New Initiative: Act Early Ambassadors

September 22, 2011

The Act Early Ambassadors project is designed to develop a network of state-level experts to improve early identification practices. It is a collaborative effort on behalf of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Eleven Act Early Ambassadors have been selected from a group of highly qualified applicants and will be working in the coming year to expand the reach of the "Learn the Signs. Act Early." program and support their states' work toward improving early identification.

Act Early Ambassadors will work with programs that serve young children and their parents, such as Head Start and Early Head Start, WIC, and home visiting; health care and child care professionals; and their Act Early state teams (some ambassadors are state team leaders) to improve early identification of developmental delays. Ambassadors also will promote the Autism Case Training (ACT): A Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Curriculum. This case-based, facilitated curriculum is designed to teach pediatric residents and other trainees about autism identification, diagnosis, and treatment. This year's cohort of Act Early Ambassadors are serving as the first pilot group for a one-year assignment for their state (June 2011-June 2012).

See if there is an Act Early Ambassador in your state.

This article was featured in the AUCD-NCBDDD Cooperative Agreement Newsletter.