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Emily Iland
Autism advocate and campaign champion, Santa
Clarita, California
Many People, Many Ways: How One Mom is Increasing
Awareness of Developmental Disabilities
 Emily
Iland wears many hats—mother, author, educator,
advocate. Though she plays numerous roles, one thing
remains constant: her passion for educating people
about developmental disabilities. Through her work,
she has also helped promote the “Learn the Signs.
Act Early.” campaign and has found unique ways to
incorporate campaign materials into her outreach
efforts.
Emily’s journey began at home when, after many years
of struggle and confusion, her son Tom was diagnosed
with autism at the age of 13. “At first, I did not
know how to help my own son,” says Emily. “Autism
was new to me. So, I devoted myself full time to
learning about it—attending conferences and
trainings, surfing the Net, reading books, and
networking with other parents.”
Emily was also fortunate to have the support of her
sister Barbara T. Doyle, an autism expert, who
guided her family through the process of learning
about autism and getting the help they needed. But
she couldn’t help thinking about those who were not
so lucky. Emily asked herself, “What about the
families who don’t have access to information and
resources? What about families who don’t speak
English? How can I help other families dealing with
autism?”
In 2004, Emily and her sister wrote a practical and
comprehensive guidebook for parents and
professionals entitled Autism Spectrum Disorders
from A to Z. Recognizing the lack of autism
information for Latino families, Emily decided to
translate the book into Spanish. The Spanish book,
Los Trastornos del Espectro de Autismo de la A a la
Z, has won two awards for its contribution to the
autism community.
Each time Emily mails a book order, she inserts a
“Learn the Signs. Act Early.” informational card so
that families have a quick list of key developmental
milestones, in English and Spanish. Emily and her
sister also developed a bilingual website and online
resource guide to reach more people.
Emily recently completed her master’s degree in
special education. She is also an active member of
several advocacy groups in her area and conducts
trainings throughout the country for a variety of
audiences. With the Santa Clarita Autism Asperger
Network, she conducted a free workshop for 50
preschool teachers to help them learn the signs of
developmental delays. “The preschool teachers
distributed ‘Learn the Signs. Act Early.’ campaign
materials to all of their parents,” says Emily.
“Since then, there has been an increase in requests
for services from the regional early intervention
program.”
As a member of Los Angeles Chapter of the Autism
Society of America, she helped launch the Los
Angeles Police Department Autism Awareness Project,
training more than 1,000 police officers to
recognize signs of autism so that officers will know
how to respond when they encounter people with
developmental disabilities. Emily also conducts a
bilingual Autism 101 program for parents through
Fiesta Educativa, a local advocacy organization. At
every training, she uses and distributes bilingual
campaign materials and encourages participants to
share them with others.
“The ‘Learn the Signs. Act Early.’ campaign
materials are a wonderful and needed resource,” says
Emily. “They can really make a difference and help
children living with disabilities be identified
sooner and receive the help they need.”
Emily gives consistent advice to parents who suspect
a delay: “Don’t be afraid. If you see differences,
get help.”
To learn more about Emily’s bilingual autism
resources, please visit www.asdAtoZ.com.
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