WANTED: Coverage of the Congressional #Autism Hearings on "1 in 88 Children: A Look Into the Federal Response to Rising Rates of Autism"

     This afternoon at 2:00pm, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will be holding the Congressional #Autism Hearings on "1 in 88 Children: A Look Into the Federal Response to Rising Rates of Autism". Orginally, the witness list did not include any autistic witnesses but, now it seems to have changed. The following is an announcement from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN):

On November 29th, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will be holding a hearing on autism. Invited witnesses include people from government agencies, parent autism advocacy organizations, AND Autistic self-advocacy organizations. We are pleased to report that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform staff have just reached out to us to invite Autistic representation to this Thursday’s hearing.

Thanks to all of you for making your voices heard and to the House Committee for hearing the message Nothing About Us, Without Us! Whether you faxed letters of support for Autistic representation at the upcoming hearing or signed our petition, your voice has been heard. Now Autistic voices will be heard as well. ASAN President Ari Ne’eman has been invited as one of not one but TWO Autistic witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing.

The journey doesn’t end there. Come join us in showing support to Autistic people speaking! We’ll be gathering together at the Rayburn House Office, Room 2154 on the day of the hearing. The hearing itself will begin at 2 PM, but as we anticipate a packed room ASAN will begin gathering besides the door to the hearing at 11 AM. RSVP via our Facebook event page.

You made this happen!

Regards,

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network

     Yesterday, I responded to the attention-grabbing request of a fellow LinkedIn member to contact CBS Evening News Network to cover the Congressional #Autism Hearings by either phone 212-975-3247 or email and I did. Can YOU? It's not too late to still get news coverage on the proceedings! I encourage you whether you are a parent of a child(ren) on the autism spectrum or even a professional in the education system to follow TODAY's Congressional #Autism Hearings "1 in 88 Children: A Look Into the Federal Response to Rising Rates of Autism" later this afternoon and become more involved. Thank you for taking time to read my post!