Advisory Committee
Oversight Committee |
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Advisory Committee |
Roles and Responsibilities
The Advisory Committee (AC) is composed of representatives of key stakeholder groups with a specific interest in and commitment to developing best practice treatment guidelines for persons with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). These stakeholder groups include the following: regional centers, public policy developers, direct service providers, public service institutions, advocacy groups, parent groups, school districts/SELPAs, managed care, and relevant state departments. Members of the Advisory Committee are serving at the request of the Director of the California Department of Developmental Services.
The role of AC members is to work collaboratively to offer advice and recommendations on resources useful to the project, provide direction for development of guideline content, and ensure that the interests of the groups they represent are reflected in the evidence-based guidelines. Consensus among AC members is essential to the guideline development process.
The Advisory Committee has co-chairs as well as a chair emeritus. The co-chairs, Patrick Maher, M.D. and Sandee Kludt, Ed.D., provide overall leadership to the project and serve as the project’s spokespersons. Working with project staff and consultants, they will strive to reach consensus among AC members on the content of the Guidelines. As spokespersons, they will advocate for the need for improved treatment for persons with ASD. Specifically, they will guide families, the professionals who care for families, educators, and policy makers toward evidence-based treatments and interventions. Importantly, they will work with the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to build support for the project and disseminate and implement the final Guidelines.
The chair emeritus for this project is Howard G. Cohen, Ph.D. Dr. Cohen was co-director of a similar project that produced a companion document, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Best Practice Guidelines for Screening, Diagnosis and Assessment. Dr. Cohen advises on both the content and collaborative processes that are integral to the success of this project.
The Committee also has vice chairs to assist the Committee co-chairs, as needed. One vice chair, Ronald C. Huff, Ph.D., has in-depth knowledge of community-based treatments and interventions for persons with ASD. The other vice chair, Allan Lloyd-Jones, has in-depth knowledge of school-based interventions for persons with ASD.
Responsibilities of AC members include the following:
- Attend three advisory committee meetings over the next two years. The first meeting is planned for Spring 2006. The daylong meeting’s purpose will be to review the scientific evidence for a range of treatments and interventions for persons with ASD. Project staff and consultants will prepare materials for review by Committee members drawing from the work of the National Research Council publication, “Educating Children with Autism”, the National Standards Project, and relevant literature and other guidelines that have been published by states and other institutions. The purpose of the second meeting will be to review recommendations from the public regarding best practices and processes used to fully implement these treatments and interventions. The purpose of the third meeting will be to discuss and develop consensus on the final draft of the Guidelines document.
- Attend meetings in which the opinions of the public on treatment and interventions will be solicited to inform the development of the Guidelines.
- Review draft chapters of the Guidelines document for accuracy and acceptability to the interest group they represent.
- Communicate regularly with the interest group they represent about the progress of the development of the Guidelines document.
April 10, 2006 Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda
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November 14, 2006 Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda | HTML
June 25, 2007 Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda | HTML