WAAC Archives

Critical Issues Impacting Autistic Adults– Zack Siddeek, MSW-C

• Creating Autism Friendly Environments:  http://www.depression-guide.com/autism/autism-friendly-environment.htm
•  (Autistic Adult, Ollibean Writer) Amy Sequenzia:  https://ollibean.com/tag/amy-sequenzia/
• National Longitudinal Transition Study:  https://nlts2.sri.com/

Overview of medical and health issues for persons with ASD/DD (Autism Speaks Health Report)- Alan Gill, MD

• Primary Care of Adults with Developmental Disabilities: Canadian Consensus Guidelines 
• AAP – Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety in Youth with ASD
• Youth with Autism: Roundtable Views of Services Needed During the Transition into Adulthood.  GAO-17-109
• 2016-2017 IACC Strategic Plan for ASD
• Autism Speaks. (2017). Autism and Health: A Special Report By Autism Speaks, Advances in Understanding and Treating the Health Conditions that Frequently Accompany Autism.

State of the science report on autism research, science, and genetics– Raphael Bernier, PhD

• 2016-2017 IACC Strategic Plan for ASD
•  Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education — AASPIRE Toolkit – https://aaspire.org/
•  Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and the Simons Simplex Collection

Restrictive Avoidant Eating– Barb Buchanan, RD and Danielle Dolezal, PhD., BCBA-D

HCA Updates w/10 minutes Q&A- Becky Peters

School Based Health Services and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)

Arzu Forough, Washington Autism Alliance and Advocacy

• Provide an overview of School Based Health Services, what is currently included and how these services are funded
• What is early intensive behavioral intervention or EIBI?  http://blog.stageslearning.com/blog/early-intensive-behavioral-intervention-eibi

Nancy Rosenberg, Ph.D., BCBA-D (slides)

• Why & how is ABA vital in accessing education
• Teacher training, UW BCBA program (capacity or # of students per cohort), school districts that have hired or employ present or former UW students

Vanessa Tucker, Ph.D., BCBA-D (slides)

• From Pacific Lutheran University. How ABA is integrated into various school districts.  Conditions where children are able to access ABA

Lionel Enns,  Ph.D., BCBA-D (slides)

• Co-occurring mental health conditions that impact access to education, what other behavior therapies, the role of mental health providers for students with mental health issues and the need for someone who can treat or refer appropriately.

Arzu Forough, WAAA

• How is ABA currently funded: Safety net’s threshold & funding criteria
• SBHS’s classification of ABA, process through which this may change.
• HCA- Medicaid webinar School-based Health Services Overview
• Process to remove ABA as a non-covered, realities about funding from legislature, grassroots advocacy, ABA Ad Hoc Committee

Meeting Goals:

1. To better understand the needs of adolescents and adults with autism.
2. Share information regarding state resources for adults and adolescent transition
3. Share information regarding model programs for higher education support, residential living, and vocational training and support
4. Share information on appropriate healthcare provision and healthcare access challenges

Agenda with Meeting Minutes

Attendees

 Meeting Goals:

1. To better understand the needs of adolescents and adults with autism.
2. To share news and updates about autism specific events, programs, and activities.
3. Consider improvements made in autism insurance coverage and areas for improvement.
4. Develop a plan for sustainability of WAAC.

Meeting MinutesAttendees

History of the Washington State Autism Advisory Council

The Council began as the Combatting Autism Advisory Council (CAAC)  in 2009 to guide the work of two competitive federal grants awarded by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services under the Combating Autism Act of 2006.  The two federal grants were awarded to:

• The WA State Department of Health Children with Special Health Care Needs Program and
• The University of Washington’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the Center on Human Development and Disability.

The work of the Council built on the recommendations of the Caring for Washington Individuals with Autism Task Force (created in 2005 by Senate Bill 5321) in its December 2006 Final Report to the Governor and State Legislature.

The Council has collaborated on many activities including:

• Annual summits for Multidisciplinary Diagnostic Center Teams and Communities
• Community Asset Mapping to improve collaborative identification and services for children with autism and related disabilities and their families
• Autism screening and assessment training for community service providers
• Identification and promotion of materials for families who have children and youth on the autism spectrum
• Promoting universal developmental screening

The original three-year grants ended in the summer of 2011, but the Washington Autism Advisory Council and many of its activities continue. The original “backbone” organizational support for the WAAC was provided by DOH and UW LEND.  LEND provided support into 2012, followed by the Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) from 2012 through Spring 2015.  The most recent meeting October 9, 2015 was coordinated by  Washington Autism Alliance and Advocacy (WAAA), with space provided by the DDC.  Several organizations including WAAA (Redmond), the Northwest Autism Center (Spokane), and the Lynchpin Foundation (Yakima) have taken the lead in organizing the next meeting in March, 2016.