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Viewpoint: Autism services now prevent great costs later

By Juli Miller

Thank you to Mr. Scott Presnal who very poignantly described his concerns with proposed school budget cuts in a recent letter to the editor (May 2).

As an autistic adult, Mr. Presnal expresses his inability to understand autism, and he is certainly not alone. Autism is truly a mystery and is reaching epidemic proportions in San Luis Obispo County. It is imperative that San Luis Obispo County residents understand the tremendous impact autism spectrum disorders are having on our community and educational systems.

With the current budgetary constraints, it is important that our community direct existing resources to programs that have strong fiscal impact and benefit the community in far reaching ways.

The current autism epidemic is real and presents a tremendous public health crisis. Autism is the fastest growing severe developmental disorder in the United States today. It is more prevalent than childhood cancers, juvenile diabetes mellitus, and pediatric AIDS combined. It is currently estimated that 1 in 150 children is affected by autism. The economic effect of autism in the United States is greater than $90 billion annually and is predicted to more than double in the next decade.

The “tsunami wave” of autism spectrum disorder cases is arriving as these young children grow, and state systems are not designed to serve these individuals.

The California Department of Education reported in 2007 that autism spectrum disorders threaten to overwhelm local educational systems, and our county districts are already feeling the impact. The number of students with autism enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade in California schools has increased more than 1,000 percent during the past 22 years.

Early identification of autism spectrum disorders is crucial, as outcome is greatly improved with early and appropriate intervention. Despite this, many children have not received screening for this disorder in early childhood, as clear guidelines were only recently developed.

The number of programs available has not increased in proportion to the growing incidence of children diagnosed with autism, thus making services in San Luis Obispo County even more difficult to access than they were previously. Providers are often not contracted with state programs or insurance companies. Parents who are able to afford services find them difficult to locate, and those without financial means often find accessing services next to impossible. Local educational and regional center systems are severely strained under the current influx of affected children, and schools are scrambling to try to implement comprehensive, research based programs as needed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1975), without the necessary financial resources or available professionals and staffing.

The Central Coast Autism Spectrum Center was formed to address these social, ethical and economic issues. With the current numbers of county individuals and families touched by autism spectrum disorders rising at an alarming rate, we hope to expand and centralize current services, as well as create training programs to attract and retain qualified professionals. In collaboration with a number of San Luis Obispo County organizations, the Central Coast Autism Spectrum Center will create a hub for families, schools and professionals to find the information they need, gain education about autism and its implications, obtain needed services, and receive support and encouragement.

Aside from the obvious humanitarian and ethical issues, from an economic standpoint alone, high-quality, accessible, affordable autism services in our community are cost effective to all of us in the long run. This point has been stated clearly by the California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism: “Persons with autism spectrum disorders will be served by a public response one way or another — either by humane policies and informed programs or by poverty, homelessness and a dehumanizing criminal justice system.”

Juli Miller is the interim director of the Central Coast Autism Spectrum Center.