Quart Conference Belfast September 2013 Vice President for State Government Affairs, Autism Speaks keynote address at 3rd QUART conference (20 Sept 2013) 'Let me hear YOUR voice: Autism and Politics. Lorri Unumb is a lawyer and the mother of three children, the oldest of whom has autism. In 2005, while working as a law professor, she wrote autism insurance legislation for South Carolina ("Ryan's Law") that passed in 2007 and served as a catalyst for the national movement toward autism insurance reform. In 2008, Unumb became employed by the New York-based non-profit Autism Speaks, where she advocates full-time on behalf of individuals with autism. As head of state government affairs, she has testified 80+ times on health insurance issues in state legislatures around the country. Her keynote address focus: Since 2007, more than 34 states have enacted legislation requiring coverage for autism spectrum disorders, including benefits for Applied Behavior Analysis. In this session, we will explore how targeted advocacy and the use of evidence led to legal endorsement of ABA in the USA.