Friends and Allies Talking Points

Hillary for America

Hillary Clintons Plan to Support Children, Youth, and Adults Living with Autism

Hillary Clinton is focused on the issues that keep families up at nightand there are millions of families across
America worrying about how to support their loved ones living with autism.

There are more than 3.5 million Americans living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

One in every 68 children in the United States was identified as having ASD in 2010.

Clinton knows theres more we can do as a country. She believes we must make a priority of supporting the millions of
Americans with autism, as well as their families who are struggling to pay for the high cost of treatment and services.

This is why Clinton is launching a comprehensive autism initiative that will boost screening, improve treatment,
increase research, and expand employment and housing opportunities for those impacted by autism. Among other
things, Clintons new initiative would:

Push states to require private insurers to cover autism services, both behavioral and developmental.

Conduct a nationwide early screening outreach campaign to ensure that all children, and in particular
children from underserved backgrounds, can get screened for autism. Children who are African-American,
Latino, or female are more likely to receive late diagnoses and are thereby missing crucial early warning signs.

Launch the Autism Works Initiative This effort would extend new resources and establish public-private
partnerships that will connect people with autism with employment opportunities.

Enact the Keeping All Students Safe Act and other reforms to protect children from abusive practices in
schools. The Act would ban the use of mechanical, chemical and physical restraints that restrict breathing. She
would also push for other reforms to protect children with autism from abusive treatment in the schools and
toughen the U.S. Department of Education guidance on bullying to protect autistic children from bullying in their
classroom.

Effectively enforce mental health parity protections. After years of advocacy, Congress enacted the Mental
Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008. But seven years later, the bill is still inconsistently enforced.
Clinton will direct HHS, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue Service to enforce mental health
parity to their full authority in their respective spheres in any states that fall short.

Clintons plan builds on her long record of advocating for children and families affected by autism.

As First Lady, she fought hard for more awareness and funding for autism, including supporting the bipartisan
Childrens Health Act of 2000, which had a special focus on autism research.

As Senator, she introduced the bipartisan Expanding the Promise for Individuals with Autism Act (EPIAA),
which aimed to expand access to interventions and support for Americans with autism.

A full fact sheet on the new proposal is available on The Briefing.