Last week, the House passed its version of the two-year budget bill, Senate Bill 257. Thank you to all the advocates for telling your stories. The House version of the budget includes 500 Innovations waiver slots, restores more of the funds for services for those waiting for help through Local Management Entities, and raises the…
Health-Care Bill and President’s Budget Would Hurt Individuals with Autism
US Senate Tackles Health-Care Repeal and Replace Bill Senate leadership is convening several work groups to draft improvements to the House-approved version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill in its current form slashes Medicaid funding by $834 billion over the next decade and reduces the insured population by 23 million, according to the…
Early Intervention Strategies to Promote Communication Behaviors
In early intervention, key areas of focus should include communication and social engagement. How do we begin to build these behaviors in young children with autism? It is important to use a systematic approach. In addition, it’s ok to start simple, and recognize that baby steps (e.g., a few more seconds of engagement with the…
NC Senate Passes Budget: Contact Your NC House Reps
Last week at the North Carolina General Assembly, the Senate passed its version of the two-year state budget bill. The governor previously released his budget proposal; see details on our blog. The NC House plans to spend the next two weeks working on its version of the budget before differences in the two versions must…
Asheville Workshop Provides Strategies for Challenging Behavior
Want to learn more about basic strategies to address challenging behavior? If you are in the Asheville area, consider attending the May 20 workshop led by ASNC’s Clinical Professionals. As professionals working in the field of ASD intervention and as parents/caregivers of individuals with ASD, it is likely that we have all experienced challenging and…
Public Policy Update
This article was contributed by Jennifer Mahan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. Federal News American Health Care Act (AHCA) Update Thank you for calling your US House of Representatives member regarding cuts to Medicaid in the AHCA and the importance of health-care coverage for autism. Your direct advocacy matters! The US House was not…
Focus on Sensory Processing Strategies at Annual Conference
The Autism Society of North Carolina held its annual conference March 24-25 in Charlotte. We will be sharing information from conference presentations in upcoming blog posts. Linda King-Thomas, a co-founder of Developmental Therapy Associates in Durham, presented on “Sensory Processing Issues and Practical Strategies” on the second day of the conference. Sensory integration is the…