Head of federal autism committee refuses to meet with leading organizations
| Our colleagues at SAFEMINDS, Thinking Moms’ Revolution and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) are asking people in our community to fill out a survey on autism issues at the link below to help them in their effort to get a meeting with Joshua Gordon, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and chair of Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).
Gordon has refused to meet with the representatives of three groups whose combined membership would place them among the largest autism organizations in America. He directed them to public comment period at the end of IACC meetings. You can take the survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ The IACC was created by the original Combatting Autism Act of 2006 as way to allow the American public (theoretically) to influence the direction of federal autism research and policy. Any voice that does not reflexively support the status quo, however, has been eliminated from the committee. Public participation is limited to a handful of three-minute oral presentations at the end of the meetings. A speaking slot must be applied for and approved weeks beforehand. Meetings are frequently cancelled, held only in Washington DC, and are marked by a high absentee rate among the committee members. So please take the survey and help our friends speak truth to power. Please share this message with family and friends, and post to social networks. And if you support the work of the Autism Action Network please make a donation at http://www.
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