Parents appeal for resources on autism
They tell several legislators their children need services not currently being supplied.
By JESSICA KLIPA
Published September 2, 2005
BLOOMINGDALE - A group of parents of autistic children asked state legislators last week for help getting money to create an autism resource center in the area.
Concerned Parents of Autistic Children met Sunday with three House Republicans to discuss ways the state can help them deal with the disability.
For more than two hours, nearly 40 parents and grandparents of autistic children voiced their concerns to state Rep. Richard Glorioso, a Plant City Republican, and state Rep. Anthony "Trey" Traviesa, a Brandon Republican.
State Rep. Susan Goldstein, a Broward County Republican whose 13-year-old daughter suffers from autism, also attended the meeting, held at Nature's Health Foods in Bloomingdale.
The legislators heard parents say their children need speech, occupational and physical therapy, as well as a costly one-on-one treatment called applied behavior analysis.
Autism is a neurological, developmental disability that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Since health insurance does not typically pay for treatment, parents have to dig into their own pockets - or go into debt - to afford care that can cost $50,000 or more a year.
That's one reason the group wants the state to create an autism resource center in the Brandon area.
"Our goal is to provide the center with enough resources to address every need that our children have," said Tanya Radulovic, organizer of the non-profit group.
Parents also expressed frustration about meeting the criteria to receive a John McKay scholarship, which awards up to $22,000 that parents can use to attend a public or private school.
Right now, a child must remain in the public school system for a year to qualify for the McKay scholarship.
Goldstein, the Sunrise Republican who has worked for autism programs in south Florida, said she hopes to introduce a bill that would waive the one-year requirement for autistic children.
While many of the parents in the Brandon area have not yet received a McKay scholarship, the few who have said they were pleased with the outcome.
Helyn Moore sent her son to public school before enrolling him in the special needs program at Baylife Academy, thanks to a McKay scholarship.
"We must have an option for these children beyond the school system," Moore said.
Dr. Housam Moursi, founder and president of Concerned Parents of Autistic Children, said the center would be "a one-stop shop" to provide education and therapy.
Goldstein told the parents to organize support locally, before they take on Tallahassee.
She said the group should develop "a real plan with real numbers" for an autism resource center.
"The first step is to try to create a community of parents, to get commitments from the school district and at the university level to provide the facilities and the staff," she said.
She said the group should determine the number of children with autism in the Brandon area, find out what it will cost to hire and train autism professionals, and decide what services should be provided. Then, they need to propose a budget and look for funding from the state, county and other sources, Goldstein said.
"Your outreach, your focus should be on the local level," Traviesa told them. "Those are the people that have the most power and can get the most done in the least amount of time."
At the end of meeting, Traviesa suggested the possibility of creating a charter school for autistic children or giving autistic children more school vouchers.
"I'm in favor of school vouchers," Traviesa said, "because they put power in the hands of the parents to make decisions about their child's education."