TOM SUOZZI TO RALLY FOR AUTISM CHANGE

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TOM SUOZZI FIGHTS FOR AUTISM REFORM
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Tom Suozzi

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi brings together over thirty Long Island groups to rally for change for people with autism.Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi will join with over thirty advocacy organizations, parents, physicians, academics, experts, and government officials to call for Autism reform on the Federal level and in the State of New York on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 11:30am at Adelphi University . For more than a year, County Executive Suozzi and the Nassau County Autism Coalition have investigated the most important policy issues affecting individuals with autism and their families. The coalition one of the first government organized efforts of its kind on autism in the nation. Approximately one in every 150 children in the United States has autism. This may be an underestimate because rates have increased in recent decades, and we do not know what the rates are locally. Insurance companies in New York do not cover diagnosis and treatment for autism. Recently, the states of Texas , Pennsylvania , Arizona , Florida , South Carolina and Louisiana passed autism reform legislation, but New York State has not. The Nassau County Autism Coalition will release a groundbreaking blueprint-report to provide research and recommendations to Federal, State and local officials.