A few weeks ago, Autism News at Blogger News Network appealed to the Presidential Candidates to respond to the first ever United Nations World Autism Awareness Day held on Wednesday 2nd April 2008. This was a historic day announced by the United Nations General Assembly, the resolution was backed by the State of Qatar. WAAD had the full support of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The UNSG is being urged to launch a world autism strategy, convene a UN conference on Autism in 2009 and reach out to families with autism who are struggling to cope with life in Africa and Asia.
The candidates for the Democratic nomination, Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton both released statements to mark the first ever United Nations World Autism Awareness Day. Autism News was delighted that the candidates heard our call and reacted to it.
Senator Obama Releases World Autism Awareness Day Statement:
“I am proud to add my voice in support of World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness Month, and to outline the steps that an Obama administration will take to address the problem of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) on every level.Autism Spectrum Disorders have quietly become some of the most serious public health issues in the United States and the world today. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects 1 in 150 children; 1 in 94 boys, in the United States. It is estimated that tens of millions have autism world wide.
Autism not only jeopardizes the future of our children, but also has a devastating impact on all levels of government here at home and around the world. Today, autism costs our nation alone $90 billion dollars each year. In current dollars, the cost of simply caring for each person with autism will be over $3 million — a devastating burden for virtually every family who is affected by this disorder.
While the statistics are staggering, these numbers are compounded with autism’s impact on our families and communities. The divorce rate of parents of children with autism is far above the national average, as is the bankruptcy rate. Autism taxes our families in many ways – not just financially, but emotionally as well.
As an Illinois state senator, I sponsored comprehensive legislation that became law to create an Autism Spectrum Disorders diagnosis education program. The goal of that project is to offer educational opportunities at all levels of care, including physicians, early intervention (which we know is crucial in helping give our children a chance), psychologists, teachers, day care providers, parents, respite workers, and speech and language therapists. I have personally worked side-by-side with Illinois families affected by autism to support efforts to build the Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.
While serving in the U.S. Senate, I’ve been fighting to make sure Congress fully funds the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). I have also cosponsored a measure that would expand federal funding for life-long services for Americans with Autism Spectrum Disorders, authorizing approximately $350 million in new federal funding for key programs related to treatments, interventions and services for both children and adults with autism. Because autism is a life-long condition, we must provide for individuals throughout their lifetime.
I also supported the Combating Autism Act which has become law. While this was a first step towards addressing the autism crisis, we can do much better for American families and communities struggling to get by. And while the causes of autism remain a mystery, the Bush administration has responded by approving the paltry sum of $108 million to support research.
The Bush Administration has not been alone in failing to even come close to an adequate response to this crisis. Many insurance companies have failed to assume their responsibilities as well. Individuals with autism are routinely denied insurance benefits for their treatments.
How can we allow our nation to deny children with special needs the support their health depends on? That is not the America we believe in. While some states have been successful in restoring basic insurance benefits, we as Americans have an obligation to our citizens with special needs and I intend to lead in that effort with the most comprehensive ASD policy of any candidate running for president. We need a policy that is commensurate with the crisis and that is what I will provide as President.
My administration will not only work to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Combating Autism Act, but will add to that a commitment of $1 billion dollars a year in autism-related funding by the end of my first term. And we will work with Congress, parents and experts in the field of autism to determine how to further improve federal and state programs.
As President, I will appoint a Federal ASD Coordinator, an “Autism Czar†to oversee and coordinate a nationwide effort to deal proactively with ASD. This effort will include diverse but credible research, treatment, personal care/assistance and family support and will work with existing national and state organizations and taskforces. We need to ensure that combating autism, once and for all, receives the recognition and priority it deserves at the highest level of government. This appointee will also have a mandate to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles that may be delaying implementation of important measures and will ensure that all federal funds are being spent in a manner that prioritizes results. We need to build effective communication and collaboration among federal, state and local agencies. Right now, our government is just trying to keep up and, as any family who faces autism will tell you, we are not even doing that. What we know and what we have seen is that America can and must do more.
Americans with special needs require and deserve meaningful resources to succeed in early and later life. While roughly 90 percent of infants in the U.S. are currently screened for various potentially disabling or life-threatening conditions, fewer than half the states screen all infants for the full recommended panel of 29 disorders. Many of these conditions, if caught early, can be treated before they result in permanent impairments or even death. This means we have to set a national standard to provide re-screening for all two-year olds, the age at which some conditions, including autism, have already begun to appear.
Our nation and our world deserve an immediate and focused four-prong approach: research, intervention, life-long support, and an end to discrimination. As a result of the crisis, there is much debate as to the cause of autism and how to address it. What we need to do is devote ourselves to a solution built from a comprehensive plan that is research-based, inclusive, and effective. And we have to do this right now.
Those who face autism – or whose loved ones are facing it – are some of our most courageous Americans. They face daily struggles, praying that their school district has the resources and personnel to help their child, hoping that their pediatricians know how help, fearful of what their child’s future will be, and knowing full well the very limited services available to adults with special needs. We must replace these uncertainties with hope – hope that we can and will bring about a brighter day.
While we commend the United Nations and those who are helping bring this epidemic to the forefront, World Autism Awareness Day is not a victory, it is a call to action, and the United States must once and for all act quickly and effectively. There is nothing more American than speaking for those in need who are without a voice. As I have said many times before, we must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes and discrimination. Policies must be developed, attitudes must be shaped, and buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to get the education they need and live independently as full citizens in their communities. I believe the World Autism Awareness Day is a first step. As President I will walk beside you the rest of the way,†said Senator Obama.
Statement Of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton On World Autism Awareness Day
I am pleased to join the United Nations in recognizing the inaugural World Autism Awareness Day. Today offers us the opportunity to reaffirm a commitment to addressing the need for increased treatment, services, and research into autism spectrum disorders.
In the United States and other countries, we have seen a rise in the number of individuals diagnosed with autism. Throughout my time in public service, I have met with families who have shared their experiences in dealing with autism, and trying to seek the best possible care for their loved ones with the disorder. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 150 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder. In order to respond to these increases, we need to have a commensurate investment in services and programs for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. I also believe that we should increase our efforts to research autism, so that we better understand the causes and the best treatments for this condition.
In November, I announced a comprehensive plan to address autism. My plan provides nearly $1 billion over five years for autism research, surveillance, awareness, and early identification. I will create an Autism Task Force charged with investigating evidence-based treatments, interventions, and services. We need to know what works and start investing in those efforts. I will also expand access to post-diagnosis care so that once children have been identified as autistic, they receive appropriate evidence-based treatment immediately. No child should experience a delay in receiving services that can improve his or her quality of life. But too often today, children are forced to wait for months for care. I’ll also provide funding to school districts and universities to train teachers and other health and social services professionals in how to work most effectively with autistic children, since the number of children with autism in our public schools has skyrocketed in recent years. I’ll make sure every young person has a transition plan before they leave high school. I will also ensure that both children and adults with autism have access to the services they need – including housing, transportation, employment – to live rich and full lives. In all, I will commit $500 million annually to provide services to improve the quality of life for all people living with autism.
This plan builds on my work in the Senate to help individuals and families impacted by autism. Last year, I introduced the Expanding the Promise for Individuals with Autism Act, which would increase the availability of effective treatment, services and interventions for both children and adults living with autism. I was also a cosponsor of the Combating Autism Act, and have worked to secure funding for the research programs authorized by that act.
I hope that today’s commemoration will once again allow us to highlight the needs of children, adults, and families impacted by autism, and I look forward to working to continue to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorders,’ said Senator Clinton.
Although we searched the internet we did not come across a statement for World Autism Awareness Day by Republican Presidential Candidate, Senator John McCain.
Senator McCain had spoken about autism on the campaign trail, “It’s indisputable that autism is on the rise among children,†Senator McCain said while campaigning recently in Texas. “The question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.â€
4 users commented in " UN World Autism Day: Presidential Candidates respond on Autism "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackIf Hillary Clinton’s and/or Barak Obama’s staff looked into the prior research on autism they would find out that one way to prevent more non-familial/de novo/sporadic autism is to study that research and then have the candidate alert the public that higher paternal age, past 33, is the #1 predictor of sporadic autism and schizophrenia. We would do a great deal to lessen suffering if men would plan to father all their babies before the age of 34 and know exactly why that would be of great benefit to the health of future generations and their own happiness.
I think that everyone including Mr. FELDMAN above poster needs to get educated and not question where autism is coming from but how to help those that have it. There is NO conclusive evidence as to what the cause of autism is and there is no true tested proof as to what to do about it. Everyone has an opinion or conjecture, but that isn’t enough. I am the mother of an autistic child, and all I want is to have medical benefits, life insurance, appropriate and acceptable education and therapy services. It is tough parenting a child with autism, but it is fullfilling as well. People need to realize that with autism on the rise, these children is this country’s future!
H clinton forgot to mention that even before her presidency race she was/is trying to cut off wrap around services in the home for autistic children .Therefore making these therapists and case workers only pencil pushers ,with minimal home visits.
Patty Bails
I too am an autism mom.
While the government seems to finally have an interest in autism overall, at least while running for office, I am living in the ASD world.
Please allow me to offer a different perspective from that of the politicians above.
My 4.5 year old child was offered no hope from the diagnostic facility. And I might add, one of the finest facilities in the nation. Medical miracles happen there daily, I’m sure. But not in the realm of autism, not at all!
Their knowledge is antiquated; offering the same options that would have been offered in the 1950s or maybe 1960s. But not entirely, they did suggest that I could hold off on the utilization of a “facility” until he was an adult.
And yes, I know what seems obvious here. NO, my child is not an extreme example. In fact, IF anyone bothered to invest the effort, they would find him to be at a fairly high level of functionaliy. Hmm, fascinating.
I DO have him enrolled in a “Special Education” program. Special indeed! It is so very special that I recently educated his special education teacher on the importance of knowing how to read the physical signs of a child’s autonomic nervous system reaching a hightened state of arousal.
“Special” that she didn’t have any idea! Her entire career is tending to the needs of children with special needs, and she didn’t know this?
And with regard to the government and or insurance companies funding “autism treatment”…Who is deciding what “effective” means?!? I don’t think anyone is aside from those getting their pockets padded by the rediculously anitquated world of ABA. The program that was wrong for nearly every person on the spectrum in the 1940s is still wron for nearly every person on the spectrum today. Huh, how about that!
Forcing…and yes, that’s a literal term…forcing a child physically to perform tricks repeatedly until they have resigned to the fact that if they just perform…ie, touch your nose, maybe someone will remove the strap that’s holding them in a chair…or will shove a bit of cookie in their mouth… Hardly seems the appropriate way to “teach” them how to function in a neuro-typical fashion!
They’re not poorly behave dogs, they’re CHILDREN!
Why is that THIS is the only approach the government is considering to be “effective”? Evidence based? Really?????
FEAR and DREAD do NOT replace cognitive functioning.
Why aren’t less outdated programs being looked at?
There is a holistic neurology treatment, administered by parents who have been taught exactly what to do which has actually removed the diagnosis of “autism”.
There is a relationship based program that has done the same, and in the least favorable rusults, improved functioning for those on the spectrum in every category.
Why aren’t we spending some research dollars on these?
We are quick to say they are not evidence based, because the government won’t fund the research.
Can you imagine the monies saved in the long term if autism treatment were something the parents were trained to administer? If the chidlren had the potential to live independently in their adulthood?
Wouldn’t it be alarmingly less expensive to pay a mother to stay home with her autistic child and execute these programs for a period of 5 years, offering the potential of independent functioning at least to the point of not being totally government dependent that to pay an ABA facility $70,000 a year to rob the child (and parent) of his/her childhood, crush his/her spirit and leave them with nothing but rote knowledge, and intense need to be “prompted” to perform?
Just a thought.
It would take a year to type out everything that isn’t being addressed by our government regarding autism treatment and the lack of hope being offered to people like me.
And I need to get back to becoming an “Autism Specialist”…BECAUSE THERE AREN’T ANY! (That’s right, not ONE person fully qualified to claim that title. Psychologists: NOPE, autism is neurodevelopmental (the brain), Behavioral specialists: NOPE, the behavior is a side affect of neuro-functioning. Pediatricians: NOPE, not so much as a 3 hour seminar in medical school. Speech/Language therapists: NOPE, the true reason an autistic child is non or pre verbal is a disorganized brain. Yeah, I could go on a while on this one too… Oh well, the likelyhood that anyone will bother to read this is low anyway. Back to work…my son has autism….and I am the only person willing to put the effort into helping him.
THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT
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