National Autism Association

The National Autism Association (NAA) is a non-profit advocacy organization founded "to educate and empower families affected by autism and other neurological disorders." Major activities include sponsoring the annual National Autism Conference and funding research concerning controversial causes of autism, such as thiomersal in vaccines or leaky gut syndrome.
Research
Since 2005, NAA has been funding the Burbacher/Charleston study into the neurotoxic effects of mercury exposure in the brain. The study’s primary investigator, Thomas Burbacher of the University of Washington, conducted earlier research that found exposure to thimerosal, the ethylmercury based vaccine preservative, resulted in twice the amount of inorganic mercury deposits in the brain compared to equivalent amounts of methylmercury exposure.
NAA is sponsoring research on autistic enterocolitis, which aims to investigate the relationship between gastrointestinal disease and autism. The research team is led by Arthur Krigsman.
Leadership
Rita Cave Shreffler is the executive director, Wendy Fournier is the current NAA president, and Ann Brasher is the vice president.
The NAA board of directors includes Katie Wright (daughter of Autism Speaks founder Bob Wright), Deirdre Imus, and Lyn Redwood, a founder of SafeMinds.

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