The following action alert was sent out by the Autism Speaks Arizona office. If you know of a family in Arizona who is receiving services through the Arizona Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) please point them to Autism News Direct so that they may take action to secure funding for their children.

The state budget (bill 2620) that was passed into law for fiscal year 2008 lacks protection against cuts to DDD funding which can jeopardize funding to autism treatments. What this means is that funds that are allocated to the DDD can be used to fill in deficits in other areas of the state’s budget. However, we know that early intensive intervention is essential for children with autism and since the DDD is the major funding source for such treatment, budget cuts of this nature would be devastating to the autism community. On behalf of the many children and families who are affected by autism, we ask that you please contact your legislators and urge them to protect DDD funding.

If you do not know who your legislators are, you can go to the following website to obtain their names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Each district has one Senator and 2 Representatives
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp

We urgently need your help. Please politely call and e-mail all 3 of your legislators and include the following key points in your message:
1. Request their support for legislation that will be proposed this week that will protect DDD funding.
2. This protection is needed in order for Arizona to stay at the forefront of addressing Autism by providing necessary treatments and continuing research. Without intensive early intervention, progress is limited for people with Autism.

Time is of the essence, so please call and e-mail ASAP - Please forward this message to your friends and family members who live in Arizona and request that they contact their state legislators - the more messages they receive, the more likely they are to support this legislation. I know that you are busy and appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to send these messages. Thank you for your support!

Below, you will find two sample letters that you can cut and paste into new emails along with your state representatives’ email addresses. If you could personalize it with a few words of your own, that would also be very helpful.

Dear Senator_____________: (sample 1)

I am writing to express my concern over the potential budget cuts in Autism services. I recently saw the Governor at the 10th Annual SARRC breakfast where she told us that our children must come First. I was shocked when I found out that our services may be cut. Specifically, the Grant program for (CARD). Please support a bill that will protect DDD from funding cuts of any kind.

Dear Senator/Representative___________, (sample 2)

I personally know of a family here in Arizona whose son has been in the Card program. We have seen him make unbelievable progress.

1. We request that you support the legislation that will be proposed this week that will protect DDD funding.
2. This protection is needed in order for Arizona to stay at the forefront of addressing Autism by providing necessary treatments and continuing research. Without intensive early intervention, progress is limited for children with Autism.