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Autism charity disappointed with latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI)
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, August 03, 2009 (17:21:32)
24dash
TreeHouse, the national charity for autism education, welcomes the focus in two reports out this week on children with disabilities and child poverty. However, the charity is disappointed that the figures show much more needs to be done in order to tackle these issues for good.
Both the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics and the UK Childrens Commissioners Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have shown that eradicating child poverty, including the severe poverty often faced by children with disabilities, is still a long way off.
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New law gives thousands of dollars to treat autism, related disorders
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Posted by lightfoot on Thursday, April 17, 2008 (23:14:30)
by Leigh Munsil
Autism disorders may no longer lead to overwhelming out-of-pocket expenses after the passage of Steven's Law by the state Legislature (Arizona) last week.
Steven's Law requires certain health-care providers, such as disability insurers, to provide coverage to children living with autism disorders up to age 16. The coverage should not exceed $50,000 for children up to age 9 and $25,000 through age 16.
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Rapp Encourages Local Families Dealing with Autism to Apply for State Mini Grant
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Posted by lightfoot on Friday, April 11, 2008 (06:24:30)
State Representative Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Forest/McKean) announced the availability of mini-grants from the Bureau of Autism Services within the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and is encouraging eligible residents to apply.
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Group fights for autism treatment to be covered
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Posted by lightfoot on Thursday, February 28, 2008 (01:49:34)
By JENNIFER BOOTH REED
Last month, Laura O'Sullivan, a Florida Gulf Coast University professor turned therapist, opened Children's Autism Treatment Specialists where she hopes to give children skills to function in the everyday world.
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Lawmakers told state spends $57 million each year on autism
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Posted by lightfoot on Thursday, January 24, 2008 (22:04:23)
By Sarah Hinckley Rutland Herald
Lisa Lawlor of Woodstock says her family was lucky to get into a system that had the financial ability to help them when her twin boys, 16, were diagnosed with autism.
A 48-page report to address services for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder was presented to the House Education Committee and Senate Education Committee in a joint hearing on Wednesday afternoon. The report began with a message from Secretary of Human Services Cynthia LaWare, stressing the importance of prioritizing the most compelling and cost-effective recommendations within.
"I will say it's the first time they've addressed autism as a singular problem," said Brian Lawlor, Lisa's husband, who attended the joint hearing. "There needs to be some results from it."
In May 2007 Gov. James Douglas signed Act 35, an Act Relating to Autism Spectrum Disorders, which directed the Agency of Human Services and the Department of Education to work collaboratively to develop a plan to provide services throughout the lifespan of people diagnosed under the ASD umbrella.
A month later educators, families, individuals with ASD, state officials, community providers and advocates were invited to participate on committees to develop the report, presented Wednesday. A Steering Committee of 75 people was organized and from that, five additional sub-committees that met approximately 35 times in four months.
In addition to the committee work, five forums were held during the fall in Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, Springfield and St. Johnsbury to gather information from the public. In all, 195 people attended the forums, including community service providers, family members of people with ASD, education staff and state government staff.
According to LaWare's introduction message in the report, $57 million is a conservative estimate of what the state spends, excluding medical services, per year to serve the 700 identified Vermonters under the ASD umbrella. That is a cost of approximately $82,000 per person.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, the number of people diagnosed with ASD is growing at a rate of up to 17 percent a year. A report from the U.S. Center for Disease Control shows one in 150 children have ASD  state statistics are similar, according to the report.
"There's more kids diagnosed with autism than there are people diagnosed with cancer," Brian Lawlor pointed out during the joint hearing.
One issue Lawlor felt the report didn't address is the number of people with ASD waiting for services. The subject came up in the hearing but was grossly underestimated, he said.
Findings and recommendations in the report presented to the education committees were divided into 10 categories. They included: best practices, identification and diagnosis, early intervention, coordination of services, access to information, training and workforce development, technical assistance and consultation, education services, adult services and funding.
"I am very pleased, we brought together a very diverse group of people," said Sen. Don Collins, D-Franklin, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "Many of the issues here could be corrected with better communication. We are serious about making sure they (parents and children with ASD) get appropriate services."
Collins expressed doubts that recommendations within the report that require more money will move this year. He indicated that could change in subsequent legislative sessions.
"Sometimes it is not about more money that makes a difference," Collins said, but about spending it better. "This report gives us that direction."
Rep. Janet Ancel, D-Calais, chairwoman of the House Education Committee, said they are working through which of the recommendations are ready to be put in place and which are not.
"There is still some work to be done on that," said Ancel. "I see this as a major first step in a fairly long process. We are not done."
Times Argus
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