Ann Palmer has 13 years experience working with families of individuals with autism at Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren and adults).  She coordinated a volunteer parent mentor program at five TEACCH Centers across the state, providing support to over 800 families in North Carolina. In her current role as Director of Chapter Relations for the Autism Society of NC, she coordinates over 40 parent support groups throughout the state.

Ann has presented at numerous conferences including the Autism Society of America National Conference, the Leo M. Croghan Conference on Developmental Disabilities, the Association for Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) Conference, the MAAP Services for Autism and Asperger Syndrome Annual Conference and the Autism Society of North Carolina Annual Conference. She has been published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the MAAP, the newsletter of the Maap Services for Autism and Asperger Spectrum, Exceptional Parent Magazine, and The Spectrum, the newsletter of the Autism Society of North Carolina.

Ann graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children. She has a twenty-three year old son with autism, Eric.