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National Disability Rights Network Lauds Introduction of Autism Legislation Bill allows for additional Protection & Advocacy Services to Meet Increasing Needs of Vulnerable Population For Immediate Release March 20, 2007 Contact: Kaaryn Sanon, Communications Manager 202.408.9514 x122 WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Wayne Allard (R-CO) introduced the Expanding the Promise for Individuals with Autism Act of 2007, which includes funding for Protection & Advocacy (P&A) services for individuals with autism. “Over the last decade, P&As have served increasing numbers of individuals with autism and their families,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN). “The funding included in this bill for P&As will enable our programs to prioritize services for this growing population.” P&As are congressionally mandated to operate in every state and territory. Currently, the P&A network is on the front-line of work with individuals with autism and their families, particularly in the areas of early intervention, education, health services, and civil rights violations. Early statistics from FY 2006 indicate that 25 percent of the people served by the Protection and Advocacy for Developmental Disabilities program (PADD) were individuals with autism. Due to the inadequate funding and ever-increasing demand for P&A services from children and adults with all types of disabilities and their families, thousands of individuals with autism were unable to access critical P&A services, making this piece of legislation critical. # # # The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.

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