I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2700 

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

disorders, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2011 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. DOYLE) 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 2011’’. 

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 

10 from an estimated one in 500 to an estimated one 


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1 in 110, according to data released by the Centers for 

2 Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December 

3 2009. CDC classified as suffering from ASD chil4 dren whose behaviors were consistent with the 

5 DSM–IV–TR criteria for Autistic Disorder, 

6 Asperger Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental 

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

8 (2) Autism is a complex neurological disorder 

9 that affects an individual in the areas of social inter10 action and communication. Because it is a spectrum 

11 disorder, it affects each individual differently and to 

12 varying degrees of severity. People with autism proc13 ess and respond to information in unique ways. In 

14 some cases, coexisting medical issues and aggressive 

15 or self-injurious behavior may be present. 

16 (3) The increased number of children diagnosed 

17 with autism is a growing and urgent concern for 

18 families, healthcare professionals, and educators, as 

19 the health and education systems struggle to re20 spond to the needs of this population in a com21 prehensive manner. 

22 (4) The prevalence of autism in developing 

23 countries is also growing rapidly, and health and 

24 education systems in these countries are particularly 

25 ill-equipped to deal with these issues. According to 


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1 the World Health Organization, tens of millions of 

2 individuals in Africa are affected by autism. 

3 (5) Children with autism who receive intensive 

4 and appropriate educational services before age five 

5 often make significant functional improvements. In 

6 the United States, significant efforts are being pur7 sued to expand early diagnosis and the provision of 

8 these services. In a report on the identification, eval9 uation and management of children with autism, the 

10 American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 

11 November 2007 that all children should be screened 

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

13 no symptoms. Early screening and services for au14 tism are sorely lacking in most of the developing 

15 world. An opportunity exists to use United States 

16 expertise to significantly aid children and families in 

17 developing countries, for relatively small costs. 

18 SEC. 3. GLOBAL AUTISM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Adminis20 trator for the United States Agency for International De21 velopment shall establish and administer a health and edu22 cation grant program to be known as the ‘‘Global Autism 

23 Assistance Program’’ to— 

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

25 nongovernmental organizations and other service 


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1 providers, including advocacy groups, focused on au2 tism in developing countries; and 

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

4 under subsection (d) to train health and education 

5 professionals working with children with autism in 

6 developing countries. 

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

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

9 the Administrator, in consultation with knowledgeable au10 tism organizations such as the World Autism Organiza11 tion, the Autism Society of America, and Autism Speaks, 

12 shall designate not fewer than two regions in developing 

13 countries that are determined to— 

14 (1) require assistance in dealing with autism; 

15 and 

16 (2) have sufficient familiarity with issues re17 lated to autism to make effective use of the Global 

18 Autism Assistance Program. 

19 (c) SELECTION OF IMPLEMENTING NGO.— 

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

21 after the designation of eligible regions pursuant to 

22 subsection (b), the Administrator shall select and 

23 award a grant under this section to a nongovern24 mental organization with experience in autism-re25 lated issues to implement the Global Autism AssistVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:53 Jul 30, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2700.IH H2700

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1 ance Program through selection and awarding of 

2 grants to local service providers and advocacy groups 

3 focused on autism. 

4 (2) ACTIVITIES.—A local service provider or ad5 vocacy group that receives a grant under paragraph 

6 (1) may use such grant to carry out any of the fol7 lowing activities (including, as appropriate, the 

8 translation into local languages of relevant English9 language publications): 

10 (A) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO THE

11 PUBLIC.—Use public service announcements 

12 and other public media to help the public be13 come more aware of the signs of autism so that 

14 children with autism can be diagnosed and 

15 treated earlier. 

16 (B) SUPPORT TO FAMILIES.—Development 

17 of resources for families, such as online web re18 source centers in local languages, dissemination 

19 of materials to parents of newly diagnosed chil20 dren, such as information contained in the Cen21 ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s publi22 cation entitled ‘‘Learn the Signs, Act Early’’, or 

23 other suitable alternatives, and dissemination of 

24 educational aids and guides to help parents 

25 with their children’s development. 


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1 (C) SUPPORT TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITU2 TIONS.—Funding for schools or other edu3 cational institutions, focusing on teachers of the 

4 youngest students, and including the distribu5 tion of equipment or of the materials referred 

6 to in subparagraph (B). 

7 (D) SUPPORT TO CLINICS AND MEDICAL

8 CENTERS.—Provision of funding to clinics and 

9 medical centers with proven records in address10 ing autism to assist with operating expenses, in11 cluding personnel, equipment supplies, and fa12 cilities, development of assessment testing for 

13 autism, and acquisition of specialized equip14 ment, such as augmentative communication de15 vices. 

16 (3) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

17 (A) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—To 

18 be eligible to receive a grant from the imple19 menting nongovernmental organization, a local 

20 service provider or advocacy group shall submit 

21 to such implementing nongovernmental organi22 zation an application at such time, in such 

23 manner, and containing such information as 

24 such implementing nongovernmental organiza25 tion may require. 


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1 (B) ESTABLISHMENT OF SCREENING

2 BOARD.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—The implementing 

4 nongovernmental organization responsible 

5 for implementing the Global Autism Assist6 ance Program shall establish a screening 

7 board to be known as the ‘‘Project Advi8 sory Board’’ to review for content and ap9 propriateness applications from local serv10 ice providers or advocacy groups submitted 

11 in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

12 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of 

13 the Project Advisory Board shall be ap14 pointed by the implementing nongovern15 mental organization, in consultation with 

16 the Administrator, and in accordance with 

17 the following provisions: 

18 (I) Each member shall serve for 

19 a term of one year and each member 

20 may serve as many as three consecu21 tive terms. 

22 (II) A member of the Project Ad23 visory Board may continue to serve 

24 after the expiration of the term of 


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1 such member until such time as a suc2 cessor is appointed. 

3 (III) Membership of the Project 

4 Advisory Board shall include at least 

5 seven voting members who are mem6 bers of autism advocacy groups, pro7 fessionals working with autism, or 

8 otherwise associated with the autism 

9 community. Among the voting mem10 bers of the Board shall be at least two 

11 parents from different families of indi12 viduals with autism, one medical pro13 fessional working with autism, one 

14 teacher of individuals with autism, 

15 and one individual who has autism. 

16 Efforts shall be made to include on 

17 the Project Advisory Board individ18 uals with experience working in the 

19 developing world. 

20 (IV) Membership of the Project 

21 Advisory Board shall include non-vot22 ing members as determined appro23 priate by the Administrator. 

24 (V) Membership of the Project 

25 Advisory Board shall be chosen so as 


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1 to ensure objectivity and balance and 

2 to reduce the potential for conflicts of 

3 interest. 

4 (4) SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.—The imple5 menting nongovernmental organization shall provide, 

6 contract for, and coordinate technical assistance in 

7 support of its mission in meeting the goals and pur8 poses of this Act. 

9 (d) TEACH THE TEACHERS.—The implementing non10 governmental organization, acting on behalf of the Admin11 istrator, in consultation with the Project Advisory Board, 

12 shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Teach the 

13 Teachers Program’’, to— 

14 (1) identify health and education professionals 

15 to receive specialized training for teaching and work16 ing with youth with autism, including training con17 ducted in two- or three-day workshops at locations 

18 within one of the two regions designated pursuant to 

19 subsection (b); and 

20 (2) conduct training through two- or three-day 

21 biomedical conferences in the two regions designated 

22 pursuant to subsection (b), including bringing med23 ical and psychological specialists from the United 

24 States to train and educate parents and health pro25 fessionals who deal with autism, including training 


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1 related to biomedical interventions that can affect 

2 autism, how nutrition and various metabolic issues 

3 can impact behavior, the role of applied behavioral 

4 analysis, and various occupational and speech thera5 pies in fighting autism. 

6 (e) FUNDING.—To carry out this Act, the Adminis7 trator shall allocate amounts that have been appropriated 

8 or otherwise made available to the United States Agency 

9 for International Development. 

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

11 term ‘‘autism’’ means all conditions consistent with au12 tism spectrum disorders described in section 2(1). 

Æ 


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