IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1472 

Supporting international health and education grant programs related to 

autism spectrum disorders. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 

CONYERS, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs. MALONEY of New 

York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. WOLF, Mr. 

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. FORTUN ̃O) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting international health and education grant 

programs related to autism spectrum disorders. 

Whereas the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) 

in the United States has increased during the past decade from an estimated one in 500 to an estimated one 

in 150, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February 2007; 

Whereas autism is a complex neurological disorder that affects an individual in the areas of social interaction and 

communication and, in some cases, the individual may 

both experience biomedical problems and exhibit aggressive or self-injurious behavior; 


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•HRES 1472 IH 

Whereas autism is a spectrum disorder that affects each individual differently and to varying degrees of severity, and 

people with autism process and respond to information in 

unique ways; 

Whereas the increased number of children diagnosed with autism is a growing and urgent concern for families, 

healthcare professionals, and educators, as the health and 

education systems struggle to respond to the needs of 

this population in a comprehensive manner; 

Whereas in a November 2007 report on the identification, 

evaluation, and management of children with autism, the 

American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that all 

children should be screened for autism twice before they 

reach the age of two, even if they have no symptoms, due 

to ‘‘evidence that early intensive intervention may result 

in substantially better outcomes’’; 

Whereas in the United States, significant efforts are being 

pursued to expand early diagnosis and the provision of 

intensive and appropriate educational services to children 

before age five that can provide children with significant 

functional improvements; 

Whereas the prevalence of autism in developing countries is 

growing rapidly, including, for example, an estimated 

2,500,000 people with an autism spectrum disorder in 

China, and an estimated 2,000,000 such persons in 

India; 

Whereas health systems in most developing countries are particularly ill-equipped to diagnose and treat autism, including early screening, and the education systems lack 

trained instructors and specialized services to address the 

needs of both autistic children and adults; 


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Whereas there is also a critical need for services for adults 

with autism, including job training; and 

Whereas United States expertise in autism could significantly 

assist children and adults with autism and their families 

in developing countries for relatively low costs: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) encourages the Administrator of the United 

3 States Agency for International Development (in 

4 this Resolution referred to as the ‘‘Adminstrator’’) 

5 to establish and administer a health and education 

6 grant program to be known as the ‘‘Global Autism 

7 Assistance Program’’ to— 

8 (A) support activities by nongovernmental 

9 organizations and other service providers, in10 cluding advocacy groups, focused on autism in 

11 developing countries; and 

12 (B) establish a ‘‘teach the teachers’’ pro13 gram to train health and education profes14 sionals working with children and adults with 

15 autism in developing countries; 

16 (2) further encourages the Administrator, in 

17 consultation with knowledgeable autism organiza18 tions such as the World Autism Organization, the 

19 Autism Society of America, and Autism Speaks, to 


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1 designate not fewer than two regions in developing 

2 countries that are determined to— 

3 (A) require assistance in addressing au4 tism; and 

5 (B) have sufficient familiarity with issues 

6 related to autism to make an effective use of 

7 the Global Autism Assistance Program; 

8 (3) further encourages the Administrator to se9 lect and award a grant to a nongovernmental organi10 zation (in this Resolution referred to as ‘‘imple11 menting nongovernmental organization’’) with expe12 rience in autism-related issues to implement the 

13 Global Autism Assistance Program through selection 

14 and awarding of grants to local service providers and 

15 advocacy groups focused on autism within the des16 ignated regions; 

17 (4) encourages the implementing nongovern18 mental organization to establish a screening board to 

19 be known as the ‘‘Project Advisory Board’’, includ20 ing at least seven voting members who are members 

21 of autism advocacy groups, professionals working 

22 with autism, or experts otherwise associated with the 

23 autism community, and at least two parents from 

24 different families of individuals with autism, one 

25 medical professional working with individuals with 


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1 autism, one teacher of individuals with autism, and 

2 one individual who has autism, to review grant ap3 plications from local service providers or advocacy 

4 groups for content and appropriateness, and efforts 

5 should be made to ensure objectivity and balance on 

6 the part of those serving on the Project Advisory 

7 Board, to reduce the potential for conflicts of inter8 est, to ensure a broad spectrum of viewpoints, and 

9 to include individuals with experience working in the 

10 developing world; 

11 (5) encourages the Project Advisory Board to 

12 award grants for projects or programs that pro13 vide— 

14 (A) public service announcements and 

15 other public media to educate the public about 

16 the signs of autism so that children with autism 

17 can be diagnosed and treated at the earliest 

18 stages; 

19 (B) resources for families, such as online 

20 web resource centers in local languages, dis21 semination of materials to parents of newly di22 agnosed children such as information contained 

23 in the Center for Disease Control and Preven24 tion’s publication entitled ‘‘Learn the Signs, 

25 Act Early’’, and dissemination of educational 


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1 aids and guides to help parents with their autis2 tic children’s development; 

3 (C) funding for schools or other edu4 cational institutions, focusing on teachers of the 

5 youngest students, and including the distribu6 tion of specialized equipment and informational 

7 materials; and 

8 (D) funding for health clinics and medical 

9 centers with proven records in addressing au10 tism to support their diagnostic and treatment 

11 efforts, including assistance with operating ex12 penses, personnel, facilities, related supplies, 

13 the development of autism assessment testing, 

14 and acquisition of specialized equipment includ15 ing augmentative communication devices; and 

16 (6) further encourages the implementing non17 governmental organization, acting on behalf of the 

18 Administrator, in consultation with the Project Advi19 sory Board, to establish a program, to be known as 

20 the ‘‘Teach the Teachers Program’’, to— 

21 (A) identify health and education profes22 sionals to receive specialized training for teach23 ing and working with youth with autism, in24 cluding training conducted in two- or three-day 


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1 workshops at locations within one of the two re2 gions designated by the Administrator; and 

3 (B) conduct training through two- or 

4 three-day biomedical conferences in the two des5 ignated regions, including bringing medical and 

6 psychological specialists from the United States 

7 to train and educate parents and health profes8 sionals who deal with autism, including training 

9 related to biomedical interventions that can af10 fect autism, how nutrition and various meta11 bolic issues can impact behavior, the role of ap12 plied behavioral analysis, and various occupa13 tional and speech therapies in fighting autism. 

Æ 


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