ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress No to Three More Years of the Same Autism Policy

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Today, Senators Menendez and Enzi will be introducing legislation extending the

Combating Autism Act for three more years. The Combating Autism Act was passed

in 2005 without the involvement or consultation of a single Autistic person, let

alone the broader self-advocate community. Without legislative action by

Congress, the Act would expire on September 30th of this year. While we respect

the Senators' good intentions, the Menendez-Enzi legislation would freeze in

place the current flawed CAA programs, which fail to make any provision for

services, do not incorporate anything about adults on the autism spectrum and

exclude self-advocates. As a result, ASAN opposes any long term re-authorization

of CAA without badly needed investments in services and vital program reforms to

ensure self-advocates are involved at every level. We're urging you to call your

Senators and tell them to OPPOSE the Menendez-Enzi re-authorization legislation

as too long an extension without any of the needed reforms. You can reach them

through the Capitol Switchboard at by giving your state and

asking to be put through to your Senator. Making the call and urging their

opposition is important even if you don't feel comfortable having a longer

conversation. If you want to provide additional reasons to oppose this extension

we have provided several below:

• A three year extension of the existing Combating Autism Act means a

three year delay before Congress takes any meaningful action on services for

Autistic people across the lifespan. It means three years before any new

supports for adults on the autism spectrum are introduced and three years before

any of the problems with the status quo are fixed. We can't afford to wait that

long.

• CAA's existing programs enable a severe bias in the autism research

agenda against services and adult issues. According to the recently released

IACC Research Portfolio, less than one percent of autism research dollars spent

in 2009 went to research relating to adults while only three percent went to

research about improving services, supports and education! This inequity calls

out for change.

• CAA's existing structure excludes the very people who should be at

the center of the autism conversation: Autistic people ourselves. By locking in

place for another three years a bill that was passed without the involvement of

self-advocates, Congress would be sending a message that the needs and

perspectives of Autistic adults don't matter.

Any long term extension of CAA must involve additional investments in services,

greater inclusion of self-advocates in every program and more respectful

language shifting from " combating autism " to supporting Autistic people. Call

Congress today at ! Remember to call twice in order to reach both

of your Senators. If for accessibility reasons, you need to e-mail your Senators

instead you can find their e-mails on the Senate website at

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

We need your help to remind Congress they can't ignore the voices of the

Autistic community. As always, Nothing About Us, Without Us!

Regards,

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network