or other video conferencing apps) to the platform, enabling parents and service providers to see each other, and have live conversations. Attendees are incentivized to interact with exhibitors with our passport contest, where they get a stamp for interacting with exhibitors (liking, messaging, signing up for promos/emails). Attendees with the most stamps will be entered into a drawing for exciting prizes. 

Attendee registration is free (available at autismexpo.eventbrite.com), and our exhibitor fee is intentionally kept low, to encourage as many service providers and vendors to participate as possible. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Proceeds help Chicago Autism Network and The Answer Inc to support the local autism community with our programs and services. 

We hope you will join with us to help unite the local autism community! For questions, feel free to email kimi@chicagoautismnetwork.org or dvines@theanswerinc.org