1. There is hereby established in the department of mental health within the division of developmental disabilities, an “Office of Autism Services”. The office of autism services, under the supervision of the director of the division of developmental disabilities, shall provide leadership in program development for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders, to include establishment of program standards and coordination of program capacity.

2. For purposes of this section, the term “autism spectrum disorder” shall be defined as in standard diagnostic criteria for pervasive developmental disorder, to include: autistic disorder; Asperger’s syndrome; pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified; childhood disintegrative disorder; and Rett’s syndrome.