Autism CARES Act of 2019

The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act (Autism CARES) is the primary source of federal funding for autism research, services, training, and monitoring.

It ensures support for research, services, prevalence tracking, and other government activities. The Autism CARES Act of 2019 is currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate.

Because of the Act, over $3.1 billion has dedicated to autism to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

It became law in 2006 when it was initially called the Combating Autism Act. It reauthorized in 2011. Autism CARES Act of 2014, and it renamed and reauthorized again.

What are Data and Surveillance?

  1. The Act has helped to build a critical infrastructure at the CDC to advance our understanding of autism further.
  2. The Act supports the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
  3. A group of programs fund by the CDC to estimate the number of children with ASD and other developmental disabilities exists in different areas of the United States.
  4. The CDC also established regional centers of excellence for ASD and other developmental disabilities.

What are the Autism CARES requires and supports?

  • Autism prevalence monitoring
  • Training of medical professionals to detect and diagnose autism
  • And also, Development of treatments for medical conditions associated with autism
  • The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) and its annual strategic plan
  • Centers of Excellence in autism surveillance and epidemiology
  • And also, Countless programs and research grants to benefit individuals with autism

The Autism CARES Act of 2014 also required a report to Congress on the current state of adult services.

What are Scientific Developments?

  • Set a reliable diagnosis age of 18-24 months
  • Established that timely interventions make a lifetime of difference
  • And also, Identified co-morbidities
  • Increased understanding of biological causes of autism
  • Identified genes and possible medication targets
  • And also, Developed early career autism researchers

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