Serving Autistic Children Serves Society

In a heartwarming account, a story is told about a boy who was reccommended for institutionalization at the age of 3 because of his autism. His mother refused to institutionize him and instead, served up some hard-hitting advocacy. She found new ways to reach her son. At the age of 8, the boy suddenly started speaking in full sentences. Now at the age of 12, he has learned to fly and planes and hopes someday to become a pilot. His story is on of hope: "Emerging from Autism".

Not all parents with children who have autism can be that optimistic however. Failure to reach people with autism at an early age can have severe consequences, not just personally and financially for those individuals and their families, but for society as a whole. A recent Harvard study shows that autism costs the United States $35 billion a year. The Harvard study shows that direct costs of autism reach an average of $29,000/yr (outpatient services, prescription medication and behavioral therapy, etc.) and indirect costs varying from $39,000 to $130,000/yr (loss of productivity by autistic person's parents).

According to the Harvard study, autism affects about 1.5 million Americans, affecting 1 in 150 children (per Parents as Teachers), and is increasing at a rate of 10-17% each year.

Prevention and improved methods of treatment are imperative and timely, given the clear undeniable benefits in screening for autism at an early age. According to Parents as Teachers, "early detection and intervention can increase the likelihood that children can develop to their full potential." Aiding these children results in lower lifetime costs to society in support of an autistic individual. To that end, Parents as Teachers are initiating screening for autism for children by the time they are two, with the assistance of The Center for Disease Control's new autism screening guidelines.

The Childrens Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) is an organization in Missouri that advocates for the rights of parents to get the assistance their family needs to educate their children and are a powerful ally in the fight for rights. They dispel certain myths within the failing systems, such as: The Special Ed Myth: "Special education programs burden public schools, hindering their academic performance."

The Disabled Need Not Apply Myth: "Private schools won't serve disabled students."

Serving autistic children is not only the right thing to do morally, it simply makes financial sense for society to do so.