Senator Cathy Cook, R-Mystic, today joined forces with the Speaker of the House and a bipartisan group of legislators that are calling for Connecticut to follow the example of the overwhelming majority of states that provide services to adults with autism.

“It shocked me when my son who has Down’s Syndrome was provided with a job coach and other state provided services as an adult with mental retardation, yet his friends from childhood special education class who have autism without mental retardation could not qualify for the same kind of help once they became adults. That is horribly unfair, and it is wrong. Everyone deserves the chance to be part of our society, and this bill is a step toward providing the types of services we should as a matter of course be providing to Connecticut citizens with autism,” said Senator Cook.

It is expected that the legislature’s Public Health Committee, of which Senator Cook is a member, will introduce the bill. The proposal calls for creating a $2 million, two-year pilot program to serve up to 50 adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who are not presently eligible for services from the state Department of Mental Retardation.

Currently, Connecticut is one of only three states that do not provide services for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. According to the Center for Disease Control estimates that one person in 166 has some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder; using that figure, there are approximately 22,000 Connecticut residents with ASD.

“I am very encouraged by the fact that Speaker of the House James Amann is leading our bipartisan group of legislators in calling for the creation of this pilot program. I truly believe that all of us, working together, will get this critically important legislation passed this year. Even more importantly, I believe that passing this legislation will be the beginning, not the end, of our success in ensuring that Connecticut provides appropriate services to all of our citizens with ASD. It’s the right thing to do,” said Senator Cook.