Our goal at Northwest Autism Center is to ensure that people with autism are included in their communities and receive appropriate, timely and legally-required services throughout their life. Regardless of age, race, ethnicity and geography, an individual with autism needs individualized, evidence-based, culturally effective, multidisciplinary interventions, comprehensive health care and community inclusion.

As a regional autism center of excellence, we work closely with our state legislators to:

• Increase Washington’s capacity to identify and track people with autism and the services they receive across their lifespan.
• Provide autism screenings for all Washington children before the age of three years, ideally by 18 months.
• Ensure that state agencies already required to provide services to people with autism will have in place staff training on autism and autism supports.

Our recommendations require long term systems changes. These changes include greatly increased access to comprehensive health care in a medical home, ongoing training of all types of professionals who work with individuals with autism, fully funded and culturally effective provider and family support services and full funding of regular and special education. Such systems improvements are essential and will benefit not only individuals with autism, but all people with disabilities.