Governor David A. Paterson Announces Autism Platform to include Inter-agency Task Force and Statewide Autism Research Consortium
May 28, 2008, 10:30 a.m., State Capitol Blue Room
Governor Paterson will announce the formation of an inter-agency Task Force on Autism that will ensure that New York State government is united as it takes the necessary steps to respond to the increasing incidence of autism and autism spectrum disorders and the challenges these disabilities bring to thousands of New York's families. The Task Force is a key component of a full platform of initiatives underway in New York State's Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). OMRDD and the State Education Department will co-chair the Task Force, ensuring that the state agencies involved in supporting individuals with autism and autism spectrum disorders work together to improve our understanding of these disabilities, our services and treatment options, our educational programs, and our ability to help families and individuals pursue their richest lives. The Task Force will also include New York State's Office of Mental Health, Office of Children and Family Services, Department of Health, Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, and Council on Children and Family Services.
Another key component of OMRDD's Autism Platform is the formation of the New York State Autism Spectrum Disorders Consortium. Governor Patterson tasked OMRDD with creating this multi-party research consortium that will unite New York's most prestigious institutions and most accomplished scientists, doctors, researchers, educators and service providers in a common mission: advancing our ability to understand and respond to ASD. The New York State Autism Spectrum Disorders Research Consortium will establish New York as a leader in both basic and applied research and training related to autism and ASD. It will position New York to pursue and execute large scale research studies in areas ranging from the causes of autism and early detection to studies of its occurrence throughout the state and development of "lab schools" that support focused study of individual responses to treatment in natural settings. Investing in this kind of large scale research and training infrastructure will maximize New York's ability to address the needs of those with autism and ASD. It will ensure that state-of-the-art understanding, prevention, detection and intervention is available across the state through each service system that supports individuals or families facing the challenges of autism.
OMRDD's Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter will also introduce OMRDD's larger Autism Platform, a multi-faceted, system-wide plan for addressing the needs of those with autism and ASD through research, improved services, improved collaboration and coordination among state service systems, and improved information for families, service providers and others. OMRDD's mission is to help people with developmental disabilities lead richer lives, to help them enjoy meaningful relationships, experience personal health and growth, live in homes of their choice, and fully participate in their communities. The Autism Platform, along with the Research Consortium and the inter-agency Task Force, will move New York forward to fulfill that mission for the growing number of people with autism or ASD.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Thank you! As a parent of a child with moderate to severe Autism I have to say again thank you. I cannot stress enough to you how important and necessary this is. We need to get more people aware and educated about Autism. At one point in the last year someone called Autism "the disease fo the month." This is NOT true and is becoming more and more prevalent and we need to know why, how and what can be done to help those affected with support and the necessary tools to lead successful lives including the individual and the families dealing with the issues of Autism.
Post a Comment