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) intro-
duced 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Autism Assist-
ance Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The occurrence of autism spectrum dis-
orders (ASD) has increased during the past decade 
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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. CDC classified as suffering from ASD chil-
dren whose behaviors were consistent with the 
DSM–IV–TR 
criteria 
for 
Autistic 
Disorder, 
Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental 
Disorder—Not Otherwise Specified (PDD–NOS). 
(2) Autism is a complex neurological disorder 
that affects an individual in the areas of social inter-
action and communication. Because it is a spectrum 
disorder, it affects each individual differently and to 
varying degrees of severity. People with autism proc-
ess and respond to information in unique ways. In 
some cases, coexisting medical issues and aggressive 
or self-injurious behavior may be present. 
(3) 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 re-
spond to the needs of this population in a com-
prehensive manner. 
(4) The prevalence of autism in developing 
countries is also growing rapidly, and health and 
education systems in these countries are particularly 
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ill-equipped to deal with these issues. Experts esti-
mate, for example, that there are approximately 
2,500,000 people with an autism spectrum disorder 
in China, and approximately 2,000,000 in India 
alone. A large number of these people are children, 
although reliable statistics are difficult to come by. 
(5) Children with autism who receive intensive 
and appropriate educational services before age five 
often make significant functional improvements. In 
the United States, significant efforts are being pur-
sued to expand early diagnosis and the provision of 
these services. In a report on the identification, eval-
uation and management of children with autism, the 
American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 
November 2007 that all children should be screened 
for autism twice by the age of two, even if they have 
no symptoms. Early screening and services for au-
tism are sorely lacking in most of the developing 
world. An opportunity exists to use United States 
expertise to significantly aid children and families in 
developing countries, for relatively small costs. 
SEC. 3. GLOBAL AUTISM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Adminis-
trator for the United States Agency for International De-
velopment shall establish and administer a health and edu-
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cation grant program to be known as the ‘‘Global Autism 
Assistance Program’’ to— 
(1) support activities under subsection (c)(2) by 
nongovernmental organizations and other service 
providers, including advocacy groups, focused on au-
tism in developing countries; and 
(2) establish a ‘‘teach the teachers’’ program 
under subsection (d) to train health and education 
professionals working with children with autism in 
developing countries. 
(b) DESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE REGIONS.—Not later 
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator, in consultation with knowledgable au-
tism organizations such as the World Autism Organiza-
tion, the Autism Society of America, and Autism Speaks, 
shall designate not fewer than two regions in developing 
countries that are determined to— 
(1) require assistance in dealing with autism; 
and 
(2) have sufficient familiarity with issues re-
lated to autism to make effective use of the Global 
Autism Assistance Program. 
(c) SELECTION OF IMPLEMENTING NGO.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the designation of eligible regions pursuant to 
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subsection (b), the Administrator shall select and 
award a grant under this section to a nongovern-
mental organization with experience in autism-re-
lated issues to implement the Global Autism Assist-
ance Program through selection and awarding of 
grants to local service providers and advocacy groups 
focused on autism. 
(2) ACTIVITIES.—A local service provider or ad-
vocacy group that receives a grant under paragraph 
(1) may use such grant to carry out any of the fol-
lowing activities (including, as appropriate, the 
translation into local languages of relevant English- 
language publications): 
(A) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO THE 
PUBLIC.—Use public service announcements 
and other public media to help the public be-
come more aware of the signs of autism so that 
children with autism can be diagnosed and 
treated earlier. 
(B) SUPPORT TO FAMILIES.—Development 
of resources for families, such as online web re-
source centers in local languages, dissemination 
of materials to parents of newly-diagnosed chil-
dren, such as information contained in the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s publi-
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cation entitled ‘‘Learn the Signs, Act Early’’, or 
other suitable alternatives, and dissemination of 
educational aids and guides to help parents 
with their children’s development. 
(C) SUPPORT TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITU-
TIONS.—Funding for schools or other edu-
cational institutions, focusing on teachers of the 
youngest students, and including the distribu-
tion of equipment or of the materials referred 
to in subparagraph (B). 
(D) SUPPORT TO CLINICS AND MEDICAL 
CENTERS.—Provision of funding to clinics and 
medical centers with proven records in address-
ing autism to assist with operating expenses, in-
cluding personnel, equipment supplies, and fa-
cilities, development of assessment testing for 
autism, and acquisition of specialized equip-
ment, such as augmentative communication de-
vices. 
(3) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 
(A) SUBMISSION
OF
APPLICATIONS.—To 
be eligible to receive a grant from the imple-
menting nongovernmental organization, a local 
service provider or advocacy group shall submit 
to such implementing nongovernmental organi-
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zation an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as 
such implementing nongovernmental organiza-
tion may require. 
(B) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
SCREENING 
BOARD.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The implementing 
nongovernmental organization responsible 
for implementing the Global Autism Assist-
ance Program shall establish a screening 
board to be known as the ‘‘Project Advi-
sory Board’’ to review for content and ap-
propriateness applications from local serv-
ice providers or advocacy groups submitted 
in accordance with subparagraph (A). 
(ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of 
the Project Advisory Board shall be ap-
pointed by the implementing nongovern-
mental organization, in consultation with 
the Administrator, and in accordance with 
the following provisions: 
(I) Each member shall serve for 
a term of one year and each member 
may serve as many as three consecu-
tive terms. 
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(II) A member of the Project Ad-
visory Board may continue to serve 
after the expiration of the term of 
such member until such time as a suc-
cessor is appointed. 
(III) Membership of the Project 
Advisory Board shall include at least 
seven voting members who are mem-
bers of autism advocacy groups, pro-
fessionals working with autism, or 
otherwise associated with the autism 
community. Among the voting mem-
bers of the Board shall be at least two 
parents from different families of indi-
viduals with autism, one medical pro-
fessional working with autism, one 
teacher of individuals with autism, 
and one individual who has autism. 
Efforts shall be made to include on 
the Project Advisory Board individ-
uals with experience working in the 
developing world. 
(IV) Membership of the Project 
Advisory Board shall include non-vot-
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ing members as determined appro-
priate by the Administrator. 
(V) Membership of the Project 
Advisory Board shall be chosen so as 
to ensure objectivity and balance and 
to reduce the potential for conflicts of 
interest. 
(4) SUPPORT
AND
ASSISTANCE.—The imple-
menting nongovernmental organization shall provide, 
contract for, and coordinate technical assistance in 
support of its mission in meeting the goals and pur-
poses of this Act. 
(d) TEACH THE TEACHERS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The implementing non-
governmental organization, acting on behalf of the 
Administrator, in consultation with the Project Advi-
sory Board, shall establish a program, to be known 
as the ‘‘Teach the Teachers Program’’, to— 
(A) identify health and education profes-
sionals to receive specialized training for teach-
ing and working with youth with autism, in-
cluding training conducted in two- or three-day 
workshops at locations within one of the two re-
gions designated pursuant to subsection (b); 
and 
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(B) conduct training through two- or 
three-day biomedical conferences in the two re-
gions designated pursuant to subsection (b), in-
cluding bringing medical and psychological spe-
cialists from the United States to train and 
educate parents and health professionals who 
deal with autism, including training related to 
biomedical interventions that can affect autism, 
how nutrition and various metabolic issues can 
impact behavior, the role of applied behavioral 
analysis, and various occupational and speech 
therapies in fighting autism. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 and 
$4,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 to carry out this section. 
(f) AUTISM DEFINED.—For purposes of this Act, the 
term ‘‘autism’’ means all conditions consistent with au-
tism spectrum disorders described in section 2(1). 
Æ 
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