Founded by Dr. Lawrence P. Kaplan in 1995 as Special Abilities, then evolved in 2005 as the US Autism & Asperger Association, the organization was created to help individuals navigate the challenges of autism and related disorders. Team members Dr. Lawrence P. Kaplan, Dr. Phillip C. DeMio, Theresa Wrangham, Dr. Marlo Payne Thurman, and Dr. Stephen Shore, along with dozens of contributing speakers and volunteers hosted sixteen World Autism Conferences between the years of 2005 and 2018, with the 2010 World Autism Conference which streamed live around the world, reaching hundreds of thousands, making it the most viewed autism conference in history.

In 2018, the organization was renamed the US Autism Association. Then in 2019, Kaplan passed the torch of leadership to Dr. Marlo Payne Thurman who forwarded the mission during the Covid-19 Pandemic. From 2020 to 2025, Dr. Thurman interviewed and recorded the world’s leading autism experts, many who were either on the spectrum themselves or were parents of those diagnosed. This led to the creation of the US Autism Video Streaming Library which features over 150 hours of expert-driven content. In 2023, the organization hosted its 17th World Autism Conference in Loveland, Colorado.

In 2025, following an organizational restructuring and under the shared leadership of Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Thurman, the US Autism Association, is joined by US Autism World Alliance, World Autism Conference, and Divergent Learning World to meet the goal of expanding the work of the US Autism Association to a more diverse global audience. These entities, along with all US Autism associated names, brands, and projects, past and present, have come together under our a new 501(c)(3) non-profit Divergent World Collective to deliver world-class, expert-driven content, training, and professional development to help all who are divergent, worldwide, to continue to achieve their fullest potential.