Experts expect Alabama autism numbers to grow
By Markeshia Ricks
Star Capitol Correspondent
11-10-2007

MONTGOMERY — In the last 10 years, Alabama has seen a more-than 900-percent increase in the number of children in the state who have an autism spectrum disorder, and state officials and experts in the field expect those numbers to grow.

The unexplained explosion in children diagnosed with autism has left states scrambling to provide services.

With an eye toward the impending pressures on health, education and vocational rehabilitation services in the state, Alabama is at the beginning of a long road.

“The sad factor is as a country we are behind the curve on getting to this issue,” said Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. “We know the earlier the diagnosis occurs and the earlier a child with autism can get services, the better chance of that child growing up to be a more independent, functioning member of society.”

Ward heads up the Alabama Autism Task Force which is looking at ways to make sure children with autism don’t slip through the cracks.

He’s also the father of a 5-year-old daughter who has autism.

He said one of the biggest barriers for families and children in Alabama is that many of them live below the poverty line, and their only option is to seek help from under-funded public entities that often aren’t equipped to meet their child’s need.

“Families can’t afford the nice private centers, so they depend on the public schools for a large portion of the services their child gets,” he said.

Robert Simpson, director of the Auburn University Autism Center, said that when the initial swell in the number of children with autism hit public schools, most were caught off guard.

“Fifteen years ago, nobody knew anything about autism except a few people with a specialized interest,” he said. “Now we’re trying to deal with this increase and agencies that address people with disabilities are not prepared.”

Simpson said the state is headed in the right direction, but it’s still far from having a system in place to provide services that provide support from birth to well into adulthood.

Mabry Whetstone, director of special education for the Alabama Department of Education, said most school systems in the state do not have staff trained in meeting the educational, behavioral and communication needs of children with autism.

With the Centers for Disease Control reporting that one in 150 children in the country lives with an autism spectrum disorder, Whetstone said it was beyond time to look at ways to address the issue in Alabama.

For the first time the department will ask the Legislature to appropriate slightly more than $1 million for a pilot program that will put a specialist in autism education in each of the eight districts around the state.

The money also will be used to provide professional development for teachers and create internship opportunities at autism centers for future teachers.

Whetstone said without those kinds of resources the state will not meet the coming demand.
“If we don’t do this we’re going to have a continuing, large group of students who will be unsuccessful in the classroom and unsuccessful as adults,” he said.

Jennifer Sellers, interim coordinator for the Auburn University Autism Center, said one of the biggest misconceptions about autism spectrum disorder is that people who have it can’t be independent, and they can’t work.

In her research, she found that between 1992 and 2006 only 4 percent of people with autism who sought vocational rehabilitation services were employed.

“It’s a pretty sad statistic,” said Sellers, who has a 15-year-old son who is autistic.
Sellers said without more systems in place to provide early intervention for people with autism the state could unwittingly create a whole segment of people who will be dependent on their parents or the government for support.

“Autism is the fastest-growing disability out there, and the increase that the state has seen in a 10-year span is scary,” she said. “If we are not teaching the skills that will be necessary for people to be independent, and if we’re not open to employing people with autism, then there is going to be a huge financial burden on the country.”

Ward said that’s why there is such a great need to create awareness about autism and how it will impact the state in the future.

Awareness could also have a significant impact on whether autism is a problem that can attract money—something that is always an issue in Alabama.

“Like everything else in state government, one problem we have is that developmental disabilities and mental health tend to receive less funding than other agencies,” Ward said. “Transportation gets funding because everybody needs roads, police get funding because everybody wants a safe place to live.

“Mental health and disability doesn’t touch everybody’s daily lives, so that advocacy isn’t always there."