Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara is urging Governor Kathy Hochul to sign into law legislation he co-sponsored that would expand the mission of the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board. This new legislation would provide more resources to help individuals with autism and their families (A.1953).

“Autism has become one of the most common developmental disabilities, with 1 in 54 children diagnosed each year in our country,” said Santabarbara. “New York alone has thousands of individuals and families affected by the unique challenges associated with autism, such as finding appropriate housing or access to employment. This past year has only highlighted how important a centralized resource center, like the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board, is to people with disabilities and the loved ones who care for them. This is why I’m calling on our new governor to prioritize this bill that was passed back in June, and take immediate action by signing it into law.”

In 2016, Santabarbara spearheaded the creation of the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board, composed of individuals with autism, professionals in the field and relevant state agencies, which works to provide people with autism and their families with support and access to resources (Ch.469 of 2016). Once signed into law, this bill would create an autism detection, education and mapping program within the Board to promote early detection of autism, as well as educate the public, provide counseling and referral services and map locations of occurrences of autism. These measures would aid in determining the possible causes of autism in children while providing families, educators and health care providers with information to better support individuals diagnosed with autism, noted Santabarbara.