Rick Rollens (born 1950) is an American

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

with a client list including ARCA (Association of Regional Center Agencies/ California Department of Developmental Services), Autism Business Association, and Applied Behavior Consultants. He is also a political consultant and identifies as an internationally known

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

for

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

research. His specific focus in terms of research and advocacy is for those "full syndrome"

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

individuals. Prior to his son Russell's autism diagnosis, Rollens was the secretary of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

. Rollens resides in

Granite Bay, California Granite Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, Placer County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento, California, Sacramento–Arden-Arcade, California, Arden-Arcade–Roseville, California, R ...

where he runs a lobbying/consulting business. Rollens assisted in raising over $70 million to fund research efforts aimed at finding the causes and treatments for

autism spectrum disorder Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

s. Rollens was instrumental in the founding of Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT) and the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

M.I.N.D. Institute (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders). Rollens is also a former board member of the

Autism Society of America The Autism Society of America (ASA) was founded in 1965 by Bernard Rimland together with Ruth C. Sullivan and a small group of other parents of autistic children. Its original name was the National Society for Autistic Children; the name was chang ...

Education

Rollens graduated from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

Political career

During a 23-year career working within the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Rollens served as a senator's chief of staff, as the chief consultant to the Senate Rules Committee, and as the director and creator of the state's Office of Senate Floor Analyses.

Russell Rollens

Rollens suspects his son Russell's autism was

vaccine injury A vaccine adverse event (VAE), sometimes referred to as a vaccine injury, is an adverse event believed to have been caused by vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) refers to Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI). AEFIs can be r ...

induced, a view which is not supported by scientific evidence. After Russell's diagnosis in 1996, Rollens' life changed completely: his 23-year tenure with the Senate came to an end and he began to devote his working hours to the investigation of vaccine injuries and autism. Russell and his parents were featured in a ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' cover story on autism on July 31, 2000.

M.I.N.D. Institute

Rollens is a co-founder of the M.I.N.D. Institute, founded in 1998. The center is a collaboration—between the parents of children with

autism spectrum Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

disorders and UC Davis researchers—who have united in a quest to find the causes of autism and treatment for neurodevelopmental disorders. Rollens says just pouring money into traditional autism research would not get them very far, "If we were going to wait for mainstream medicine to get around to finding a cure for our kids, we would all be old and gray and our kids would outlive us in their condition."

References

External links