President's Message
by Frank Wise

AACCASA meetings are typically held on the last Tuesday evening of each month at Ruth Parker Eason School in Millersville, Maryland. Meetings always begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.

The preset agenda includes introductions, general announcements, presentation/discussion on the topic of the month, a refreshment break, a problem solving/highlight sharing session, and group support and socialization.

New members and new ideas are always welcome.  Come check us out!

Temple Grandin, probably the most well known adult with autism, will be the keynote speaker at the 7th International Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Conference on October 13.  See the article on page 4.

The Federal Health Care Financing Administration has finally approved the Home and Community Based Medicaid Waiver for children with autism.  The article follows on page 2.

Help close the special education funding gap!  There is a national effort underway to remind the soon-to-be-elected president and congress of the Federal government's com

mitment to fund 40% of the cost of implementation of the original IDEA legislation.  The National Campaign to Fully Fund IDEA (NCFFI) and National School Boards Association (NSBA) are co-sponsoring a petition drive with the goal of placing a million signatures on the new president's desk in January 2001.  The preamble to the petition succinctly states the problem:

The current federal share of IDEA funding is 13%.  This amount falls far short of the funds needed to assist states in providing special education and related services to students with disabilities, as required by IDEA.

For additional information, contact Kathleen Branch, Federal Networks Advocate, national School Boards Association at (703) 838-6735 or .  Also check out the web site for NCFFI at www.ncffi.org.

At our next meeting on September 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ruth Parker Eason School, Debbie Wetzel and Katy Schieman from the Anne Arundel County Partners for Success Center will be on hand to discuss center resources for families.  This is a good opportunity to give them feedback and ideas on new ways to meet our families' needs.

Hope to see you there!

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