Donald Trump: Candidate Impact on the Neurodiverse Community

About Donald Trump

Donald J. Trump did not hold public office until he was elected the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017. As such, his record on Autism Awareness is limited. However, in September of 2019, President Trump signed into law the previous version of the Autism CARES (Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support) Act.

Presidential Record on Autism

HR 1058 funded Autism research until the end of the 2024 fiscal year with the following goals and objectives (according to ABC News):

1. ✅ Reauthorized funding for until the end of FY 2024 fiscal year. 
2. ✅ Revised several programs tied to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) funded by the federal government. 
3. ✅ Reauthorized the following programs:  
   1. Expanded ASD research at the National Institutes of Health.
   2. The collection of state-level ASD data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   3. Early detection programs and ASD education.  
4. ✅ Revised the scope of ASD programs funded by the federal government to address:
   1. Involving all individuals diagnosed with ASD regardless of age. 
   2. Focused funding on programs in areas with shortages of personal health services. 
   3. Reduce health outcome disparities across diverse populations. 

The Autism CARES Act

Americans for Autism Advocacy supports former President Trump’s Autism CARES Act and will urge Congress to pass the reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act for FY 2025-2029 (HR 7213/S 4762).  The bill passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on July 31, 2024 on a overwhelming bipartisan vote.  

We support The Autism CARES Act of 2024 because:

1. ✅ The 2024 version of the bill continues to fund research for treatment and interventions to help all neurodiverse Americans who identify as Autistic for not just in their youth, but adulthood as well. 
2. ✅ The 2024 version of the bill provides funding for communications devices to help all neurodiverse Americans who identify as Autistic.  
   1. This was not a topic covered in the 2019 House version of the bill that was signed into law by former President Trump. 
3. ✅ The 2024 version of the bill funds for increased Autism screening for Americans who are at the highest risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  
   1. Passage of Autism CARES Act of 2024 continues the funding approved for early screening that was signed into law in the 2019 version of the bill. 
4. ✅ The 2024 version of the bill will direct funding to the National Institutes of Health to fund research on co-occurring health issues that are tied to the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).   
   1. Funding this additional research can help researchers understand the connection between Autism and other comorbidities such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), etc.  

As stated previously, President Trump only served 4 years in public office so he did not sign into law other legislation tied to Autism during that time. 

Our Concerns

However, there are some concerns from the Autism community over statements President Trump has made on social media such as:

• ❌ Linkage of vaccines to Autism.
• ❌ Strong denial of allegations relating to former President Trump’s son Barron potentially having an Autism diagnosis.  
• ❌ Engaging in misinformation on Autism to the American public.  

Key Takeaways

Whether or not President Trump is elected to a second term or not, if he is serious about supporting the Autism community he can start with his home state of Florida.

• ❌ The Sunshine State is only partially meeting federal special education standards required by the IDEA Act.  
• ❌ Florida is rated as needing assistance for not meeting federal special education standards in Part C of the IDEA Act for students at birth to age two. 
• ❌ Florida is one step away from federal intervention under Part C of the IDEA Act because this standard is not met for two straight years.  
• ✅ Florida is fully meeting IDEA Act Part B standards for students ages three to twenty one.

President Trump is encouraged to use his platform as a Presidential Candidate to demand Governor Ron DeSantis  (R-Florida) and the Florida Legislature to get the Sunshine State back in compliance with the IDEA Act.