Getting Autism in the Debates

Autism came up briefly in the first presidential debate.  There is a movement afoot for a more extensive discussion, as Autism Speaks reported on Thursday:

Autism Speaks joined a social media campaign today with the nation's leading autism advocacy organizations to raise autism as an issue in the Presidential debates and as an issue that cannot be ignored in this year's elections at the national, state and local levels.

Emails were sent to all 150,000 advocates registered with the Autism Votes campaign, and messages were posted on Facebook and Twitter asking the autism community to urge the Obama and Romney campaigns "to discuss a plan for leadership on increased funding for dedicated autism research and appropriate health insurance coverage for all Americans with autism."

Examples:

On Friday, an Autism Speaks video featured a person with ASD:

In a new election video, self-advocate Amy Gravino asks this year’s candidates, “This fall, please don’t break my heart.” And she calls upon the autism community to be a part of the conversation as the nation debates our future. Watch the video below and read Amy's previous blog post on why 1 in 88 Can't Wait.