The IACC Invites Your Opinion · 2008-08-21 10:00

Yesterday, August 20, the National Institute of Mental Health issued the following Request for Information (RFI): Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) Draft Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research. The deadline for responses is September 30, 2008. (This is a separate RFI from the August 11 RFI seeking input to the IACC Services Subcommittee.)

The IACC’s draft Strategic Plan can be downloaded from the NIH website. The draft Strategic Plan enumerates the following goals:

Children with or at risk for ASD will be identified by 24 months and receive appropriate interventions.

Discover how ASD affects development, which will lead to targeted and personalized interventions.

Causes of ASD will be discovered that inform prognosis and treatments and lead to prevention/preemption of the challenges and disabilities of ASD.

Interventions will be developed that are effective for reducing both core and associated symptoms, for building adaptive skills, and for preventing the disabilities associated with ASD.

Communities will implement high quality, evidence-based and cost-effective services and supports across the lifespan for people with ASD.

Advances in intervention, education and services will support and enable individuals on the autism spectrum to lead fulfilling and productive lives in the community.

The draft Strategic Plan further enumerates research opportunities, and both short- and long-term objectives intended to support the attainment of these goals.

The Draft Strategic Plan RFI seeks input on the full range of issues considered by the IACC. It is imperative that autistic citizens (only one of whom serves on the committee), their families, service providers and researchers take this opportunity to advocate for scientific, educational and social research that is targeted toward the most promising areas of inquiry, and that will best promote the welfare of those affected by autism. It is also imperative that supporters of evidence-based medicine take this opportunity to counter the inordinate influence of generously- albeit obscurely-funded vaccine-injury plaintiffs’ lobbyists and promoters of dubious autism treatments and treatment providers. Although citizen input is vital to the establishment of sound public policy, politicization of the process of evaluating scientific data is not. Limited funding will only be squandered if it is expended on repetitive, ideologically- and economically-driven efforts to validate scientific hypotheses shown to be untenable in numerous completed studies.

This is your chance to be heard. Use it!

Request for Information (RFI):
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee Draft Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Notice Number: NOT-MH-08-021

Key Dates

Release Date: August 20, 2008
Response Date: September 30, 2008

Issued by: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Description

On behalf of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), the NIMH is seeking comments on the IACC Draft Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research.

Background

The Combating Autism Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-416) re-established the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) and requires that the IACC develop and annually update a strategic plan for ASD research, including proposed budgetary requirements. The IACC includes Federal and public members who are active in the area of ASD research funding, services, or advocacy. One IACC member has an ASD and several IACC members have family members with an ASD. Driven by both the sense of urgency and a spirit of collaboration, the IACC developed an initial draft Strategic Plan for ASD Research, which is focused on the unique needs of individuals with ASD and their families, as well as other consumers of these efforts. The draft Strategic Plan was developed through extensive and iterative input from members of the public, academic, and advocacy communities. The draft Strategic Plan does not include cost estimates for implementation. However, the IACC has formed a Strategic Planning Implementation Workgroup to advise the IACC about the budgetary requirements needed to complete and fulfill the research objectives described in the draft Strategic Plan and to identify the agencies and organizations that will be accountable for launching research initiatives — for open competition and peer-review — to achieve the objectives outlined in the draft Strategic Plan.

The draft Strategic Plan is organized in two main sections. First, the foundation of the plan — vision, mission, core values, and crosscutting themes — is described. The remainder of the plan is organized around six critical questions asked by individuals and families living with ASD. At its next meeting on November 21, 2008, the IACC will review and discuss the public comments received on the draft and the workgroup’s recommendations regarding implementing the plan.

Information Requested

The IACC welcomes your comments on the draft Strategic Plan for ASD Research. The draft plan can be accessed [on the NIMH] website.

Please organize your comments by the sections of the draft Strategic Plan:

Introductory Material (including the Introduction, Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Core Values and Cross-Cutting Themes)

I: When Should I Be Concerned?

II: How Can I Understand What Is Happening?

III: What Caused This To Happen And Can This Be Prevented?

IV: Which Treatments And Interventions Will Help?

V: Where Can I Turn For Services?

VI: What Does The Future Hold?

Development Process for the IACC Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

References

How to Submit a Response

Responses will be accepted until September 30, 2008 via email to iacc@mail.nih.gov. Please limit your response to two pages (approximately 1,000 words) and mark it with the RFI identifier NOT-MH-08-021 in the subject line. You will receive an email confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response, but will not receive individualized feedback on any suggestions. The collected information will be reviewed by the IACC, may appear in reports, and shared publicly on the IACC website.

Inquiries

Inquiries regarding this notice may be directed to:

Attention: Strategic Plan for ASD Research RFI
Office of the Director
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8235, MSC 9669
Bethesda, MD 20892-9669
Email: iaccpublicinquiries@mail.nih.gov

No basis for claims against the NIH shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI, or from the NIH’s use of such information.

This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation for applications or an obligation on the part of the government. The government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the government’s use of that information.

Comments


  1. They are certainly going to hear from me.

    I think even if the message is short, like, “please stick to a science based/peer reviewed structure for determining projects”, every message is valuable.

    — Matt    2008-08-21 22:59    #