Autism Action Alert (got this from:
http://www.naar.org/govt/render_leg.asp?intNewsItemID=276)
6 April 2005

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NAAR is asking you to contact your Members of Congress to request
$10 million for autism research in the "FY 2006 Military Quality of
Life & Veterans Appropriations Bill" through the Department of
Defense (DoD) Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program.



Autism is now considered the fastest growing developmental disorder
in the United States. Congress must intensify its commitment to
increasing and enhancing the federal government's contribution to
autism research.



Based on the most recent prevalence data from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), autism occurs in as many as 1 in
every 166 Americans, including as many as 12,000 children in
military families (active duty, reserve and guard). Despite this
strikingly high prevalence, autism research remains one of the
lowest funded areas of medical research in both the public and
private sector.



Last year, NAAR led a broad coalition of autism organizations that
got autism added – for the first time ever - to the list of diseases
and disorders eligible for funding through the DoD's Peer-Reviewed
Medical Research Program, which each year invests tens of millions
of dollars into various medical research programs. This was an
excellent start made possible largely through the efforts of NAAR
supporters other autism advocates.



Today, we need your help again for the 2006 fiscal year. We must
ensure that investigators focusing on autism have the resources they
need to unravel the mysteries of this devastating disorder. We have
an opportunity to do this through the FY 2006 Military Quality of
Life & Veterans Appropriations Bill.



Military families are substantially affected by the financial and
emotional costs of raising a child with autism. In fact, given the
frequent duty station changes and social turmoil of military
service, military children with an autism spectrum disorder often
face additional challenges that their civilian counterparts do not.
Autism's impact also extends to the performance and readiness of
service members (and their units) who have children with autism. A
service member with a child with autism may be restricted in terms
of assignments and what the military calls "deployability," which
has the potential of placing a higher burden on others who serve.



My niece, an Army medic stationed in the Pacific, is expecting her
first child. Her husband, an Army sergeant who just returned from a
two-year tour of duty in Iraq, has now been deployed to a location
5,000 miles from her. Far away from all of us, she will have to
raise her baby alone for much of the next several years. Imagine if
a child with autism is born into such a typical military family. The
additional hardship is staggering.



You can help by urging your elected officials in Washington to sign
a letter supporting an effort to secure $10 million for autism
research funding in the FY 2006 Military Quality of Life & Veterans
Appropriations Bill.



Click here to download or print a letter that was sent to all
Members of Congress to support the measure.

We are asking you to mail, fax or e-mail this letter to your elected
officials in Washington with a simple cover letter from you asking
for their support on this request. When you contact your
Representative, invite him or her to please contact Michael Spira
with Rep. McCarthy at (202) 225-5516 or Andy Napoli with Rep. Smith
at (202) 225-3765 to sign the letter of support.



Click here to locate your Congressman or Congresswoman in the U.S.
House of Representatives and send an e-mail to urge him or her to
support this request for research.



Click here to locate your Senator in the U.S. Senate and send an e-
mail to urge him or her to support this request for research.



Please remember to let us know which elected officials you have sent
a request to on behalf of this issue by sending an e-mail to
naar@.... We'll keep track of which Members of Congress sign
on to this effort and send out an update shortly.



While we have made significant progress in recent years increasing
autism research dollars at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
as well as surveillance and public health funding at the CDC, much
more must be done. With NIH funding remaining relatively flat, we
must seek alternative sources of revenue.



Our government must rise to the challenge faced by an absolutely
overwhelming number of our children.



NAAR wishes to thank Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (NY) and
Christopher Smith (NJ) for their leadership in supporting this
important initiative.



And of course, we thank you for your extraordinary support.



Sincerely,



Ann Gibbons

Chair, NAAR Governmental Affairs Committee

Mother of a child with autism