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Social Impact and Purpose

Bay Area Teen Makes Therapy Accessible for Children With Autism and Their Families

Born from his experiences with therapy and working with neurodiverse individuals, Daily Point of Light honoree Anshul Gupta co-founded and currently serves as president of AUesome, an initiative using technology to make educational and therapeutic resources more accessible to children with autism. 
Diane Quest

Diane Quest

5 Min Read

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Anshul Gupta. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.  

Anshul Gupta, a high school senior from Sunny Vale, California, has dedicated much of his extracurricular life to the neurodiverse community. Born from his experiences receiving therapy and working with neurodiverse individuals, he co-founded and currently serves as president of AUesome, an initiative using technology to make educational and therapeutic resources more accessible to children with autism. 

Founded in 2020, AUesome already boasts an impressive number of initiatives to serve children and families across the world, beginning with its hallmark offering, autism therapy kits. Anshul’s hope is to ease the financial and physical barriers to therapy by consolidating and designing these therapy kits to bring treatment tools directly to families.  

To date, he has delivered nearly 17,000 activities to 550 parents, educators and organizations across 25 states and seven countries. These kits encompass a variety of activities, accompanied by additional resources via the organization’s website, which proudly displays its motto: “Bridging the digital and physical world of at-home therapy, one kit at a time.” 

AUesome’s therapy kits help with communication skills, sensory skills, fine motor skills and more. Along with the kits, AUesome’s e-learning platform (which is currently being developed into a mobile app) includes instructional videos for parents and caregivers to educate themselves on how to provide therapy to their children in an at-home setting. This doesn’t necessarily negate the need for children to work with a therapist, but it makes consistent and ongoing therapy more accessible to families.

Anshul serves as president of AUesome, volunteering directly with kit recipients as well as forging partnerships with organizations and spearheading new initiatives./Courtesy Anshul Gupta

“I manage the entire program, providing therapy kits to children with autism – including their families – or working with schools, hospitals or companies,” Anshul says of his role at AUesome. “In existing therapeutic systems, there often are large physical or financial barriers that hinder individuals from receiving therapy. This issue is pretty prevalent and the pandemic only exacerbated it.” 

Anshul, who has volunteered much of his time with children with special needs, also grew up with a stutter. These experiences inspired him to start an organization that could help better meet the needs of the neurodiverse community. AUesome has worked with over 35 different professionals to use the kits, gaining new perspectives from professors, parents, doctors, therapists and kids. These repeated uses allow Anshul to modify the design to increase effectiveness.  

Aside from therapy kits, AUesome has launched an initative to create chapters, where students in high school or college can receive materials to help them with leadership and networking, as well as advocacy and spreading awareness about neurodiversity and the need for therapy. This new conduit allows students to be digital advocates in their own communities. So far, the organization has 17 chapters around the globe. 

“We’re also hoping to expand more across the world through our global outreach initiative,” Anshul shares. “We’re currently working with the Brazilian government, Ukrainian hospitals, people in Canada, India and beyond, in an effort to make a bigger impact beyond just in the United States.” 

Anshul and the AUesome organization has been featured in over 15 podcasts and news channels, including Think Kindness, CharityU, America Trends, CBS. Notably, Anshul got the opportunity to speak at South by Southwest EDU, winning their Student Competition and Diamond Challenge. He was also awarded the Equity Thru Entrepreneurship Award. 

Anshul helps distribute therapy kits, which include nearly 17,000 activities, to parents, educators and organizations across the globe./Courtesy Anshul Gupta

“It was exciting seeing new faces from across the entire industry,” Anshul says of speaking at South by Southwest. “I got to meet teachers, people leading ed tech companies, executives, even parents just wanting to learn more about the industry. Even though it was intimidating, it was a great opportunity to share my journey and help educate others.” 

As AUesome continues to design and develop kits and work on a mobile app – which will include games, additional videos and progress tracking – Anshul is grateful for contributions from supporters. AUesome currently has a Go Fund Me campaign to help raise funds to distribute more kits and keep expanding their efforts.  

“It’s always important to have a drive to do something more meaningful in the world around you, using your background and previous experiences,” Anshul says of volunteering. “You can do something beyond yourself, something that really has an influence on society – whether it’s in your local community or across the globe. By getting involved in something you’re truly passionate about, you can really transform the lives of others while also having a fulfilling process that benefits you too.”  

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Anshul? Find local volunteer opportunities.  

This post was written by Points of Light Staff. Points of Light collaborates with voices from various writers to help tell inspirational stories of leadership, volunteerism and civic engagement. We recognize that there are many ways to be civically engaged, as outlined in Points of Light’s Civic Circle, and we are grateful to our writers for helping us illustrate the impact of how everyday actions can change the world. 

  • civic engagement
  • Community
  • Daily Point of Light Award
  • Inspiration
  • Leadership
  • volunteering
Published January 11, 2023

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Author(s)

  • Diane Quest

    Diane Quest

    Chief Operating Officer

    Points of Light

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    Diane Quest is the chief operating officer at Points of Light and has served as an executive leader with the organization since 2016. The Points of Light Board of Directors has appointed her interim President and CEO, beginning December 1.   An accomplished nonprofit executive, she brings 20 years of experience in management, strategy, and external affairs, including marketing and communications, event production and experience, and partnerships. In her tenure at Points of Light, she has served in a variety of roles as a member of the executive leadership team responsible for enterprise strategy, and most recently she served as chief external affairs officer, where she was responsible for brand strategy, the annual Points of Light Conference, The George H.W. Bush Points of Light Awards and Celebration, and The Daily Point of Light Award.   Diane has an extensive background in strategic and crisis communications. In her previous role at MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership she successfully led a rebranding effort, a strategy that resulted in increased visibility in earned media and social media, and the doubling of registration at the organization’s annual national conference. Prior to MENTOR, she was a consultant with Camino Public Relations, a boutique firm with a focus on social justice nonprofit clients.   She served at The Pew Charitable Trusts as the communications manager for a jointly sponsored advocacy project with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Prior to her work at Pew, Diane was the national media director at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She managed the development and implementation of media relations campaigns to advance the mission of the $1 billion reproductive health care and advocacy organization.   In addition to her nonprofit work, Diane also has experience working within the federal government. She was the media and legislative affairs liaison for the inspector general at the U.S. Department of State. Before entering the field of communications and public relations, she was a television journalist. She has a Master of Arts in political science from American University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
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