The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) will be having a Scientific Workshop on September 30th and October 1st to update the 2009 IACC Strategic Plan for ASD Research. This meeting will be held in Bethesda, MD, and more information can be found at http://iacc.hhs.gov/. The IACC was established as a result of the Combating Autism…
Organizing for upper grades (middle and high school)…
Hereās advice from my teenage son: Letās face it. Back to school is never easy. But here are a few hints and tips to help make things easier for when that first day comes around. First off, get to know your teachers. If you canāt arrange a talk with your teacher, at least get a…
2009 Legislative Session Wrap-Up: Health and Human Services
On August 11th 2009, state lawmakers passed a $19 million state budget and adjourned a long and difficult legislative session. Gov. Beverly Perdue signed the state’s $19 billion budget into law with “serious reservations”. The Governor is not alone in her reservations about the final state budget. There is no question that the deep cuts…
Positive Student Profile ā Helping Teachers Get To Know Your Child
As the school year begins, it is important to āintroduceā your child to his new teachers and other adults that your child encounters at school.Ā Creating a Positive Student ProfileĀ will help you communicate your childās strengths, interests, successes, as well as the challenges. Autism is a spectrum disorder.Ā As we like to say, āWhen youāve…
School Transportation
Back to Schoolā¦and transportation Do You Talk to Bus Drivers about Your Child? When we think of communicating with schools about our children with autism, we often think of the principal and teachers. There are many other staff members who come in contact with our children, and bus drivers (or other providers of transportation) are…
State Budget Passes – Thoughts and Observations
Earlier this week, after a rather long and certainly difficult time, our state legislators ended their business and adjourned until the state of the short session next year. Our state legislators and Governor were certainly confronted with preparing a budget in what certainly many are calling the most difficult economic times our state government has…
State Budget Update – Continuing Resolution Passed, Committees to Work Through Weekend
Continuing Budget Authority Today legislators approved a third continuing budget resolution to keep state government operating in the absence of a budget. This latest stopgap budget resolution has no expiration date and sets spending at 84% of the current 2008-2009 budget. State Budget Update Perhaps this resolution will be the last of this session. It…
Request for Information (RFI): Updating the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research
On behalf of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), the Nation Institute of Mental Health is seeking comments to inform the annual update of the IACC Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research, as required by the Combating Autism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-416). The purpose of this RFI is to solicit input from…
Final State Budget in Sight
The Senate and House Democrats have reached agreement to raise nearly $990 million dollars in revenue to restore some of the most harmful budget cuts in Health and Human Services and Education. The revenue plan calls for a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, a 2 percent surcharge on personal and corporate income tax, a…