The IACC is meeting today in Washington

I'm here in Washington for the first meeting of the reconstituted IACC - the interagency autism coordinating committee of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Over the past two weeks I've put up several invitations on Facebook and Twitter, and it's looking like this will be a crowded event.

I've read through 100+ pages of comments people mailed in, and we'll hear more in person today.

It probably comes as no surprise to hear that many if not most comments are strong criticisms of our current policies regarding autism. The critiques that urge us to do more are the ones that trouble me the most. For the most part, I agree. We should be doing more. We should have better supports for autistic adults. We should have more aggressive early detection and intervention. We should educate society and make it more accommodating.

Unfortunately, we in the iacc cannot make those things happen. We can recommend more supports - and we do. But in the end, it is your (and my) elected officials who must vote the budgets and directives to make these things happen.

You might say iacc provides the plan, and they implement it. Much has happened already but even more remains to be done. I sure wish there was a way to make it happen faster.

Anyway I am off to the meeting now, and I hope to see a few of you in person today.

Be assured that I am keenly aware of the burden autistic disability places on those of us who live with it daily, at all levels. Development of tools treatments and therapies to remediate disability is a top priority for me. At the same time, I celebrate the remarkable gifts we bring to the world, and making that world a more accommodating and caption place for us is no less vital.

I hope we take a few more steps in that direction today.

Woof.

Comments

Anonymous said…
John, I know it can be exhausting to tirelessly advocate when there is so much criticism. Thank you for your efforts, and I love your quote "At the same time, I celebrate the remarkable gifts we bring to the world, and making that world a more accommodating and caption place for us is no less vital."

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