NCSA Position Statements
Toward fulfillment of its mission to advance recognition, policy and solutions for the surging population of individuals, families and caregivers affected by severe forms of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders, the board of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) has adopted the following positions on pressing issues facing our community.
TFC’s basic position is that the individual and their family know best what type of residential and vocational programs and opportunities best meet their needs and preferences. The role of government, federal and state, should be to support all quality residential and vocational options, allowing the individual and his or her family to choose the option they prefer. By doing so, the government treats individuals with disabilities the same as those who do not have disabilities.
Those who do not have a disability get to choose where to live, work and recreate. Those with disabilities should have that same right. This is the essential message of the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Both have at their core the fundamental principal that individuals with disabilities should have the same right as everyone else to choose the life they wish to live. The role of government is to support that choice, not to limit choice.
VOR is a national organization that advocates for high quality care and human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
VOR promises to empower you to make and protect quality of life choices for individuals with developmental disabilities.
The Autism Science Foundation is a nonprofit corporation organized for charitable and educational purposes, and exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
The Autism Science Foundation’s mission is to support autism research by providing funding and other assistance to scientists and organizations conducting, facilitating, publicizing and disseminating autism research. The organization also provides information about autism to the general public and serves to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders and the needs of individuals and families affected by autism.
Our organization adheres to rigorous scientific standards and values. We believe that outstanding research is the greatest gift we can offer our families. Every research dollar needs to count.
EASI Foundation was started by four parents with developmentally delayed kids whose dangerous behaviors put themselves and others at risk every day. We know how difficult it is to manage aggression and self-injury, and how little information has traditionally been available. We maintain a comprehensive resource guide to doctors, schools and other providers that treat this population, educate stakeholders through our conferences, and provide a networking opportunity for parents to connect with and support one another.
We are a registered 501(c)3 organization. Your donations fund resource guide development and outreach, as well as research and education projects geared towards maximizing quality of life for afflicted kids and their families.
ABA celebrates the identities and personalities of people with autism spectrum disorders, empowering them to express those personalities and to develop any skills needed to function at their desired best.
We are a grassroots organizations of parents, family members and friends who advocate and educate for the preservation, promotion and protection of the Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) level of care in the Disability Service System for the health, safety, and welfare of our severely disabled loved ones who are medically fragile with IDD and behaviorally challenged with severe autism.
The sprawling campuses, open spaces, and on-site clinical staff at an ICF — the array of doctors, nurses, behaviorists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists — have few parallels in the so-called “community.” Campus amenities like pools, camping grounds, and gymnasiums offer safe and therapeutic havens for those with severe autism and medically fragile persons with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, ICF’s are required to provide “active treatment,” an interdisciplinary-mode of care focused on training, therapy and medical care; there is no such requirement for “community-based” services. From three shifts of 24/7 awake, highly trained and supervised staff, the professional administrators, the medical treatment team to the supporting personnel, the ICF has a reservoir of medical expertise and levels of watchful eyes that “community” services lack. When it is open to admissions and filled to appropriate capacity, the ICF takes advantage of economies of scale, allowing the costs associated with caring for the most severely disabled to be shared among a larger pool of residents, making this model the most economically feasible model of disability residential services in the system.