National Council on Severe Autism

[5] This has drawn criticism from parents who dislike describing some people as having 'severe' autism and who consider the NCSA's blog posts about families' lived experiences to be "horror stories".

[10] The gap between the parents of children with severe autism and the autistic self-advocates can be traced, in part, back to the decision of the DSM-5 to merge all autism-related conditions into a single spectrum.

[13][citation needed] Amy Lutz, a founding member, has written about her experiences as the mother of a son with severe autism.

[11]: 98–100  Autistic self-advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union have criticized many HBCSs for isolating residents from the wider community and failing to provide them with fully paid work.

[11]: 100  Her experience in New Jersey, when Tyler Loftus eloped from a group home, and spent three weeks in jail while the state struggled to find another residential placement for him, convinced her of the power of parents advocating for the needs and safety of their children.

[11] She has expressed frustration with neurodiversity advocates who "cherrypick naive feel-good stories" and consequently minimize the reality of severe autism.

[14][15] Other founding board members include Judith Ursitti of Autism Speaks, Feda Almaliti, Lisa Parles, Frank Campagna, Gloria Satriale, and Matthew Siegel.

This bumper sticker warns first responders that they may encounter a child with special needs.
The NCSA supports the use of some restraints. [ 5 ] A restraint such as this child harness may be necessary to prevent a child from being injured or killed [ citation needed ] , because some people with severe autism are unable to recognize dangerous situations, such as running into a busy street. [ citation needed ]