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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

IACC Goes Dormant

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaign politics.   In the 2016 campaign, a number of posts discussed Trump's bad record on disability issues more generally.   As his actions as president indicate, he has little use for Americans with disabilities.

Michelle Diamant at Disability Scoop:

A long-established federal autism advisory committee charged with coordinating the government’s activities related to the developmental disorder has been defunct for the last year.

Every member of the panel known as the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, or IACC, saw their term expire at the end of last September. To date, no new members have been appointed.
The committee comprised of federal officials and members of the autism community last met in July 2019. Nominations for new members were being accepted between Nov. 19, 2019 and Feb. 21, 2020.

...

 The National Institute of Mental Health’s Office of Autism Research Coordination, which manages the IACC, is working to seat a new committee, according to Susan Daniels, director of the office.

“The IACC selection and appointment process is underway. We are hopeful that appointments will be made in the fall of 2020,” she said in a statement to Disability Scoop. “Once the new committee members are appointed, a formal announcement will be made and meetings and other activities of the IACC will resume. IACC publications have continued and will continue.”

The NIMH declined to answer any further questions about the status of the committee.