Autism Society Urges Families to Voice Concerns to Obama's Transition Team

The Autism Society of America, a leading advocacy group for parents and families, is urging its members to post comments citing the need for autism support services and full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act on President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team website, Change.gov.

The Obama team has continued its use of web-based technologies honed during the election campaign, both to inform and engage voters and raise record amounts of money. During the transition between presidencies, Obama has used Change.gov to speak directly to voters through video and other means—and engage citizens on ideas that are important to them. (Here's a New York Times article discussing this feature.) With the floor open for discussion on a range of issues, the Autism Society says now is the time to join the online meeting to discuss healthcare policy, which is titled, Health Care — Of the People, By the People.

The Autism Society has posted a web page with suggestions for submitting comments. The substance of the Society's suggestions are below:

Start off with a brief explanation why you are concerned and want things to change.

I am the parent of a child with autism and I want my child to have happy and productive life just as any parent would want for their child.

Provide some facts such as:

Prevalence

• 1 in 150 U.S. children is diagnosed with autism. Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.
• 1.5 million Americans have an autism spectrum disorder

Diagnosis

• Less than a decade ago, the disease was diagnosed at age 3 or 4. Now it is routinely diagnosed at 2.
• Symptoms range from mild to severe. Many people with autism display rigid routines and repetitive behaviors.

Cost

• Lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism: $3.5 million to $5 million
• Annual U.S. cost: $90 billion

The explosion of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related disorders in the United States constitutes the largest health care crisis in our nation’s history. It has been estimated that 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with ASD, with recent data suggesting that as many as 1 in 67 boys are now affected.

Autism is the fastest growing disability in the country, now affecting an estimated 1.5 million individuals - more prevalent among our children than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. There are approximately 24,000 new cases of autism diagnosed each year. Every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism in the United States.

The alarming increase in autism spectrum disorders must be considered a national health emergency that requires the allocation of significant resources, aggressive research toward effective treatments for those affected, and rigorous investigation into causation for the protection of future generations. Equally important is to ensure that individuals affected by autism receive help TODAY.

Offer solutions, such as:

Legislative Agenda

Please support Expanding the Promise to Individuals with Autism Act. This bill would provide adults the services they need to lead a productive and meaningful life. The Autism Society of America works to ensure that adults living with autism have access to appropriate employment, housing, and services. ASA chapters have been instrumental in developing job training programs and creating independent living or residential services opportunities for adults with autism. This act will allow these programs to grow and serve more adults nationwide.

Please support Full Funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Federal funding is $10.5 billion short of full funding this year leaving thousands of children without services.

Autism is the most costly disability confronting our public education system. The federal government should provide local education agencies the resources they need to serve children with autism.

The Autism Society of America is experiencing an explosion of information and referral requests from teachers. Teachers are clamoring for additional training - and ASA has met their demands by hosting a training conference for teachers - but much more needs to be done.

More Autism Resources for the Presidential Election for Voters

The Autism Society of America today publicized a presidential election resources page, with statements by Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. Find the page here, with the candidates' full statements:

Statements on autism by the presidential candidates.

Excerpts below.

From McCain's statement:

As you know, autism is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. Because of this, there is no single approach to resolving the many challenges of individuals with autism and their families. That is why I have supported a range of activities to improve the diagnosis, treatment, education, and lifespan needs of individuals with autism.

The first issue is to ensure that children with autism are diagnosed early -- when the condition is most treatable. All research indicates that children who receive comprehensive therapies can have dramatically improved outcomes. Federal efforts must support research to improve early diagnosis, intervention and treatment. I cosponsored and worked to enact the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which is helping to increase public awareness and screening of autism spectrum disorder, promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and created autism Centers of Excellence for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research and Epidemiology. ...

We must also strengthen our educational system, so that our schools can meet the needs of children with autism. Well-trained special education teachers are essential to the health of the public school system and speak volumes to our ability to ensure basic civil rights. I have often stated that our nation’s children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed. This opportunity should not stop short of children with autism, or any other developmental disability.

From Obama's statement:

As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of ASD have been recognized across the country. I believe that we can do more to help Americans with ASD and their families understand and live with these conditions. That's why I am committed to increasing federal funding for autism research and treatment to $1 billion annually by the end of my first term in office.  I also believe that we should increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

I also support the adoption of a comprehensive plan designed to provide lifelong supports and resources to Americans with ASD and other disabilities. This plan would ensure that their needs are met by:
• Reclaiming America's global leadership on disability issues by becoming a signatory to -- and having the Senate ratify -- the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
• Providing Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed.
• Ending discrimination and promoting equal opportunity
• Increasing the employment rate of workers with disabilities, and
• Supporting independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.

More importantly, as you have all gathered here today to discuss, access to health care is a pressing need – one that we can no longer afford to ignore. As President, I will make high quality, portable health care plans affordable to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses.

Links to the candidates' websites:

Obama's homepage, and the campaign's disabilities page and a statement about autism.

The McCain campaign's website includes lots of information about the candidate's policy issues, including healthcare and education and this statement about autism.

Why This Parent of a Special Needs Child Is Voting for Barack Obama

There have been a number of essays and editorials about the presidential race, considering in depth the positions of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, which I would recommend: The New Yorker and The Los Angeles Times are two that endorse Obama which clearly lay out the case—in general, for a change in direction for the United States, and specifically for Obama's leadership.

I cite those examples for two reasons: First, I don't decide whom to support based on one issue, whether it be autism or something else. And second, this blog post is going to hit just a few highlights. Still, when it comes to this blog's readers—mostly parents and family members of people with autism spectrum disorders—there are several reasons to add Autism Bulletin's voice to those supporting Barack Obama for president, and Joseph Biden for vice president:

1.) The Role of Government in Our Lives

No one I have met in this journey as a parent of a special needs child plans to use government services more than anyone else. We became parents, and then we learned that we had a special needs child. It happened, and most of us have learned that no matter how hard we try, we need help. It's not our fault we need help, but we do.

The government can help, in many ways: through the work of educators teaching our children new skills, in early intervention programs, in school settings and at home; through supporting healthcare programs that augment those school- and home-based services; for autistic adults who require support to live in our communities.

We're in tough economic times, certainly, and it is difficult to imagine a great expansion of social services in the coming years. But listening to Obama and McCain during the campaign, the conventions and the debates, it is clear to me that a Democratic administration would be better for our kids and our families.

I say this having heard the pledge by Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, to be an advocate for special needs children in the White House. But I have trouble reconciling that pledge with a historic position by the Republican Party to want to eradicate the Department of Education. I have trouble seeing how a Republican administration would support government research dollars going to help people with autism, when John McCain promises to cut spending across the board. (I also recall stories like that of Mike Bernoski, a parent who was thrown out of Republican Joe Barton's Congressional office when Bernoski sought to discuss the Combating Autism Act.)

And, more importantly, it's clear that Obama has both education and social services at or near the top of his agenda. When he has to make tough choices, he has indicated that he will prioritize education and healthcare goals. He is a better choice.

2.) The Healthcare System in America

Advocates for people with autism spectrum disorders have done heroic work in recent years around the country, state by state, to win more health insurance coverage for our families. There's more work to be done.

John McCain's healthcare proposal seeks to apply free market principles to the nation's healthcare system. It would allow people to shop for health insurance across state lines, which leaves in doubt state governments' requirements to cover citizens according to state laws. At the least, it would appear to undercut the role of states and appears to threaten the gains the advocates for our families have won.

In a market-based model, there are always winners and losers. The question then comes up: what role will the government play when people all over the nation, including people with disabilities, are losing?

During the debates, a moderator asked the candidates whether healthcare in their view was a right or a responsibility. McCain said he sees healthcare as a responsibility. Obama said he sees healthcare as a right for all Americans.

I have read and heard media reports which suggest Obama's healthcare plan projections are rosy, that they won't work exactly as he says by expanding the existing employer-based system, and that the economic meltdown will throw his plans off track. Those points make sense. But I come back to the principle: Obama is right that our government needs to find ways to care for everyone. McCain is wrong to trust the market to solve the problem.

3.) The Role of the Courts

Parents of disabled children have brought cases to the federal courts, seeking for example, the right to advocate for an autistic child when they can't afford a lawyer. We should expect more cases, as questions about what our society should do to treat people with disabilities, to allow them to live, learn and work in our communities and nation as full participants.

The president's right to appoint judges, to the Supreme Court, and to other federal benches, is another reason I am supporting Obama. I trust him to appoint judges who will be open to the fact that in today's America, we face issues, challenges, medical conditions and disabilities that require careful consideration and fair treatment.

4.) Awareness Is Not Enough

I have been astonished by the degree to which politicians have mentioned autism during this campaign. John McCain, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton—each has spoken about it, citing the need to support families dealing with its challenges. It feels like autism advocates have won an important awareness battle.

But awareness is not enough. It's not enough to say you know about the problem. You have to be willing to do something about it. Obama's domestic priorities of education and healthcare come closest to addressing the issues that parents of kids with disabilities face.

No one, especially in these uncertain economic times, can predict what is going to happen. But after listening to these candidates, studying their histories, watching how they conduct their campaigns, noting their choices of vice presidential nominees, advisers and prominent supporters, I have concluded that Barack Obama is the best choice for president: for our country, for our families, for our future.

McCain Says He Believes Vaccine Preservative Is Factor in Autism's Rise

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has gone on record as saying he believes that a mercury-containing preservative that was used in vaccines administered to young children is behind the rise in autism spectrum disorder.

The statement has created much buzz in the blogosphere because it taps into a raging controversy in the autism community about the causes of autism spectrum disorders and whether thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative that is used in some vaccines, and used to be more widely used in routine shots very young children get, is a factor. While there are passionate advocates who believe there's evidence for this, there have also been a number of scientific studies published in recent years which have failed to establish this link, including a study published in January (see: California Study: Autism Cases Rise In Spite of Vaccine Changes).

McCain's statement came in response to a question at a forum Feb. 29 in the days before the Texas primary, according to the ABC News Political Punch blog. Here's a snippet from the coverage:

At a town hall meeting Friday in Texas, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared that "there’s strong evidence" that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was once in many childhood vaccines, is responsible for the increased diagnoses of autism in the U.S. -- a position in stark contrast with the view of the medical establishment.

McCain was responding to a question from the mother of a boy with autism, who asked about a recent story that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program had issued a judgment in favor of an unnamed child whose family claimed regressive encephalopathy and symptoms of autism were caused by thimerosal.

"We’ve been waiting for years for kind of a responsible answer to this question, and are hoping that you can help us out there," the woman said.

McCain said, per ABC News' Bret Hovell, that "It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines."

McCain said there’s "divided scientific opinion" on the matter, with "many on the other side that are credible scientists that are saying that’s not the cause of it."

The ABC News article goes on to cite a number of studies and statements from the medical establishment refuting McCain's view.

There is great interest among parents and families of people with autism spectrum disorders in this election year, and for good reason: the next president will have an influence over federal research dollars devoted to autism research; what kind of approach the Department of Education (and its experts on special education) will pursue in administering special education laws; how much federal aid to devote to education; what kinds of actions to take (or not take) in addressing the needs of disabled Americans; what kinds of judges to appoint to make decisions in cases involving disabled citizens including those with autism; and more (like whether to make autism an issue at all).

It's no wonder that more than half of Autism Bulletin readers who have voted in an unscientific poll cite "autism services" as a key issue in their vote. (See, Where Do Autism Services Fit Into Your Views on the Presidential Race?)

So McCain's views are interesting on this issue, and have raised hackles in the scientific community, as this post from The Chronicle of Higher Education indicates.

So far, this is McCain's only statement so far relating to auitsm during the campaign. A search on the McCain for President website using the word "autism" turns up a blank.

If you know of more statements by John McCain relating to autism, that involve more than the vaccine issue, please post a comment here.

Also see:

• Obama Unveils Disabilities Plan, Includes Autism in Agenda

• Autism Makes Ripple in Presidential Race as Clinton Promises to Spend $700 Million Per Year

• Where Do Autism Services Fit Into Your Views on the Presidential Race?

Another Source for Presidential Campaigns and Autism Policy

The Autism Society of America has assembled some more references to the candidates' statements on autism spectrum disorders and government policies.

You can find that website page here.

Also see:

• Obama Unveils Disabilities Plan

• Autism Issue Makes Ripple in Presidential Campaign as Clinton Promises to Spend $700 Million Per Year

Obama Unveils Disabilities Plan, Includes Autism in Agenda; Other Notes for Super Tuesday Primaries

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign on January 29 held a teleconference to highlight the Illinois democrat's agenda for Americans with disabilities. You can find more information here, including a short video from Obama in which he specifically cites the need to screen children around age 2 for autism.

You can find Obama's nine-page position paper on helping Americans with disabilities is on his website here.

Obama's platform on disabilities integrates autism supports into overall plans to provide universal healthcare coverage for, better educational services through full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It also includes incentives for employers to hire people with disabilities and plans to support community-based residential options for people who can't live on their own. Interestingly, it includes an explicit pledge to appoint federal judges who are sensitive to the needs of disabled citizens.

Near the end of the position paper, at the bottom of page 8, comes this statement about autism:

Supporting Americans Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders: More than one million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of ASD have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes we need to research treatments and search for the causes of ASD. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for ASD research on the root causes and treatments. Obama believes we must work to guarantee that Americans with ASD can live independent and fully productive lives and to assure that their families understand and are able to support a loved one with ASD. Obama will fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that no child with ASD or any other disability is left behind. Obama will also fight to assure that the government and our communities work together to provide a helping hand to people with ASD and their families.

Obama has a long record supporting people with ASD. In the state senate, Obama sponsored legislation that became law to create the ASD Program - a systems development initiative designed to promote the implementation of evidence-based practices. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama is also a cosponsor of a measure that would expand federal funding for life-long services for people with ASD, authorizing approximately $350 million in new federal funding for key programs related to treatments, interventions and services for both children and adults with ASD.

As the field of presidential candidates shrinks—Democrat John Edwards and Republican Rudy Giuliani bowed out this week—it's notable that the two major Democrats left in the race, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Obama, each have issued important pledges of support for people with autism. More coverage on Clinton's autism advocacy is below.

I have been looking for coverage or position papers by Republican candidates related to autism, but have failed to see anything from the campaigns of Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul. The group A-Champ (Advocates for Children Affected by Mercury Poisoning) has issued a statement hailing Sen. John McCain of Arizona for requesting a Senate hearing on autism including the issue of mercury in vaccines.

If you know more about where the Republican stand on this issue, please post a comment here.

Autism support is an issue for parents and family members of people with autism to think about when they vote for president, according to a poll posted here on December 17. More than half of those who participated in the survey identified autism services as the most important issue influencing their vote—ahead of the Iraq war, the economy, and education. It's a small, self-selected sample, but interesting for what it's worth.

Also see:

• Where Do Autism Services Fit Into Your Views on the Presidential Race?

• Autism Issue Makes Ripple in Presidential Race as Clinton Promises to Spend $700 Million Per Year

• Autism Bulletin's 2007 Advocates of the Year

Autism Speaks Pushes Health Insurance Coverage in Florida, California and Michigan

Advocacy group Autism Speaks today announced it would work to pass legislation in Florida, California and Michigan to require health insurers to cover autism services such as ABA.

The group's leaders Bob and Suzanne Wright said they plan to meet with Florida Governor Charlie Crist and legislative leaders in what they hope will be a bipartisan effort to pass legislation requiring health insurers to cover autism-related therapies like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) "and other structured behavioral therapies, which are the most effective forms of treatment and have the best outcomes, both in human costs and in long-term economic benefits."

"It's time for insurance companies to step up and assume some of the financial burden now shouldered by families and school districts," said Bob Wright. "The autism community is mobilized and determined to go state-by-state state and knock on every legislator's door until these unreasonable insurance laws are changed. It's time to remove these barriers to care."

The announcement cites the fact that so far, Indiana, South Carolina and Texas are the only states which require insurers to cover autism-related services and asserts: "Nationwide, few private insurance companies or other employee benefit plans cover Applied Behavior Analysis and other behavioral therapies. In fact, most insurance companies designate autism as a diagnostic exclusion, meaning that no autism-specific services are covered, even those that would be used to treat other conditions."

As part of this advocacy effort, Autism Speaks posted a paper citing arguments in favor of autism insurance coverage. You can see the PDF document here. It's the same document that advocates in Arizona published on their website. For more on that, see "Arizona Advocates Prepare for Autism Insurance Push."

The choice of these big states is interesting as we enter a presidential election year in which health care is an important issue. So far in the campaign autism has been mentioned briefly, if notably, by Democrat Hillary Clinton. (See "Autism Issue Makes Ripple in Presidential Race.") Autism Bulletin readers responding to an online poll posted Dec. 17 identified autism services as the most important factor in their presidential choice.

It's an election year at the state level, too, and that's where the autism insurance battles will be fought. Autism Speaks said it plans to continue advocating for passage of a bill in Pennsylvania that was pending earlier in 2007 and faced opposition from business lobbyists.

Autism Speaks is one of the nation's biggest autism advocacy groups, and funds research and education initiatives as well as advocacy efforts. It was founded by the Wrights who have an autistic grandson. Bob Wright is the former CEO of NBC.

Also see:

* Michigan to Hold Hearing on Autism Insurance Legislation

* Related Autism Bulletin coverage of the health insurance issue

Where Do Autism Services Fit in Your Views on the Presidential Race?

With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary just weeks away, the question came up at a gathering I attended over the weekend: how important is a presidential candidate's stance on autism services to your vote?

The consensus I heard among four voters at the table was that the issue has to be on the candidate's list of action items. Last month, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York made autism an issue in her campaign by pledging to fund $700 million per year to expand research, diagnostic efforts and services for both children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. (See "Autism Issue Makes Ripple in Presidential Race as Clinton Promises to Spend $700 Million Per Year." A number of Democrats—Barack Obama, John Edwards, Christopher Dodd and Bill Richardson—mention support for autism services in their record. I couldn't locate any recent notes online for any of the Republican candidates.)

With so much going on in the country and world, it seems difficult at this stage of the presidential race to isolate autism as a campaign issue—even for those of us for whom it is a constant, daily presence. So I'm asking you, Autism Bulletin readers, to weigh in. I've created a poll below, where you can click on your choice for the most important issue. If you don't see your issue listed, you can post your comment below. E-mail subscribers can go here to see the poll.

Autism Issue Makes Ripple in Presidential Race As Clinton Promises to Spend $700 Million Per Year

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, a front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, last week issued a plan to help children and families affected by autism. The plan calls for spending $700 million per year to expand research, identify treatments, expand access to services for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and provide autism-specific training for teachers.

While some other candidates do address autism in their campaign literature and remarks (read on below), Clinton's proposal is the most detailed of any of the major presidential candidates I could find, and follows her filing a bill in March 2007 with Republican Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado to increase access to support services for Americans with autism. (See "Senators Clinton and Allard Unveil Proposal to Expand Autism Services," in the Autism Bulletin archives.)

You can read a press release about Clinton's plan here. Both the Clinton-Allard bill and this plan—issued during this white-hot period leading up to the Iowa causes and New Hampshire primary in early January—include similar ideas around the same broad themes: expanding access to autism services for people who need them, from children to adults; spending more to understand what happens when someone has autism and why diagnoses are on the rise; generating more consensus around evidence-based effective treatments for autism.

Notably, Clinton calls for providing grants to states to increase programs and services for adults.

What Other Candidates Are Saying About Autism

A number of candidates who serve in Congress have records on autism that relate to the landmark 2006 passage of the Combating Autism Act, which received broad support. In fact, Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, was the co-sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. You can read more about his work on that law here and see more coverage of that landmark law here.

Dodd and other Democratic candidates including John Edwards, the former North Carolina Senator and vice presidential candidate; Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, include their ideas about helping people with autism in their health care reform plans. Some quotes follow:

From the John Edwards campaign blog, Nov. 26:

We need to find the causes so we can help protect our children. The National Institutes of Health have concluded that childhood vaccines are not the cause, but many families are not convinced. As president, I will double funding for autism research, issue an all-hands-on deck challenge and follow the results wherever the science takes us.

We also need to take better care of children affected today. My plan for universal health care, guaranteed coverage of autism care in Medicaid and private insurance, and better investments in special education and home health workers will assist families to support and treat children with autism and help children, and adults, reach their full potential.

We should also invest more in recruiting, training and paying sufficiently teachers, therapists, psychologists and others working in the special education field. It's time to finally get on a path to fully funding special education.

From the Barack Obama campaign's health care plan:

Support Americans with Autism. More than one million Americans have autism, a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of autism have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes that we can do more to help autistic Americans and their families understand and live with autism. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for autism research on the root causes and treatments, and he believes that we should increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

More than anything, autism remains a profound mystery with a broad spectrum of effects on autistic individuals, their families, loved ones, the community, and education and health care systems. Obama believes that the government and our communities should work together to provide a helping hand to autistic individuals and their families.

From Bill Richardson's health care proposal:

First of all I am for strongly increased research on autism. The number of children in this country affected by autism is just staggering. [1 in every 150 children] Comprehensive and universal access to health care is part of the solution. I fought for increased funding in New Mexico for outreach, education, treatment and awareness. This is something that I have been talking about on the campaign trail everyday and it will be a priority in my administration.

From Christopher Dodd's health care plan:

Under the Dodd Plan, every child in America will have guaranteed health insurance equivalent to the health coverage Members of Congress have for their children. All children will have access to preventive health screenings including vision, hearing, autism, and other neurological disorders.

Where Are The Republicans?

I researched the online campaign literature and recent press coverage for Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor; Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. With the exception of a haircut fundraiser that Huckabee attended for autism in New Hampshire, and a Romney campaign volunteer in Colorado who has done some charity work for autism, I couldn't find a mention of autism anywhere.

That doesn't mean it's not there, so if you know of someone in any of these campaigns, write to me or submit a comment at the end of this post. It could just mean that autism hasn't risen to any level of importance in the Republican race. Health care is present, though. Mitt Romney is running on his bringing health coverage to all in Massachusetts. Ron Paul is a doctor. In the past, Mike Huckabee has been on a mission to make citizens lose weight.

Noted: I couldn't find anything on the websites of two other Democrats, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

Haircut Footnote

Four candidates have taken up a "$400 haircut challenge" for charity, from the father of an autistic child in New Hampshire. Here's an item from the Autism Society of America's website:

Representative Dennis Kucinich made a campaign stop for autism on November 20. The presidential candidate, a democrat from Ohio, was the third politician to take up New Hampshire hair stylist David Holden on his challenge to get a $400 haircut with all proceeds going to ASA.

Though the challenge was inspired by candidate John Edwards’ high-end haircuts that appeared on campaign statements in April, Holden said the challenge isn’t meant as a dig just an opportunity to help a good cause. Holden is the owner of Hair Biz salon in Concord, and the father of a 12-year-old with autism.

Kucinich is the third to take up the challenge. Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have also participated.

Also see:

Bush Vetoes Domestic Spending Bill That Includes Autism Research, Education Funds