Anita Sharma
Anita Sharma is an advocate, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and consultant serving children with autism and their families. Her dream to create a world with more inclusion and awareness led her to found the AttachAvi Autism Foundation in 2012, a non-profit where she creates and hosts free educational and social programs for local families of children with special needs. As a single mother of two children with autism and a cancer survivor, she knew the struggles these families faced and how few resources were available. From creating an annual talent show featuring the children she serves, to traveling to India to produce a massive autism awareness walk, she’s fostered a worldwide network of families seeking support. In addition to her community events, Anita advocates on behalf of dozens by helping parents secure much-needed services for their children from school districts and local agencies.
Her success with her non-profit led to her to found her most recent endeavor, the Shine Avi Learning Center where she serves over 100 families in the Central NJ area. Anita has designed a curriculum called “My Whole Child” that not only educates children on social, emotional, and academic skills, but mentors their parents, too. She believes that awareness is the first step in any parent’s journey and that it’s never a race to see how quickly a child can read or write. Anita teaches that autism is just part of a child, it’s not everything they are. Her dream is to spread more awareness, support more families, and design a future where parents just like her are empowered to be the best advocates for their children that they can be.
