New York Advocacy
Autism Speaks advocates to protect the rights, services, and supports of people with autism. Through our 2024 state government affairs work in New York, we helped improve access to ABA for autistic children on Medicaid through work within the regulatory system and secure funding for direct service professional (DSP) wage increases.
Because of Autism Speaks Advocacy, New York…
- Has an Autism Center of Excellence at Columbia University.
- Has received funding to train future health professionals at 5 academic institutions to provide better health care services for autistic New Yorkers (Locations include Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Research Foundation for SUNY Stony Brook University, Research Foundation for the State University of New York, University of Rochester & Westchester Institute for Human Development)
- Has received funding to train future developmental behavioral pediatricians at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, helping address the national shortage of DBPs who specialize in care for autistic children.
- NYPD received $150,000 in funding through Kevin and Avonte's Law to help prevent deaths and injuries associated with autistic individuals wandering from safety.
- Research institutions have been awarded over $193 million in autism research funding since FY15, including almost $26million in FY23 (most recent year).
- Has an autism insurance law requiring health plan coverage of relevant services including applied behavior analysis (ABA) in state-regulated private insurance plans and Medicaid.
- Department of Health & State Education recognized the critical role of unlicensed personnel (such as behavior technicians) as part of the ABA delivery team, increasing access to care for autistic children on Medicaid.