Autism and Other Developmental Disorders

Authorizing Legislation - Section 399BB of the Public Health Service Act.

.Allocation Methods:

• Direct federal/intramural
• Contract
• Formula grant/co-operative agreement
• Competitive grant/co-operative agreement

Program Description and Accomplishments
The Combating Autism Act of 2006 authorized a program for early detection, education and intervention activities on autism and other developmental disorders. This program supports activities to:

1. provide information and education on autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities to increase public awareness;
2. promote research into the development and validation of reliable screening tools and interventions for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities and disseminate information;
3. promote early screening of individuals at higher risk for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities as early as practicable, given evidence-based screening techniques and interventions;
4. increase the number of individuals who are able to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities; and
5. increase the number of individuals able to provide evidence-based interventions for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disabilities.

In FY 2008 Congress appropriated $36,354,000 for this program, of which approximately
$20 million was moved from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant training programs for Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) and Behavioral Pediatrics. Funds will be used to expand these programs, as well as support: grants to study interventions for Autism and related developemental disabilities; demonstration grants to develop models ofsystems of services for children with autism and other disabilities; grant(s) to disseminate current and accurate information to families and consumers on early identification, diagnosis and access to services; grants to disseminate screening intervention, and guideline information; and other technical assistance and evaluation.

Funding includes costs associated with grant reviews, processing of grants through the Grants Administration Tracking and Evaluation System (GATES) and HRSA's electronic handbook, and follow-up performance reviews.

Funding History

The FY 2009 Request of $36,354,000 is the same as the FY 2008 Enacted level. Funds will be used to continue activities initiated in FY 2008 to:

• Provide information, education and coordination;
• Promote research into evidence based practice for interventions and the development of reliable screening tools;
• Promote the development of guidelines;
• Promote early screening and intervention; and
• Train providers to diagnose and provide care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders.