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Hearing Hearing Date: November 29, 2012 12:00 am

1 in 88 Children: A Look Into the Federal Response to Rising Rates of Autism

Subject
1 in 88 Children: A Look Into the Federal Response to Rising Rates of Autism
Date
November 29, 2012
Time
12:00 am
Place

2:00 P.M. in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

Chairman Issa Hearing Preview Statement

OGR Full Committee Hearing:  “1 in 88 Children:  A Look into the Federal Response to the Rising Rates of Autism”

November 29, 2012

Congress spends a lot of time discussing and debating issues that are determined by our own philosophical belief on what the role of government should be. Today we are drawing attention to something that has no political affiliation, no partisan allegiance, something much more fundamental and something much more personal.

Right now, 1 in 88 children are identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. At the start of this century, that ratio was 1 in 150. The truth is we don’t know enough about ASD.  We do know, however, that it is being diagnosed far more frequently than it was just a few years ago.

In recognition of this increase and of the reality that we don’t know enough about ASD, the Congress passed the Combating Autism Act in 2006 to establish the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee so we could facilitate an exchange of information and coordination in the hopes of raising awareness and understanding of ASD research and services. In Fiscal Year 2012, Congress directed $230 million for ASD-specific research and services.

Today, we will get a clearer picture on what is being done, what questions still need to be answered and what needs exist for those children, adults and families who live with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Witnesses and testimonies: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.

Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health

Document

Coleen Boyle, Ph.D.

Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Document

Mr. Bob Wright

Co-Founder
Autism Speaks

Document

Mr. Scott Badesch

President
Autism Society

Document

Mr. Mark Blaxill

Board Member
SafeMinds

Document

Mr. Bradley McGarry

Coordinator of the Asperger Initiative at Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst University

Document

Mr. Michael John Carley

Executive Director
Global & Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership

Document

Mr. Ari Ne'eman

President
Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Document