Promoting Autism Awareness: Admin Proclaims World Autism Day, Shares Resources

President Trump proclaimed April 2 to be World Autism Day in commemoration of the universally celebrated day, stating: “On World Autism Awareness Day, we honor the millions of Americans living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who, in spite of the challenges they may face, continue to make extraordinary contributions to their families, their communities, our Nation, and the world.  We also express our sincere appreciation to the families, friends, medical professionals, and caregivers who help Americans with ASD pursue the American Dream.” The proclamation also referred to the Administration’s work on technology and health systems innovations, autism research, the strong economy making it easier for people with autism to find jobs, and the President signing Kevin and Avonte’s law last year which ANCOR was a strong supporter of.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) further enriched the Administration’s World Autism Day activities with the release of new resources. As shared by ODEP:

“In the spirit of raising awareness on how to better support individuals on the autism spectrum in the workplace, ODEP has provided a list of helpful resources and tools from our organization and from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, one of our partners at the U.S. Department of Labor:

• OFCCP Best Practices in Creating an Inclusive Workforce

• ODEP Resources for Autism & the Workplace

• JAN Accommodations and Compliance: Autism Spectrum

• JAN Workplace Accommodation Toolkit”.

Side Note for Members: The Autism CARES Act needs to be reauthorized by the end of the fiscal year (September 2019) in order for funding to important autism research and programs to continue… keep posted to Capitol Correspondence about ANCOR’s leadership on the continued funding of this important law.