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E-Speaks eNewsletter

It’s been 32 years since the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), granting both access and opportunity to people with disabilities. Autism Speaks is proud to celebrate our work promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of autistic people and their families. A key component in achieving our mission goals is our work with Congress, the White House, state legislators, regulators and government agencies to advocate for policies and programs that support the people in our community.  

In this edition of E-Speaks, you’ll hear from two Volunteer Advocacy Ambassadors 

who have made it their mission to help people with autism and their families by sharing their personal experiences on a wider platform for change. You'll also read about our latest successes in expanding insurance coverage for medical care, our most recent advocacy efforts and our work supporting aging autistic adults. 

Want to stay informed of our ongoing advocacy efforts and receive updates on how to take action in support of policy change?  Sign-up to be an Advocate today.  

Advocacy Ambassador Spotlights: Meet Sean S. and Tulika P. 

Sean is one of our Volunteer Advocacy Ambassadors from the West Coast. He has participated in multiple advocacy initiatives since joining the program in 2021, including the Autism Speaks Advocacy Forum and Hill Day. Tulika is the mom of Vedant, her 13-year-old autistic son. He is nonverbal and has his share of challenges, but that’s only motivated Tulika even more to help others. In these Q&As with Sean and Tulika, you’ll learn how they use their platforms to advocate for others in the autism community. 

Autism Speaks explores policies to support autistic people as they age

This June, Autism Speaks hosted the Thought Leadership Summit on Autism and Aging, bringing together families, self-advocates, researchers and policymakers to discuss the issues facing autistic adults as they age. Over two days of sessions, presenters shared the top challenges faced by autistic adults, discussed policy considerations, and identified opportunities for further action to support this community. To introduce the event, U.S. Representative Chris Smith, co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Autism Caucus, shared his priorities for increased autism research and services. Listen to his statement and watch some key sessions from the Summit. 

U.S. Representatives call for greater investment in autism research and services

Thanks to the advocacy of the autism community and the leadership of U.S. Reps. Chris Smith and Mike Doyle, several key autism priorities were included in a bill that was passed by a key committee in the House of Representatives last month. The bill calls for greater investment in research that helps ensure access to services and supports across the life span, and addresses racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to services. The bill also includes a $10 million increase to the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network to provide a better understanding of local autism prevalence, diagnosis disparities and transition to adulthood. Visit our website for more advocacy news.   

States advance better coverage for autism therapies  

Autism Speaks works in states across the country to improve public and private health insurance coverage of medically necessary care for people with autism. Over the last two years, we’ve led the charge for the creation of a new benefit to serve thousands of Medicaid-enrolled children in Texas, New York and Illinois who previously did not have access to therapies such as applied behavior analysis (ABA). As of February 2022, all 50 states have implemented their Medicaid autism services benefit. Read more about this effort. 

Autism Family Caregivers Act  

Inspired by programs like the WHO Caregiver Skills Training (CST), supported by Autism Speaks, the Autism Family Caregivers Act was introduced earlier this year. This bill calls for an innovative approach to addressing lack of access to services in local communities. If passed, it would grant $50 million for caregiver skills training pilot sites that teach parents and caregivers how to use everyday home routines and activities to improve their children’s social communication, behavioral outcomes and physical and mental well-being. Ask your members of Congress to support this bill.  

Local events and information

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