Americans for Autism Advocacy Statement on Mental Health Awareness Month

Improving access to mental health care for the neurodiversity community should be a top priority for all elected officials nationwide. 

The month of May is mental health awareness month.  Americans for Autism Advocacy has already highlighted  the need for lawmakers at the state level to improve access to mental health care for their neurodiverse citizens.  States that have encountered professional licensure backlogs prevent additional qualified professionals from providing the life saving mental health access neurodiverse Americans need.  

According to a 2023 study published by the National Institutes for Health (NIH), neurodiverse Americans are more likely to develop an additional serious mental health condition in their lifetime.  The NIH study found that neurodiverse Americans are at increased risk for:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) –  A neurodiverse adult will 33 percent more likely develop symptoms of ADD.

• Anxiety – A neurodiverse adult will 54 percent more likely develop symptoms of anxiety including generalized anxiety disorder.

• Bipolar Disorder –  A neurodiverse adult will 25  percent more likely develop symptoms of bipolar disorder.

• Depression – A neurodiverse adult will 54 percent more likely develop symptoms of depression.

• Eating Disorders  –   A neurodiverse adult will 11 percent more likely exhibit symptoms of an eating disorder.

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) –  A neurodiverse adult will 33 percent more likely exhibit symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

• Psychosis –  A neurodiverse adult will 18  percent more likely develop symptoms of psychosis.

The same NIH study found that 79 percent of neurodiverse adults in the United States would develop a psychiatric condition in their lifetime.  These statistics underscore the need for why we need to break barriers to mental health access.  

At the state level, Americans for Autism Advocacy will advocate for:

• Working with state licensing authorities to ensure their professional licensing systems maintain the integrity of licensure while improving efficiency.

• Ensuring Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) technicians are not the target of Medicaid reimbursement cuts by governors regardless of political affiliation.

• Encouraging more states are in the interstate licensure compact agreements for Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers.

• Using telehealth to improve access in rural areas.

Americans for Autism Advocacy will work to break the stigma associated with mental health related and find solutions to improve access to care.