Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Autism Research Law Signed by Obama

On September 30th President Obama signed the Autism Law that provides millions of dollars for autism research.  This will support autism research for the next three years.  The law called the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act of 2011 provides over $230 million to support autism related research.  This preserves the spending levels of the original 2006 law that was about to expire.

According to supporters this will support research that builds on prior autism-related research that includes improved screening methods and identifying autism susceptibility genes.  Prior to 2006 the government devoted far less spending to autism research.

According to statistics 1 in 110 American children have a disorder on the autism spectrum.  Organizations supporting the law include: the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the Autism Society, and Autism Speaks.  The Autistic Self Advocacy Network and other groups opposed it because of it's focus almost solely on children with only a small amount of resources designated for helping other individuals diagnosed with autism.

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