Autism Task Force holds ‘town hall meeting’ in Gadsden “Since 1990, the number of children in our public schools with autism has risen by 3,337%,” State Representative Cam Ward said before a recent meeting of the Alabama Autism Task Force in Gadsden. “With any other disease or disorder this would be considered an epidemic.” The Alabama Autism Task Force is just that, a task force created by the state legislature - sponsored by Ward, who has an autistic child, and Lt Gov Folsom - to work on autism related issues here in Alabama. Last Tuesday night the task force held a town-hall-type meeting at Crosspoint Church - to report their progress to area parents of autistic children, and hear those parents concerns. An estimated one in ever 150 Americans has a disease on the autism spectrum - called “the spectrum” by those involved. It’s a “spectrum of psychological conditions characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, as well as severely restricted interests and highly repetitive behavior” according to the World Health Organization. According to Ward, many people don’t know what autism really is, they’ve heard the term, and have preconceptions, but don’t understand the implications of the disease. “Ninety-nine percent of the battle with autism is awareness,” Ward says. “And we have to have advocates out there to really bring awareness to our state, not only in the private sector, but also to our government officials.” One of the solutions that has come out of the task force, and is now being implemented: online training - on how to best assist autistic children - for special education teachers in Alabama schools. “Let’s give them the tools they want and the tools they need to teach these children,” Ward says. In the past the state has paid astronomical amounts of money for teachers to drive long distances for workshops on the subject - but because of the high cost only a few teachers could be paid for at a time. “How about training everyone who wants to be trained online, and have interactive videos for people, to help our children with autism,” Ward says. “It’s very cost efficient, considering the state budget problem, but at the same time it gives everybody in every corner of the state, regardless if it’s the richest school system or the poorest, a chance to help our children with autism.” The system uses the existing virtual classroom technology that was brought about through the ACCESS Program earlier this year. The technology is to be installed in every state school by August of next year, according to Ward. Ward says through this program, a class could be taught from the University of Pennsylvania - which has a national institute for autism - to teachers across the entire state simultaneously. Another major step they are working on: the creation of a statewide autism coordinator position. The objective of this, according to Ward, is to have one mind coordinating the efforts of the nine state agencies that offer services to families affected by autism. “We don’t have one master plan,” Ward says. “No one person is making sure that all of (the agencies) are acting together. It will make it cost efficient, and at the same time it will make it easier on a parent…there’s one central agency they go to, they go to the autism coordinator.” Ward knows that parental struggle first hand. He talked about the endless hours spent on the Internet, searching for information about autism, researching the symptoms, looking for the best way to get help. The task force is focusing on many other issues facing parents of autistic children, insurance issues, and helping parents cope - 82% of couples with autistic children end up in divorce. They want to form an online library with information that will help parents who aren’t sure if their child is autistic, and those who already know. “You go to the state government’s website and you have the best resources on ‘Who do I call?’ ‘Where do I go?’ Who do I go see?’ all in one spot,” Ward explains. “It makes it easier for the parents, it makes it a lot less frustrating.” They also are looking into hospice type care for autistic children, so that parents can get out of the house sometimes. The task force is made up of “state officials, educators, doctors, and members of the academic community to recommend ways to improve the treatment of autism in Alabama” according to their website - www.camward.com/AutismTaskForce.htm. |