Gail McKeitch, who established the National Autistic Society (NAS) branch in Ellon, has expressed her delight at receiving the British Empire Medal.
The mother of three – two of whom are autistic – said the honour would be “worth its weight in gold” if it helped raise awareness of the condition.
Mrs McKeitch established the NAS branch in Ellon in 2008 and has earned a reputation as an excellent motivator.
In 2010, she identified a gap in local services for teenagers with autism to socialise in a supportive environment, leading her to establish the Socialeyes Group for young men and women to explore and develop their social skills.
Mrs McKeitch said she hoped the honour would help raise awareness of autism across the country.
The 58-year-old said: “It is absolutely fantastic to have received this.
“It is about raising the bar for autism and if this helps get recognition for autism then it is worth its weight in gold.
“My work has been about representing and making people aware of autism and is has been great to do that.”
The Cabinet Office, who administer the honours process, said Mrs McKeitch had spearheaded the Ellon NAS branch’s involvement in identifying gaps in local autism friendly service delivery locally and has also contributed towards a local directory of sources of support for children with additional support needs.
Mrs McKeitch organises a 250-strong annual conference to discuss the service delivery for people with autism across Scotland and her annual quiz night has raised over £20,000.
She is a member and at one point took on a voluntary co-ordinator role with the Scottish Autism Services Network.