Every Child With Autism Deserves A Chance!

We the undersigned respectfully request the funding and provision of desperately needed, intensive, early intervention, medical treatment, biomedical research, education, therapeutic, and family services necessary to provide children with regressive autism the opportunity to live independently and contribute to society and our economy. These services need to be taken out of the hands of the inadequately skilled government health and educational systems, and placed within the control of highly-skilled, autism specific providers of these services, such as the Autism Solution Center, Inc.

With the current rates of autism at 1 in every 150 individuals, it's more important than ever that appropriate treatment, education, and supports are available to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay. Currently, more than 75% of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders are not receiving the critical, early intervention treatments and services necessary to provide them with a shot at an independent life. Unless this current trend changes, in 10-15 years when these 1 out of every 150 individuals become adults and require long-term care at tax-payer expense, it will bankrupt our economy. THIS NEED NOT BE, as more and more individuals with regressive autism are becoming indistinguishable from their peers with correctly implemented and INTENSIVE, EARLY intervention.

The cost of long-term care currently runs in excess of $4,000,000 over the life span of the individual with autism. Appropriate, intensive, early intervention costs run approximately $200,000 per year for an averaged 3 year period. This is a cost the school systems, insurance companies, and government refuse to pay, though the inevitable alternative cost is 20 times that amount and results in a long-term, dependent state.

Presently, many of our school systems are often spending more funding in due process court battles to fight parents who request these necessary educational services, than they would actually be paying to provide them for the child. The fear is often precedence of service will open the door for the other students with autism to request those same services, and the mighty green dollar, along with the system's unwillingness to spend it responsibly, wins again. This is inexcusable and at the cost of human potential.

Providing these appropriate services brings not only an estimated savings of over $3,400,000 per individual, but also doesn't factor in the priceless nature of the brilliant individuals, who now have the opportunity and ability to contribute in all our lives! In good conscience, can we do any less?

We are respectfully asking that the all-inclusive, multi-pronged, intensive, early intervention programs, such as those at ASC, be funded and reproduced within each state in the US, providing these opportunities to all individuals with ASD's, regardless of their ability to pay. Oversight should be implemented by expert autism organizations with no conflict of interest, political ties, or potential agendas.

Though many in the professional community are in disagreement regarding the efficacy of such intensive programs, it is imperative that the FINAL OUTCOMES are considered. Most innovative solutions are looked down upon in early years, as change is often uncomfortable and unwelcomed. History and hindsight consistently expose the folly of this rigidity, and show time and again forward thinking propels us to new heights in addressing difficult issues such as these. Though limited research has currently been done, these approaches are consistently producing positive results, far beyond those seen in traditional medical, educational, and therapeutic care. We cannot ignore these outcomes.

It is time to set aside the comfortable and consider what works. At the end of the day, outcome is all that matters, regardless what the research says. Our children deserve this chance.

Please help fund and provide appropriate care for those with autism, and help provide a bright future for these children, as well as the economy they live within.

Thank you for reading our request and for your careful consideration!