Apr

10

Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome

Posted by Little Miss Know it All

April 10, 2007 |

April is Autism Awareness Month.  You’re going to see lots of stories this month as light is shed on this issue.  As you probably know, my son has Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism which impairs his social abilities.  As a parent of a child on the spectrum, there’s a few things I’d like to see change.

1)  Doctors, when parents come to you and say, “Something’s not right” please listen.  I’m not talking about the parent who calls you in the middle of the night panicked over every sniffle, cough or wheeze.  But if a normal parent comes to you and says that something isn’t right, and is worried over developmental delays, REFER THEM!  Send them to a specialist, let it be ruled out or deemed a possibility.  Many cases of autism that get early intervention are success stories–children who develop to be almost normal children.  But time and again, (and it happened to us) parents tell their pediatricians there is something not right, and they get a pat the head, silly parent, you’re just a worrywort, kind of response.  What harm does it do to refer them to a specialist?

2)  Insurance companies, cover therapies.  You wouldn’t believe what an hour of physical therapy costs, and most insurance only covers 20 visits a year, for all therapies.  Most autistic children require 3-4 therapies a week.  Many of them need hours of it every day.  We are blessed with insurance that covers all of it, but we are the exception, not the rule.  I know families who spend $900 a month on basic health insurance, and then over $1000 a month on extra therapies.  That breaks the average family.  I have seen wealthy families go bankrupt as they try to provide the care their autistic child needs.  That’s savage.  In a country where every day 67 new cases are diagnosed, its unexcusable.

3)  Fund schools.  Schools are mandated by federal law, through the IDEA act, to provide whatever services are necessary for each child to succeed at school and perform at the same level as other children.  Most schools are doing what they can, but are hampered by lack of funding.  Even at our school, which gets an A+ when compared to most schools, its not enough.  Speech classes are so crammed that they have multiple disabilities learning multiple skills at any given time.  My son doesn’t have classic speaking issues, his are in receptive language (understanding what he hears) but he’s put into a class where he learns with children who have hearing or speaking issues.  Those children don’t need my son’s therapy, and he doesn’t need theirs.  Its a waste of the teacher’s time and the child’s time if they are having to combine them that way.  It happens over and over again–not enough training for teachers, leading to great frustration with the kids.  Not enough education for the other kids–leading to bullying and other problems.  Watch the video below, and see what a little education can do.  Follow this link at ABCnews.com for more information on treatments, causes, and how to help.

Daniel and Noah

Daniel Corcoran (left) and Noah Orent each suffer from Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior during childhood. “It means my brain is different,” Corcoran said. (ABC)

 


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Batocchio on April 11, 2007 7:06 pm

    Amen to all your points!

    I don’t know the degree of your son’s receptive language issues, but I know some schools, in addition to any special classes, book a double session of the same class for the kid - two sessions of math or English, for example. The repetition can be very helpful. But it’s a tough beat, to be sure.

  2. Little Miss Know it All on April 12, 2007 8:16 am

    That’s a great idea! I’ll put that in our handbook for the IEP meeting for next year. Right now he’s in first grade, so its not likely, but we can ask!

    He was tested a year and half ago on receptive language–he tested in the bottom 1% of kids his age. An example of it would be the other day I told his sister to “Hold on” while I got her bib on before eating. He tilted his head, looked at me quizzically and asked “Mommy, why did you tell Kate ‘all done’ when we’re just starting?” Fabulous expressive language, but he only hears part of the sounds of the words spoken and his brain guesses the rest. Same with reading.

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