Ask Your Representatives to Support These Federal Bills

Archive for the ‘Advocacy’ Category

Ask Your Representatives to Support These Federal Bills

Below are brief summaries of bills introduced in Congress that would affect people with autism and their families. More information on each bill and other federal actions can be found on the Autism Society of Americaā€™s Action Center webpage. The Autism Society of North Carolina urges you to contact your members of Congress and ask…

Autism Awareness: We Are All Human

Iā€™m here to talk to you about autism awareness. The autism community could use the help of people who arenā€™t a part of it. People who have autism can talk and behave differently from people without it. If someone without autism knows that the person with autism theyā€™re talking to has it, theyā€™ll understand and…

When Children Have Questions about Classmates

As my 6-year-old was getting ready for his first day of school, he shared that he wants to grow up to be a fundraiser like mom and help people with autism. He loves everyone and that is one of the things I love most about him. His comment prompted us to talk further about being…

Call US Senators Today about Housing Supports; Learn about ABLE updates

We have two national issues to update you on, and actions for you to take today and tomorrow! Money Follows the Person (MFP) is a federally funded demonstration program that helps people with disabilities move from institutional settings such as state-run developmental centers and nursing homes to live in community-based residential settings. North Carolina has…

Transitioning to Competent Adulthood with Dr. Peter Gerhardt

Dr. Peter Gerhardt, who has worked in the autism field for 37 years, shared some of his expertise with parents and professionals last week at a one-day conference in Raleigh. His presentation was titled ā€œTransitioning to Competent Adulthood for Individuals with Autism: Implications from Preschool to High School and Beyond.ā€ Dr. Gerhardt is the Executive…

Bullying: Empowering Our Students with ASD

In todayā€™s society, it is not at all unusual to hear stories about students (both those with and without disabilities) being bullied. There is no doubt that bullying is becoming a serious problem in the school-age population, leading to studentsā€™ lower self-esteem, heightened anxiety, depression, fear, isolation, and even suicide. A growing issue within the…

URGENT: Tell Senators Not to Cut or Cap Medicaid

Congress plans to hold hearings Monday on a health-care bill that makes massive cuts to Medicaid, which includes funds for Innovations waivers, EPSDT services, and many other health and disability services. Analysis of previous health-care bills estimated that billions of dollars would be cut from Medicaid and 32 million people would lose health coverage, resulting…

Contact Congress about Health-Care Bill and Changes to Disability Civil Rights

Congress is back from its August break and has begun looking at various legislative actions that would affect people with autism and other disabilities, including changes to health care and to the Americans with Disabilities Act.   Senate working on changes to Medicaid and individual health care The US Senate is considering a bill similar…