Susel Munoz.

Susel Munoz is the founder and director of Hispanic Mothers with Autistic and ADHD Children Ontario (HAACO). HAACO is a

100% volunteer initiative that focuses on providing community support and raising awareness about the challenges of parenting

autistic and other neurodiverse children in minority groups, with a focus on Hispanic immigrant communities in the Greater Toronto

Area. HAACO provides free talks and events targeted towards ethnic minority families, but they are free and open to all who wish to

attend, and normally attend a wide array of families, autistic people, politicians of all stripes, and professionals. These include expert

presentations on topics such as stigma, lack of support, misrepresentation, division, institutional racism, disability and mental

health. In hosting these community events, HAACO creates a circle of support, which helps to overcome isolation and generate a

sense of integration for these families and builds bridges of understanding and empathy across the diverse autism community.

What makes Susel’s volunteer work extraordinary is that as a Cuban immigrant woman raising four young children with autism,

she realized the dearth of support for people in her situation, and worked to help provide a space for families to receive the support

and sense of community that her family has lacked.

Susel has Degree with Social Service Work , and a BA in Sociology. In addition, she has many years of experience in Community Organizing , Advocacy, Special Education and Human Rights .