Autism Speaks

For many people with autism, a typical dental office setting may not be accessible or safe for their dental care. Some may need sedation, more time, specialized staff, or care in a hospital setting because of sensory sensitivities, communication differences, anxiety, or medical and behavioral support needs.

Calls for policymakers to keep the federal offices that oversee and enforce the rights and services for special education students fully within the Department of Education Autism Speaks opposes the decision to move responsibilities of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice.

Autism Speaks is now accepting applications for our 2026 Predoctoral Fellowship Program for Autistic Scientists. Launched to support and elevate autistic voices in research, this program provides $40,000 per year for two years to qualified predoctoral students with autism who are pursuing careers in autism research. Funding includes a $28,000 stipend and a $12,000 allowance for research-related expenses.

Policy Pulse Newsletter - June 2026 Advocacy Updates In this newsletter: Protecting Medicaid accountability & access Our impact: Advocacy Forum & Hill Day New ABLE account legislation introduced State spotlight: Calling for expanded waiver access in Georgia Recently launched: Advocacy Academy Voting in primaries matters Not signed up to receive the Policy Pulse? Become an advocate today.

TODAY's Carson Daly sat down with with Franklin Becker, renowned New York chef and board member of Autism Speaks, about a new initiative, Chefs on the Spectrum, to recruit and train autistic adults for careers in fine dining. Featured is Joseph Valentino, a 27-year-old autistic cook who overcame years of rejection and depression to become a successful multi-station chef at Becker's Manhattan restaurant, Point Seven.

The American Heart Association (AHA), in partnership with Autism Speaks, is announcing its 2027 Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships. The joint initiative will support researchers studying the connections between autism and cardiometabolic and cerebrovascular health, with the goal of improving long-term health for autistic people.

Autism Speaks is urging action after Governor Brian Kemp directed the state agency to implement only a fraction of the waiver expansion approved by the legislature, limiting progress on Georgia’s growing waitlist for disability services. More than 8,000 Georgians with autism or other intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) are waiting for home- and community-based services (HCBS), which help people live at home, access therapies, build skills, and participate fully in their communities.

The Autism CARES Act of 2024, the primary federal law guiding autism research priorities and funding in the United States, explicitly calls for research that improves quality of life across the lifespan. This includes areas such as safety and well-being, caregiver support, provider training, co-occurring conditions and autism and aging.

A new Nature study from Joseph Buxbaum, member of the Autism Speaks Medical and Science Advisory Committee, and his team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai suggests that the genes linked to autism are largely consistent across people from different ancestral backgrounds. The study analyzed genetic data from more than 15,000 Latin American individuals across North, Central and South America, including about 4,700 autistic people.

A large population-based study from Sweden published in the BMJ suggests that the gap in autism diagnoses between males and females may be much smaller in adulthood than in childhood. In the U.S., the CDC estimates that boys are about 3.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism in childhood than girls. But this new study suggests that the gap may be partly explained by later diagnosis in girls, rather than a true difference in prevalence.