🌧️ ASAN April Update 🌧️

April 30, 2025

ASAN April Newsletter

Dear friend,

This Autism Acceptance Month has been difficult for much of our community. We have seen a myriad of threats to our rights and supports, and so much seems uncertain. We focus on what’s in our power to change, and that change only comes from our grassroots efforts. We have seen some of these concerning proposals walked back in large part due to backlash from our community. We have a long fight ahead, but we know that we can only do it together. Now more than ever, we are grateful for your support, for your calls, and for your action.

Earlier this month, Congress passed a budget resolution that says the government needs to cut 880 billion dollars from government programs. The government wants to cut this money from the part of the government in charge of Medicaid. It is impossible to take away 880 billion dollars without cutting Medicaid. We made a short video that explains why, which you can watch here. The House voted on the same budget resolution as the Senate. But the budget resolution has different instructions for the House and the Senate. The instructions for the Senate makes it look like the Senate does not want to cut Medicaid. But this is not true! The leaders in charge of the House and Senate said they want to cut at least $1.5 trillion dollars from the budget. This is not possible without large cuts to Medicaid. The House says they are not cutting Medicaid for anyone who needs it, but that is not true either. Medicaid is a big part of the budget. It is impossible to make cuts that large without taking away Medicaid for people who need it. Cutting Medicaid will make people lose services that let us live in our communities.

ASAN thinks it is really bad that the budget resolution passed. The government should focus on helping disabled people live in our communities, not cutting taxes for rich people. You can learn how to meet, call, and email your members of Congress here. Thank you for taking action to defend Medicaid and protect health care for the disabled community!

In April, we have seen many examples of why Autism Acceptance Month is so important. There has been lots of news about Robert F Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr. for short). RFK Jr. is the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS in the part of government in charge of autism services and research. RFK Jr. spent this month saying harmful and untrue things about autistic people. We’ve released a few plain language roundups this month that talk about this and other issues. Then, we will share what ASAN is doing to fight back against the things RFK Jr. said. We’ll also share some actions you can take!

Many people get confused about autism, and there’s a lot of wrong information about autism out there. It’s important to understand how these ideas happen, how they’re shared, and how they hurt autistic people. Knowing about these ideas makes it easier for us to combat them. That’s why we held an “Autism Myths and Misconceptions” webinar this month! We talked about some of the myths and misconceptions we hear about autism and why it’s important to make sure people know the facts. If you missed it, you can still watch the recording here!

As a part of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s 2024 gala, we have the honor to share and uplift our remarkable awardees’ words and their service to the self-advocacy and disability community. This month we were excited to share remarks from L. “Dax” Daxer, recipient of the Mel Baggs Down In The Valley Award.

It is important to know our rights — especially now, when so many of us want to speak up and take action to protect our communities. That’s why ASAN will be sharing new resources to help people learn about direct action soon. Direct action means doing things like going to protests, doing sit-ins, and mutual aid to show what you believe in and demand change. We will share more information and resources soon.

As we move through this month, we recognize and honor the holidays, celebrations, and important events that hold meaning for our community and beyond.

Easter
Good Friday
Maundy Thursday
Palm Sunday
Pesach
Ridván
Saint George Day
Vaisakhi

We know there are more holidays that we didn’t know to list here. Whether this month brings moments of joy, reflection, remembrance, or connection for you, we wish you peace and fulfillment. We hope this month brings opportunities for growth, kindness, and support.

As Autism Acceptance Month comes to a close, we’re filled with gratitude for our grassroots community. Your support, strength, and continued fight for our rights make everything we do possible. Thank you for standing with us — not just this month, but every day. Together, we’ll keep building a world where all autistic people are valued and supported.

With warm wishes,

The Team at ASAN

Alongside other autism organizations, we released a joint statement on upholding scientific integrity and supporting the autism community.
We signed onto a letter to the Senate opposing the nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
ASAN urged against the dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
Alongside hundreds of national, state, and local disability organizations, we signed onto the American Association of People with Disabilities’ letter about the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) restructuring.
As a part of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), we released a statement about the restructuring of HHS.
ASAN signed onto comments on Ohio’s 1115 waiver, which is about work requirements for Medicaid.
As a part of the CCD’s Education Taskforce, we signed onto a letter urging the Trump administration to not dismantle the Department of Education (ED) or move IDEA programs to HHS.
We signed onto a letter in defense of Medicaid, urging Congresspeople to call for no cuts to programs like Medicaid.
As a part of the National Coalition on Accessible Voting (NCAV), we signed onto a letter about the National Mail Voter Registration Form.
ASAN signed onto a letter in support of Assistive Technology Awareness Day.
We signed on to a letter from Protecting Immigrant Families opposing the DACA exclusions from Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule.
ASAN signed on to a letter from GLSEN and the National Women’s Law Center to Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon objecting to the Department’s intimidation campaign against policies that affirm transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive students.
As part of the CCD Developmental Disabilities, Autism and Family Supports Task Force, we pushed for adequate funding for important disability programs.
We signed on to a letter about the importance of Medicaid in alleviating Medical Debt.
ASAN signed on to a letter from the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition with hearing questions about the HHS restructuring.
We signed onto two letters from the National Partnership for Women & Families to Department of Labor Secretary DeRemer urging her to preserve staffing levels within two offices.
ASAN signed on to the CCD Health Task Force comments on the ACA marketplace rule.
We signed us on to a letter from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in support of water fluoridation. This is important because people with I/DD have higher risk of poor oral health and poorer access to dental care.
We joined multiple amicus briefs.
Alongside other organizations, we joined a letter related to a dear colleague opposing attacks from the Trump administration on language access, including recission of Executive Order 13166.
ASAN signed onto a letter urging the preservation of the HCBS Settings Rule.
We joined the CCD Education Task Force’s FY26 Appropriations request and the CCD Housing Task Force FY26 Appropriations letter.
We endorsed a letter from Representatives Schakowsky, Matsui, and Bonamici to HHS Secretary Kennedy expressing opposition to the dismantling of the Administration for Community Living.