On January 10, 2012, President Obama announced appointments to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. One of the individuals he would like to appoint is Peter Bell, the current "Executive Vice President for Programs&Services at Autism Speaks." In addition to his role at Autism Speaks, Peter Bell is the "Co-Founder and President of Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism and chair of the Community Advisory Committee for the International Society for Autism Research."  




Peter Bell is the father of a young man with autism, and as his son has reached adulthood, he has shifted his focus to adult services. I was privileged to hear Bell speak in person in July 2011 and meet him briefly. He is keenly concerned with making sure that housing and employment needs for adults with autism are met. His new organization, Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism, is working with Autism Speaks and several other organizations to help create better support systems for autistic adults. The organization presented a Congressional briefing on its National Public Policy Agenda, which calls for, among other things, "federal policy makers to:

Amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to include life skills/social skills training as part of individualized education program (IEPs).
-
Enact the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act to design and develop new residential models.
-
Expand the capacity of Community Development Financial Institutions.
-
Expand the implementation and enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Olmstead decisions to ensure least restrictive and most appropriate housing for adults with autism.
-
Expand the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act) to encourage public/private collaborations that create meaningful and diverse vocational opportunities for adults with autism.
-
Expand Medicaid to include ongoing residential, vocational and community living supports.
-
Create/expand federal incentives to encourage investment in housing options for adults with autism.
-
Establish a new priority within the DD Act to provide appropriate and ongoing vocational supports for adults with autism.


Before individuals in the autism community sign petitions asking for Obama to reconsider his appointment, I urge them to examine AFAA and new changes being implemented at Autism Speaks. I encourage them to listen to Bell speak, rather than rely on second-hand, unsubstantiated claims regarding his beliefs and his work.