I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5446 

To establish a health and education grant program related to autism spectrum 

disorders, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2008 

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

LANGEVIN, Mr. PENCE, Mr. WOLF, and Mr. WELDON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a health and education grant program related 

to autism spectrum disorders, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Autism Assist5 ance Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The occurrence of autism spectrum dis9 orders (ASD) has increased during the past decade 


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1 from an estimated one in 500 to an estimated one 

2 in 150, according to data released by the Centers for 

3 Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February 

4 2007. CDC classified as suffering from ASD chil5 dren whose behaviors were consistent with the 

6 DSM–IV–TR criteria for Autistic Disorder, 

7 Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental 

8 Disorder—Not Otherwise Specified (PDD–NOS). 

9 (2) Autism is a complex neurological disorder 

10 that affects an individual in the areas of social inter11 action and communication. Because it is a spectrum 

12 disorder, it affects each individual differently and to 

13 varying degrees of severity. People with autism proc14 ess and respond to information in unique ways. In 

15 some cases, coexisting medical issues and aggressive 

16 or self-injurious behavior may be present. 

17 (3) The increased number of children diagnosed 

18 with autism is a growing and urgent concern for 

19 families, healthcare professionals, and educators, as 

20 the health and education systems struggle to re21 spond to the needs of this population in a com22 prehensive manner. 

23 (4) The prevalence of autism in developing 

24 countries is also growing rapidly, and health and 

25 education systems in these countries are particularly 


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1 ill-equipped to deal with these issues. Experts esti2 mate, for example, that there are approximately 

3 2,500,000 people with an autism spectrum disorder 

4 in China, and approximately 2,000,000 in India 

5 alone. A large number of these people are children, 

6 although reliable statistics are difficult to come by. 

7 (5) Children with autism who receive intensive 

8 and appropriate educational services before age five 

9 often make significant functional improvements. In 

10 the United States, significant efforts are being pur11 sued to expand early diagnosis and the provision of 

12 these services. In a report on the identification, eval13 uation and management of children with autism, the 

14 American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 

15 November 2007 that all children should be screened 

16 for autism twice by the age of two, even if they have 

17 no symptoms. Early screening and services for au18 tism are sorely lacking in most of the developing 

19 world. An opportunity exists to use United States 

20 expertise to significantly aid children and families in 

21 developing countries, for relatively small costs. 

22 SEC. 3. GLOBAL AUTISM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Adminis24 trator for the United States Agency for International De25 velopment shall establish and administer a health and eduVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Feb 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5446.IH H5446

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1 cation grant program to be known as the ‘‘Global Autism 

2 Assistance Program’’ to— 

3 (1) support activities under subsection (c)(2) by 

4 nongovernmental organizations and other service 

5 providers, including advocacy groups, focused on au6 tism in developing countries; and 

7 (2) establish a ‘‘teach the teachers’’ program 

8 under subsection (d) to train health and education 

9 professionals working with children with autism in 

10 developing countries. 

11 (b) DESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE REGIONS.—Not later 

12 than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

13 the Administrator, in consultation with knowledgable au14 tism organizations such as the World Autism Organiza15 tion, the Autism Society of America, and Autism Speaks, 

16 shall designate not fewer than two regions in developing 

17 countries that are determined to— 

18 (1) require assistance in dealing with autism; 

19 and 

20 (2) have sufficient familiarity with issues re21 lated to autism to make effective use of the Global 

22 Autism Assistance Program. 

23 (c) SELECTION OF IMPLEMENTING NGO.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the designation of eligible regions pursuant to 


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1 subsection (b), the Administrator shall select and 

2 award a grant under this section to a nongovern3 mental organization with experience in autism-re4 lated issues to implement the Global Autism Assist5 ance Program through selection and awarding of 

6 grants to local service providers and advocacy groups 

7 focused on autism. 

8 (2) ACTIVITIES.—A local service provider or ad9 vocacy group that receives a grant under paragraph 

10 (1) may use such grant to carry out any of the fol11 lowing activities (including, as appropriate, the 

12 translation into local languages of relevant English13 language publications): 

14 (A) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO THE

15 PUBLIC.—Use public service announcements 

16 and other public media to help the public be17 come more aware of the signs of autism so that 

18 children with autism can be diagnosed and 

19 treated earlier. 

20 (B) SUPPORT TO FAMILIES.—Development 

21 of resources for families, such as online web re22 source centers in local languages, dissemination 

23 of materials to parents of newly-diagnosed chil24 dren, such as information contained in the Cen25 ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s publiVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Feb 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5446.IH H5446

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1 cation entitled ‘‘Learn the Signs, Act Early’’, or 

2 other suitable alternatives, and dissemination of 

3 educational aids and guides to help parents 

4 with their children’s development. 

5 (C) SUPPORT TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITU6 TIONS.—Funding for schools or other edu7 cational institutions, focusing on teachers of the 

8 youngest students, and including the distribu9 tion of equipment or of the materials referred 

10 to in subparagraph (B). 

11 (D) SUPPORT TO CLINICS AND MEDICAL

12 CENTERS.—Provision of funding to clinics and 

13 medical centers with proven records in address14 ing autism to assist with operating expenses, in15 cluding personnel, equipment supplies, and fa16 cilities, development of assessment testing for 

17 autism, and acquisition of specialized equip18 ment, such as augmentative communication de19 vices. 

20 (3) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

21 (A) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—To 

22 be eligible to receive a grant from the imple23 menting nongovernmental organization, a local 

24 service provider or advocacy group shall submit 

25 to such implementing nongovernmental organiVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Feb 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5446.IH H5446

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1 zation an application at such time, in such 

2 manner, and containing such information as 

3 such implementing nongovernmental organiza4 tion may require. 

5 (B) ESTABLISHMENT OF SCREENING

6 BOARD.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The implementing 

8 nongovernmental organization responsible 

9 for implementing the Global Autism Assist10 ance Program shall establish a screening 

11 board to be known as the ‘‘Project Advi12 sory Board’’ to review for content and ap13 propriateness applications from local serv14 ice providers or advocacy groups submitted 

15 in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

16 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of 

17 the Project Advisory Board shall be ap18 pointed by the implementing nongovern19 mental organization, in consultation with 

20 the Administrator, and in accordance with 

21 the following provisions: 

22 (I) Each member shall serve for 

23 a term of one year and each member 

24 may serve as many as three consecu25 tive terms. 


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1 (II) A member of the Project Ad2 visory Board may continue to serve 

3 after the expiration of the term of 

4 such member until such time as a suc5 cessor is appointed. 

6 (III) Membership of the Project 

7 Advisory Board shall include at least 

8 seven voting members who are mem9 bers of autism advocacy groups, pro10 fessionals working with autism, or 

11 otherwise associated with the autism 

12 community. Among the voting mem13 bers of the Board shall be at least two 

14 parents from different families of indi15 viduals with autism, one medical pro16 fessional working with autism, one 

17 teacher of individuals with autism, 

18 and one individual who has autism. 

19 Efforts shall be made to include on 

20 the Project Advisory Board individ21 uals with experience working in the 

22 developing world. 

23 (IV) Membership of the Project 

24 Advisory Board shall include non-votVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Feb 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5446.IH H5446

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1 ing members as determined appro2 priate by the Administrator. 

3 (V) Membership of the Project 

4 Advisory Board shall be chosen so as 

5 to ensure objectivity and balance and 

6 to reduce the potential for conflicts of 

7 interest. 

8 (4) SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.—The imple9 menting nongovernmental organization shall provide, 

10 contract for, and coordinate technical assistance in 

11 support of its mission in meeting the goals and pur12 poses of this Act. 

13 (d) TEACH THE TEACHERS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The implementing non15 governmental organization, acting on behalf of the 

16 Administrator, in consultation with the Project Advi17 sory Board, shall establish a program, to be known 

18 as the ‘‘Teach the Teachers Program’’, to— 

19 (A) identify health and education profes20 sionals to receive specialized training for teach21 ing and working with youth with autism, in22 cluding training conducted in two- or three-day 

23 workshops at locations within one of the two re24 gions designated pursuant to subsection (b); 

25 and 


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1 (B) conduct training through two- or 

2 three-day biomedical conferences in the two re3 gions designated pursuant to subsection (b), in4 cluding bringing medical and psychological spe5 cialists from the United States to train and 

6 educate parents and health professionals who 

7 deal with autism, including training related to 

8 biomedical interventions that can affect autism, 

9 how nutrition and various metabolic issues can 

10 impact behavior, the role of applied behavioral 

11 analysis, and various occupational and speech 

12 therapies in fighting autism. 

13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

15 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 and 

16 $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 to carry out this section. 

17 (f) AUTISM DEFINED.—For purposes of this Act, the 

18 term ‘‘autism’’ means all conditions consistent with au19 tism spectrum disorders described in section 2(1). 

Æ 


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