Autism: Resources and Policies

Paper Summary:

The paper provides an overview of the policy-making process in the US regarding disabilities and its implication for policy on autism. The paper looks specifically at policies that effect autistic adults 21 years of age or older and focuses on federal and state governments' institutional capacity to respond to autism, which will include states' role in providing access to services through the use of mandates. The paper looks at the celebrities who support the autism cause and shows how the policy response to the autism epidemic is still in its early stages.

Outline:
The Americans with Disabilities Act
Past Legislation for Autism
Federal Funding - Medicaid & SSI
Current Legislation
Celebrities: Advocates for Autism
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Over time, autism has become more than a disability. Today, 1 in 150 people are diagnosed with autism. Every day, 67 children in America are diagnosed with this disease. That's one new case every 20 minutes. According to an organization known as Autism Speaks, this statistic makes autism more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate, socialize and relate to others. It is also associated with strict routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to extremely severe (Autism Speaks). Although the cause of Autism in undetermined, there are many theories that surround this question that include child vaccinations, genetics, poor nutrition, bad parenting, A-typical brain development etc. (Rudy 2004)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Association of University Centers on Disabilities. (March 20, 2007). Expanding the Promise for Individuals with Autism Act. Retrieved May 27, 2007: http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=311
• Braddock, David, Eric Emerson, David Felce, and Roger J. Stancliffe. 2001. "Living Circumstances of Children and Adults with Mental Retardation or Developmental Disabilities in the United States, Canada, England and Wales, and Australia." Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities 7:115-121.
• Braddock, David, R Hemp, L Bachelder, and Glenn T. Fujiura. 1998. "The State of the States in Developmental Disabilities, 4th edition." American Association on Mental Retardation, Washington, DC.
• Dye, Thomas R. (2005) Understanding Public Policy. 11th Edition. Pierson Prentice Hall New Jersey.
• Erlanger, H. S., & Roth, W. (1985). Disability policy. The American Behavioral Scientist, 28, 319-345.

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