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Elaine Gabovitch, MPA |
UMass Medical School autism advocate Elaine Gabovitch, MPA, has been reappointed to her fourth term as Act Early Ambassador to Massachusetts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote the early identification of developmental delays.
Gabovitch, instructor in family medicine & community health and a faculty member in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program at UMass Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, will serve a two-year term. She is also state team leader for the Massachusetts Act Early Program.
“I am honored to be an Act Early Ambassador and look forward to continuing to move the needle forward for kids and families in my next term,” Gabovitch said.
“Learn the Signs. Act Early.” is a national campaign by the CDC to promote the early diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental disabilities. Gabovitch first served as an Act Early Ambassador from June 2011 to May 2012 as part of a nationwide pilot launched to develop a network of state-level experts who would help parents and professionals learn to recognize and address developmental disabilities. She was reappointed an ambassador in February 2013 and again in May 2014.
The mother of a child with an autism spectrum disorder, Gabovitch is a passionate advocate for families affected by ASDs. “I got into autism awareness work back in 1999 upon hearing from so many other parents that they were instructed as I was to ‘wait and see’ by their children’s pediatricians. The need for education was great back then and, though it’s getting better these days, it’s still much needed to reduce early identification disparities for all young children. This is what drives me,” Gabovitch said.
