Found this in this morning’s paper…
Andy
–––––––––––––
Assemblyman seeks advocate for families dealing with autism
By Jennifer Coleman
ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 24, 2002
SACRAMENTO – The head of the Assembly Health Committee plans to propose that California establish an ombudsman to help parents of autistic children get state services to deal with a disorder that is on the rise.
Researchers at the University of California Davis recently released a study confirming a 273 percent increase in autism in California between 1987 and 1997.
Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, did not need a study to tell him what he saw in his own family – two young cousins were diagnosed as autistic.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life, more often in boys than in girls, and affects development of social and communication skills.
“Watching the parents go through this, it breaks your heart,” Frommer said. “You’re told that your child may never speak.”
Frommer, who plans to make the proposal in the next legislative session, said his cousins are doing better “because of early diagnosis and intervention.”
He said the state can do more to help the increasing number of children and parents dealing with the disorder. The ombudsman program he will propose could be financed without extra money from the state, Frommer said, by better coordinating the many agencies that already offer services.
The state also should seek more federal funds for the UC Davis researchers, he said.
“What we’re doing here will help everyone in the country,” Frommer said.
The first place most parents turn after learning their child is autistic is to regional centers funded by the state, said Chuck Gardner, a construction project manager whose 10-year-old son was diagnosed seven years ago.
“Our son looks so perfectly normal,” said Gardner, 42. “It’s like looking at a piece of jewelry under glass. He’s a bright, beautiful child, but we just can’t break through.”
Gardner was one of a handful of parents who lobbied UC Davis and state lawmakers to create the Medical Investigation of Neurological Disorders Institute. The M.I.N.D. Institute got a $30 million grant from the state in 2000. Researchers there study autism and related disorders, learning disabilities, neurological development and other brain conditions.
Executive director Dr. Robert Hendren said the institute needs funds to keep studying whether there is a genetic or environmental link to the disorder.
In a tight budget year – the state is facing a $21 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year – Hendren said he fears state money for the institute could dry up.
“When one’s on the cutting edge of this research, there needs to be some additional funding,” he said.
While the researchers work on finding a cause and a cure, everyday assistance for most parents comes through the regional centers – whose funding is also in jeopardy, Gardner said.
Frommer said he also wants the Legislature to decide what health maintenance organizations are required to cover for autistic children.
“There are debates over whether managed care is obligated to cover certain medical tests, and both mental and physical therapies,” he said.
Copyright 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.