Autistic adults could get a lifetime plan from bill
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 (14:15:22)

Posted by Sylvia

STL Today 08/02/2004

By Brian Wallheimer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A Metro East-area legislator wants to create a farm in Southern Illinois to serve autistic adults whose aging parents face difficulties in caring for them.

Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Troy, says his bill would give those with autism a program they can become involved with after they are too old for other programs. State law now only guarantees education for autistic individuals until age 21.

"Just because they're 21 their disability doesn't disappear," said Ellen Adcock, vice president for the Foundation for Autism Services for Today and Tomorrow, the organization behind the idea.

Stephens said many autistic adults were put into nursing homes or kept at home without adequate stimulation.

"The idea is to give these young adults a function in life," Stephens said. "We are already funding programs for these individuals. It may be that they are Medicaid recipients sitting in a nursing home. This gives them another alternative."

Carol Madison, executive director for the Illinois Center for Autism in Fairview Heights, said there were some programs for autistic adults, such as the one at her center that runs a pasta restaurant, but eventually the autistic adult population will grow too large for the few programs available.

"I think there's going to have to be more service for these people or they're going to sit at home or be put in a state (institution)," Madison said. "As a society, we haven't addressed the fact that these people are going to get older."

Adcock said the farm idea was based on Bittersweet Farms in Whitehouse, Ohio, an 80-acre farm where those with autism live and work on activities such as taking care of animals and plants, making furniture and hiking.

Adcock said her organization would like an 80-acre farm with similar activities, where autistic adults could live or participate in a day program.

"It's a very well-proven program that works," Adcock said. "People who go through these programs usually flourish."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism is an abnormality in the brain that causes communication and behavioral problems. There is no accurate count on how many people in the United States have autism or what its causes are.

Adcock, who has two autistic sons, ages 16 and 19, said she and other parents of autistic children had to realize there might come a time when they cannot care for their children.

Adcock said her organization has raised around $30,000 for the idea but is looking at costs that could be as much as $3 million to start and between $2.5 million and $4 million annually.

In Missouri, lawmakers have cut funding for programs for autistic children. Last year, lawmakers spent $3.1 million for such programs, compared with $4 million two years earlier. And there are only limited services available, public or private, for autistic adults.

Stephens said he was hoping to push his bill through and get some funding from Illinois. He also said he was looking for donations to lower some of the costs.

"My vision is there will be quite a bit of private support," Stephens said.

Stephens is passionate about the subject because he said he met an autistic child when he was first elected and he has worked for the cause since.

"If you've ever looked into the eyes of an autistic child, you fall in love," he said. "I guess you could say I fell in love a long time ago."