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Communities Realizing Autism Is a Real Problem

More and more I’m seeing that different communities throughout the United States (and even Canada and the UK), gathering together to discuss the “epidemic” of Autism. The sad part, is that these communities are holding these meetings because they are already 10 steps behind, and now they’re overwhelmed with the number of children and families that are effected by the disorder.

We actually moved into this school district because it had a full-time “Autism Specialist” on staff, which is not very common in the midwest states right now. I expected a lot of great things to be in place for my child, to include additional resources available for my son tailored towards the Autism spectrum. Unfortunately, what I found is that the specialist is absolutely swamped! She has too many children that she’s responsible for, and even though she’s doing the best that she can, there is really only so much that she can do. It’s hard for me to imagine how a school district handles all of the special needs without dedicated staff on board?

• Autistic Children Need More Services at East Penn
• UNM and the city of Albuquerque host first Autism meeting for the state of New Mexico
• Bismark Tribune reports on the rise of Autism in Schools

I often wonder who the people are that initiate these large discussions. Is it a group of worried parents that have successfully stirred the pot enough to finally be noticed? Or was it that someone “important” in these communities (mayor, governor, school official) was affected personally and then all of the sudden it became a priority? Maybe the teachers have had enough? Whatever it is, obviously it’s a good thing that awareness is at an all-time high. I just hope that as a country we can see that this is a nation-wide problem, not just specific to certain states or communities.

Having to fight tooth-and-nail for the additional resources for our children is ridiculous.

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