Autism Bulletin Featured on AutismPodcast.org

Usually at Autism Bulletin, there's an effort to share answers and insights for parents of kids with autism spectrum disorders. So it was an interesting experience to be a guest on Michael Boll's Autismpodcast.org to talk about my work on this blog and also about being the parent of a young child on the spectrum.

You can find the recording of the conversation by clicking here.

Michael Boll is a teacher by training and, like many Autism Bulletin readers, he found himself thrust into this role of having to learn all about autism spectrum disorders, what to do about it to help his son and family, all the while carrying on with other parts of his life.

If you are new to Autismpodcast, the website hosts 61 episodes and counting. They include talks with Andy Bondi and Lori Frost, the founders of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Steven Gutstein, founder of Relational Development Intervention (RDI) and Alex Plank, creator of wrongplanet.net, an online resource for people with Asperger's.

Additions to Autism Bulletin Resources

Readers who are new to Autism Bulletin can find links to court decisions, research papers, historical and government documents and other websites to help learn more about autism spectrum disorders. I have added links to two papers from the American Academy of Pediatrics that could have an influence on the lives of many children with autism in the United States. The papers are:

* Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, by Scott Myers, M.D., in the journal Pediatrics, Nov. 2007.

* Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, by Chris Plauche´ Johnson, M.D., Scott M. Myers, MD, and the Council on Children With Disabilities. Also in the November 2007 issue of Pediatrics.

Find these and other resources in the Autism Bulletin sidebar, which is the column to the right of articles that appear on this blog.

Also see:

American Pediatricians Make Big Push for Autism Diagnosis, Awareness; Kits for Doctors, Checklists for Parents

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

President Bush today vetoed a bill that autism advocates say would have increased funding for autism research, data collection on autism diagnosis studies, and provided more awareness and training for professionals working with autistic students. Some autism advocates are calling on Congress to override the president's veto.

The money involved—$1 million at the National Institutes of Health for research, $16.5 million at the Centers for Disease Control for the population studies, and another $37 million for awareness programs—is a relative pittance when compared with the billions of dollars in disagreements you're about to read in the quotes from government leaders that follow. It demonstrates how difficult it can be to get federal funds appropriated for a cause that just a year ago enjoyed wide bipartisan support, when Bush signed the Combating Autism Act into law.

These autism-related items are part of a much larger spending bill that also pertains to education, health and anti-poverty programs.

Partisan Bickering—and the Iraq War

Bush issued a statement saying the domestic spending proposal from Congress, called the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Conference Report, costs too much and contains too many "earmarks," spending provisions for projects in local Congressional districts. The president's statement said: "This year, the Congress plans to overspend my budget by $22 billion, of which $10 billion is for increases in this bill. Health care, education, job training, and other goals can be achieved without this excessive spending if the Congress sets priorities."

Leaders of the appropriations committees in the House and Senate, both Democrats, sought to point out the relative low cost of the programs designed to make Americans' lives better, compared with the mounting cost of the Iraq war and Bush's tax policies.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wisconsin, chairman of the House budget panel, issued this statement:

“The same President who is asking us to spend another $200 billion on the misguided war in Iraq and is insisting on providing $60 billion in tax cuts next year to folks who make over a million bucks a year, is now pretending to protect the deficit by refusing to provide a $6 billion increase to crucial domestic investments in education, healthcare, medical research and worker protections that will make this country stronger."

Senator Robert Byrd, D-W. Virginia, chairman of the Senate appropriations committee, issued a similar statement, urging the White House to return to negotiating with Congress on the budget.

Autism Society Calls for Veto Override

Since the Bush White House has not developed a reputation for negotiating with Congress, it is not surprising that advocates at the Autism Society of America are urging its membership to contact their representatives in Congress to override the president's veto.

Here's an excerpt from the argument the society is encouraging autism advocates make to their members of Congress urging them to override the president's veto:

This important legislation would provide significant increases for autism research, public awareness, early intervention and education. Specifically, the measure calls for:

* A 3.1 percent increase in research at the National Institutes of Health, a portion of which can be used to expand, intensify and coordinate research into the causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, services, supports, intervention and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. This includes $1 million to reinstitute the Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee.

* $16.5 million for the CDC's Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program, which supports data collection, analysis and reporting, so that we can better understand the scope of the autism epidemic.

* $37 million to increase awareness, reduce barriers to screening and diagnosis, promote evidence-based interventions for individuals with autism and train professionals to utilize valid and reliable screening tools to diagnose autism and provide evidence-based interventions for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

These important increases will ensure that research into improved treatments and interventions can be explored, and that children with autism are diagnosed earlier, can access early intervention services, and are able to receive a quality education.

President Bush's veto seriously endangers our ability to diagnose, treat and serve individuals with autism and their families.

Nominate Your Pick for Autism Advocates of the Year

Autism Bulletin is seeking your nominations for autism advocates of the year. Please submit your suggestions and nominations for people, organizations, no matter where they have done their work, by submitting a comment at the end of this blog post or by e-mailing me at michaelsgoldberg AT yahoo DOT com. Explain who nominee is, what work they have done to advocate for people with autism and why their work made a difference this year.

Nominations are due by December 1. Later in December, I will publish an article highlighting the efforts of these people and organizations.

Also see:

Autism Bulletin's 2006 Advocates of the Year

"Combating Autism Act" Funding Caught in Legislative Wrangling; Bush Veto of Research, Awareness Dollars Possible

Millions of dollars in federal funding for scientific research into autism spectrum disorders and for public awareness campaigns is caught up in an ongoing budget battle between Congress and President George W. Bush, who has threatened to veto the spending bill in which these autism provisions are included.

That's the news in an important legislative update provided by the Autism Society of America, a major autism advocacy group based near Washington D.C. You can read a copy of the update at the society's website by clicking here.

The big picture here is that President Bush has decided, in the last part of his second term, to hold the line on domestic spending programs. A November 6 press release from Rep. David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, outlines how the Bush Administration and the Democrats in the House view a series of labor, health and education issues. Not surprisingly, the Iraq war plays into the politics of the situation. This is the way the introduction reads on Obey's press release:

WASHINGTON - Even as the President is asking for nearly $200 billion to cover the $10 billion a month we are spending in Iraq (paid for with borrowed money), he is trying to masquerade as fiscally responsible by manufacturing a fight over what we spend in roughly 2 months in Iraq ($22 billion) in investments that will make this a stronger and better country.
At the center of that fight is funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Education. The conference report considered in the House today provides $150.7 billion, $6.2 billion (4.3%) above 2007 and $9.8 billion above the President’s request (roughly the cost of 1 month in Iraq) for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.
What would that $9.8 billion achieve? Here are some specific examples.

Obey's statement goes on to outline the differences between the White House and the majority in Congress on issues including health care, job training, education, poverty programs and medical research. Obey notes that the House wants to spend more money on all of these programs and Bush wants to cut them, including special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

It is the medical research section that the Autism Society says advocates for people with autism should watch closely. The bill for Labor, Health and Human Services spending "provides $37 million for autism public awareness and early intervention—a $17 million increase over last year, as mandated by the Combating Autism Act of 2006," the Autism Society notes, and adds:

The bill also appropriates $16.5 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use toward surveillance and research and $1 million to reinstate the Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee, which would develop a strategic plan for autism research at the National Institutes of Health.

President Bush has vowed to veto the bill because it asks for $9.8 billion more than his budget proposal. Unfortunately, there is not a veto-proof majority in either chamber, so additional negotiations will be needed.

This would be one of those times when it pays to be an engaged citizen. It would be worthwhile to educate yourself about where your House member and Senator stand on this funding bill. Because of Bush's staunch veto threat, it would be especially interesting to go through this effort if you have Republican representation in Congress, because those are the votes in the House and Senate which would be tougher to get if a veto override vote becomes necessary. Let's hope it doesn't.

Also see:

* Bush Signs Combating Autism Act

* More Autism Bulletin stories relating to Congress