A group of entrenched bureaucrats and disaffected organizations, however, are leading a serious effort to delay implementation of the plan and replace it with a retread of the Biden administration do-little plan from 2023.
If we are going to save the new Plan we need a huge expression of public support for it, and we need that now.
TAKE ACTION
Please use the panel to the right to send messages to President Trump and Vice President Vance to implement the Strategic Plan adopted by the IACC. Please feel free to edit the message to include your own concerns.
Call the White House Comment Line and leave a comment urging implementation of the current plan as soon as possible.
The White House (202) 456-1111
Please share this message on your networks and on social media.
THE PLAN
The new Plan approaches autism as a biologically based disability marked by a wide range of health and functional issues integral to the disorder.
The Plan supports the current ongoing efforts while providing blueprints to fill the many gaps in crucially needed investments and calls for scaling research to meet the exponentially growing demand created by the autism epidemic.
It contains a detailed plan for researching many of the unanswered questions about autism and autism symptoms, focusing on understanding the biology underlying autism, developing effective treatments for the many co-morbid conditions people with autism frequently suffer, including seizures, apraxia, mitochondrial dysfunction, gastrointestinal issues, immune dysfunction and chronic inflammation, and many others with a goal of developing effective treatment, prevention and possible cures for autism.
A massive increase in research on environmental causes of autism is called for, along with a goal to determine the scope, causes and treatment of autistic regression, and identifying the biology-based subgroups within “autism.”
The Plan calls for greatly increased communication support and assistive technology, caregiver support, and caring for aging people with autism among many other unmet needs.
A critical aspect is that specific goals and timetables are laid out to focus on producing results useful to people with autism.
Prior to adoption, the Autism Action Network unsuccessfully advocated for including specific language in the Plan calling for research into vaccines as a cause of autism. But as we noted then, researching vaccines falls within the scope of the Plan.
THE IACC
The IACC is currently composed of 23representatives from federal agencies and 20 public members appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The plan was adopted on August 27 by a vote of 26 yea, 1 no, and 13 abstains. If all 20 public members voted for the plan, then at least six federal agency representatives voted for it as well.
The Plan does not compel either action of spending by the federal government. It is an advisory document provided to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. But it has always served as an important statement of federal priorities, and the federal government’s understanding of what autism is and is not, and points to the direction we should go.
Accusations have been made by critics that relevant laws and policies were not followed by the Committee in drafting and adopting the plan, but they have so far not identified any specific violations. These accusations have come primarily from organizations who had representatives who previously served on the IACC but who were not re-appointed by Sec. Kennedy.
Note: John Gilmore, Executive Director of the Autism Action Network, is a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, but does not speak for the committee.