"BC Ministry for Children Abandons Boy with Autism"
"BC Ministry for Children Abandons Boy with Autism"
WHAT IS AUTISM
Autism is a neurological disorder that shows its first signs at approximately 18 months of age, many times without any warning. Parents hearts are broken as their seemingly normal, attentive, talkative child disappears before them. It is as if the child they know as their own was stolen in the night. Day by day these children regress and fail to develop normal language, social, behavioural and receptive skills. Many have limited self-help skills and problem behaviours that can be managed but must be addressed on an individual basis.
As many as one in every 500 children is born with autism. Those children may never speak, make friends, drive a car, go to college or live on their own. Due to lack of treatment many of these children end up in institutions where ignorance has meant years of abuse.
An entire generation of children has been lost due to lack of education in proper and effective treatment.
EFFECTIVE AUTISM TREATMENT EXISTS
In a landmark study done by Dr. Ivar Lovaas (UCLA, 1987), 47% of children who began Lovaas treatment before the age of 4 lost the diagnosis of autism. Lovaas treatment gives a child the ability to learn. The method is designed to break down a task into its smallest components. Tasks learned are continually rewarded and reinforced. Through this form of treatment a child learns those things that come naturally to normally developing children -- appropriate language, how to play, dress, interact with friends and family, go to school and manage their world.
Lovaas Treatment is considered medically necessary by a significant number of Canadian psychiatrists; yet education and funding for effective autism treatment does not exist in this country. How are we to reach these toddlers and children in their most critical years? Only through the education of consultants, therapists, professionals and paraprofessionals do these children have a chance at having their futures returned to them. Only through public funding of physician-prescribed treatment can we give children with autism the hope of an independent, self sustaining and happy life.
To date, this education does not exist in Canada, and Medicare does not cover the high cost of treatment. All of our best and brightest must leave for the United States to seek training; and families are "going broke" trying to save their children. This is not supposed to happen in Canada.
Our children can no longer afford to lose precious time.