January 29, 2021
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Developments is a newsletter for Autism CARES programs funded under MCHB. The content of this newsletter has been generated by program staff and trainees, and does not necessarily reflect the views and policies of HRSA-MCHB. No official support or endorsement by HRSA-MCHB is intended or should be inferred. This publication is funded in part by cooperative agreement #UA5MC11068.
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The AIR-P (MGH-scheduled to sunset), is led by Karen Kuhlthau, PhD. The key goals for the AIR-P Network from 2015 to 2020 were two-fold:To conduct multi-site research on evidence-based interventions that improve physical health of children and adolescents with ASD and developmental disorders, especially underserved populations. To transform AIR-P into a multi-site Autism Learning Health Network (ALHN) which will provide a collaborative laboratory for developing and testing evidence-based interventions and accelerating the adoption of effective interventions and system management approaches into practice. 
In September 2020, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) had the opportunity to assume leadership of the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) programming and activities under the direction of Dr. Alice Kuo. Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, the AIR-P is an interdisciplinary, multicenter research network for scientific collaboration and infrastructure to increase the life expectancy and quality of life for autistic individuals, with a focus on underserved/vulnerable populations. 
In response to the lack of training and limited resources to guide primary care providers on weight management for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the Healthy Weight Research Network, funded by the Maternal Child Health Bureau of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and coordinated by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Medical School, developed a set of recommendations for weight management in primary care for this population. The recommendations were published in the journal Pediatrics in April 2020. The recommendations include suggestions for screening, evaluation, prevention, and intervention, and provide practitioners with suggestions specifically targeted for working with children with ASD their families, allied health professionals, and school systems. They also include modifications to and expansion of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on managing childhood obesity, tailored for children and youth with ASD and their families. 
The National Autism Indicators Report: Health and Health Care is the sixth in the National Autism Indicators Report Series produced from the Life Course Outcomes Research Program area at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. It reports indicators of health and health care for autistic people across the lifespan. Topics covered include overall health, health services, medication, insurance, and accessing services. The report combines data from two national surveys about health, one national sample of hospital inpatient stays, and previously published findings from Kaiser Permanente Northern California patient records. 
Two U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) national technical assistance centers- TIES Center and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)- of the Institute on Community Integration (UCEDD) at the University of Minnesota have jointly created a video series addressing how parents of students with significant cognitive disabilities can support their child's learning at home during distance learning brought about by COVID 19. The first four videos in an eleven part series are available to share with parents. 
What can you do if your baby, or a loved one's baby, has neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)? How can a toddler's development be affected by NAS? Where can Minnesotans find support? As part of their 2019-20 MNLEND fellowship experience, Bridget Winchester (pictured) and Catie Mapa are answering those questions, and more, through online content expected to be launched next month from the MNLEND website. 
2021 has arrived! Despite the challenges we have all faced during COVID-19, our Community of Learners have persevered and made excellent progress in their work. Most notably, the Iowa team successfully hosted the 2020 Virtual Peer to Peer exchange in the midst of a severe derecho. The theme for P2P was The Iowa Family Navigator Model: Providing Family-to-Family Support to Families of Children and Youth with ASD/DD. The virtual event took place over three days and was filled with engaging workshops and inspiring panel discussions with family leaders. Participants included the current grantees from North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as former grantees from Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Virginia. 
Better pay for direct support professionals, more post-secondary educational opportunities for young adults with disabilities, and continuing funding for interdisciplinary programs that promote the inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) were among issues on the table as a group of fellows from the Institute on Community Integration met this month with members of Minnesota's congressional delegation.
Interested in working for a national disability organization in the Washington, DC area? Passionate about growing diverse and skilled leaders? If you or someone you know can answer "yes" to any or all of these questions, consider working for AUCD! 
This annual meeting was an opportunity for Division of Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development (DMCHWD) grantees to convene around a cross-cutting topic of interest: Resiliency in the MCH Workforce. The meeting was hosted by AUCD's Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (ITAC). 
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