Update on the 2006 Combating Autism Act

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Update on the 2006 Combating Autism Act

AUCD ACTION ALERT

Fully Fund the Combating Autism Act of 2006

March 26, 2007

Summary:

Late last year, President Bush signed into law the Combating Autism Act of 2006 (PL 109-416). The Act authorizes $168 million for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) related activities in FY 2008, an increase of $25 million over FY 2007. This funding increase would benefit research on ASD through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and CDC.

The Act also provides the first step to expand the interdisciplinary training of professionals to identify and support children with ASD and their families. Under 399BB of Section 3, the law authorizes the Secretary, subject to the availability of appropriations, to expand existing interdisciplinary training opportunities or opportunities to increase the number of sites able to diagnose or rule out individuals with autism or other developmental disabilities and ensure that grants are awarded to expand existing or develop new Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) in states that do not have such a program.

Unfortunately, no new money was proposed in the President’s FY 2008 budget request to implement the provisions of the Act.

The 110th Congress should provide the necessary funds to focus our country’s researchers on explaining the apparent increase in prevalence, on finding the causes, and on determining the most effective ways of supporting children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders by fully funding the Combating Autism Act

Attached is a letter by Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) urging Senate appropriators to provide full funding for the Combating Autism Act.

Action Needed:

Please contact your Senators and ask them to sign onto the Dodd-Hagel letter in support of fully funding for the Combating Autism Act. If interested, they should contact:

Sharon in Senator Dodd’s office: sharon_lewis@... (phone) and Martha Petkovich in Senator Hagel’s office: Martha_Petkovich@..., 224-4224.

The deadline for signing on is April 9.

============================================As a policy, CARD will not lend its name to the endorsement of any specific program, practice, or model that is offered for service to people with autism and related disabilities. This policy does not preclude the provision of referral options or individualized recommendations by CARD staff, nor does it imply that CARD staff is to refrain from sharing any knowledge or personal experiences. The sharing of information, training, and the development of recommendations are key functions of the CARD programs.

-Kay Bunton-PierceCoordinator, Research Programs/ServicesCenter for Autism and Related Disabilities http://card-usf.fmhi.usf.eduUniversity of South FloridaLouis de la Parte Florida Mental Health InstituteDepartment of Child and Family StudiesPhone:

Randee

Program Director,

Parent to Parent/Family to Family

1201 Australian Ave

Riviera Beach, Fl. 33404-6698

(561)842-3213 *Fax (561)863-4352

rgabriel@...

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