Resources and Connection through The Arc of King County

We spoke with Zack Siddeek, Disability Systems Navigation Coordinator at The Arc of King County, about the different ways he and his organization support autistic people and their families, and about the perspective he brings to his work.

The Autism Blog: Please start by telling us a little about your organization.

Zack Siddeek: The Arc of King County was founded in 1938 and is one of the oldest continuously operating non-profit organizations in King County. We’re a member chapter of The Arc of the United States, which means we follow their policy positions and platforms, and we’re a constituent chapter of The Arc of Washington State. There are chapters in many counties in our state, and each operates differently but in pursuit of the same core missions.

The Arc of King County has about 300 employees, most of whom work in our supported living branch that houses individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) under contract with the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). Around 20 people work in family support and outreach, like myself.

We maintain a robust website of information and resources, offer classes and events, and manage a variety of programs to help connect and support people with IDD of all ages, and their families. Our primary clientele is residents of King County, but our website is available to anyone and we do our best to support those from counties with no Arc of their own, when we’re able.

The Autism Blog: What are some of the ways you support people with autism or IDD, and their families, in your own role?

ZS: I triage requests as they come in and assign them to different team members here. I’m autistic myself and I typically handle requests that come in from autistic adults or their families. People are usually looking for very concrete help or information, for example about DDA, Social Security benefits, food and housing resources, or medical or therapy providers who understand autism and can best serve them.

Another part of my role is to create and deliver trainings on disability and autism for community organizations and providers. I lead one training called “Disability is diversity” to help government agencies and non-profits understand how we’re socialized to think about people with disabilities, and how that impacts services and programming. A second area where I offer more hands-on skills development in is how to communicate effectively with people with IDD; we had a session for first responders in Seattle recently, for example. And there’s a third training I do on supporting autistic people, where I talk about how autism affects our brains and our lives, and how we can create better spaces and support for individuals with autism. We’ve been able to provide these trainings to entities in King County free of charge thanks to grant funding.

Something else I support is our Square Pegs meetup group for autistic adults. There’s actually a variety of groups that fall under this umbrella, some focusing on support or specific topics, and others just on socializing. About half are in-person, mostly in Seattle and Tacoma, and the rest are virtual – these have attendance from all around the world.

The Autism Blog: We know from the families we support here at the Autism Center, what great connection and resources The Arc of King County offers. We also know this work can be challenging, with so many unmet needs. What’s something that motivates you in your everyday work?

ZS: Being autistic can be lonely if you don't have spaces where you can be authentically autistic, where you don't have to feel that shame or stigma that comes with having that difference, such as school. Our Square Pegs groups offer spaces that are so important for creating a positive sense of well-being and sense of purpose, for negating the negative mental health impacts of our experience. Especially for the first-timers showing up who've never been in an autistic-led space before. And with the trainings I provide I hope to keep expanding and creating more of those spaces for all of us, by growing people’s understanding of our experience and of how to support the diversity that is disability.

Many of the online resources and classes offered by The Arc of King County are relevant to people across the state. You can also look for your local Arc chapter or Parent to Parent group on The Arc of Washington State website.

For other family support organizations and resources, see our handout on Support Groups for Parents or Caregivers of a Child with Autism (PDF) (Somali) (Spanish) (Vietnamese).