History

The work of the College Autism Network (CAN) began informally during the fall semester of 2014 as an initiative developed by Dr. Brad Cox who was then at Florida State University. CAN became a recognized nonprofit 501(c)3 organization in 2016 and shortly after, Cox was joined by Dr. Lee Burdette Williams, Dr. Brett Ranon Nachman, and Dr. Brittany Jackson as CAN’s first governing board, broadening its mission to become a membership association supporting autism and neurodiversity professionals and self-advocates through research, training and advocacy. In 2021, CAN entered into a partnership with the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University, where our work building and maintaining a network of higher education autism professionals and self-advocates complements the Frist Center’s mission of innovation in technology and the workplace in support of neurodiversity. CAN is, however, an independent organization with its own board of directors, advisory board and activities.

Each year, we host the College Autism Summit, a professional conference. Since 2017, the Summit has been a place for people who support autistic college students, and for self-advocates themselves, to gather and share resources, ideas and challenges. Over the years the Summit has grown from 70 attendees in its first iteration to more than 350 attendees attending its 2025 Summit. 

CAN has evolved to become a strong network of scholars, practitioners, employers, and self-advocates whose commitment to enhancing the access, experience and outcomes of autistic college students unites us in our work. CAN is a neurodiverse network of experts, committed professionals and new learners who share a desire to make postsecondary institutions better at serving a neurodiverse student population.