California Democrats push bills to fight spread of autism

Undeterred by the state's budget woes, Democratic lawmakers Wednesday unveiled eight bills to address the dramatic rise in diagnosis of children with autism.

The legislation is the result of three years of public hearings throughout the state by the Legislature's Commission on Autism, consisting of health experts, educators and families affected by the nation's fastest-growing developmental disability.

Once considered rare, autism is now more prevalent than juvenile diabetes, childhood cancer and pediatric AIDS combined – and affects one of every 150 children and one of every 94 boys.

"Virtually everyone in California knows a family member, friend, co-worker or neighbor struggling with challenges surrounding autism and its related problems," Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata said at a Capitol news conference.

Perata, D-Oakland, carried the resolution that created the autism commission, and is carrying the lead bill in the package.

SB 1563 would direct the state Department of Managed Care and Department of Insurance to work to ensure that health plans and insurers provide equitable coverage for autism and other developmental disabilities.

Sen. Darrell Steinberg, who will succeed Perata as Senate president pro tem at the end of the year, said voters expressed their desire to expand mental health services when they approved Proposition 63 in 2004.

"The next step in this cause and in this movement is making sure that autism and autism spectrum disorder are a top-tier public health priority," said Steinberg, who sponsored the initiative and chaired the autism commission.

Autism spectrum disorder, commonly referred to as autism, is characterized by communication problems, impaired social interaction and repetitive rigid behavior.

Steinberg, D-Sacramento, is carrying two of the bills in the package, including SB 527. That bill would direct the Department of Developmental Services to establish a pilot project to find best practices for identifying, assessing and treating children with autism.

The caseload of people with autism rose 634 percent to nearly 35,000 people at the state's Developmental Services & Regional Centers from 1987 to 2002.

Assembly Speaker-elect Karen Bass, who became aware of the autism years ago while working as a nurse at a children's hospital, said the state will save money in the long run by investing in fighting the malady.

Bass' AB 2302 would let teachers with certain special education credentials teach children with autism.

Other bills in the package would expand housing for people with autism, establish a pilot program to move children with autism from regional centers to school districts, and set up a clearinghouse for the education of students with autism.

Actor Gary Cole, who played Vice President Robert Russell on the TV series "West Wing," said his daughter Mary was diagnosed with autism in 1995.

"As parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder, I am thrilled with the autism legislative package because it addresses so many of the issues that our family went through when we got our first diagnosis," said Cole, who joined the lawmakers at the news conference.

The Democratic authors said they have not tabulated the combined price tag of the package. But they noted that most of the proposals build on existing programs or are pilot programs.

Steinberg said California has been a leader in autism research since 1998, when the state invested $30 million to establish the UC Davis MIND Institute in Sacramento.

"We don't have all of the answers," Steinberg said. "(But) as this bill package progresses, the research about causes and prevention is ongoing and advancing in fairly dramatic ways year to year."

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• Call Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5545.