Reaching Out to the Government to Help Our Children

I do a lot of writing about what the government isn’t doing to help our children. Now that the CDC has officially recognized autism as a major health concern, 1 in 110 children are diagnosed with autism, I thought it was time to reach out to our government and ask them directly for help.

I have sent out my first round of emails to different government officials. Each one said the same thing and asked the same questions. Because it is so close to Christmas, I don’t expect a response from anyone immediately. Hopefully, after the holidays, someone will reply. I will continue sending out my emails each day until I have contacted everyone in a position to help.

Here is a copy of the email I sent and the list of who I have sent it out to today:

Thank you for taking time to read my email request for information. I am the owner and administrator of AutismLearningFelt, and online publication for parents raising a child with autism. My readers and I would like to know what you are doing to help us.

I have a few questions that I would like to ask you and hope you will respond. Your answers will be published on my website within a day or two of your response. Thank you again for your time.

1. When the CDC announced the new autism rates, 1 in 110 children are diagnosed with autism, what were your first thoughts?

2. Services for children with autism are limited and difficult to receive. Most are limited to speech, occupational and speech therapy, yet hardly ever enough of these services to make a big impact for our children. Services like ABA and Floortime therapy are usually not available for our children unless we, the parents, pay for them ourselves. Children that receive at least 20 to 25 hours a week of specialized therapy make more progress than those that do not. What do you intend to do to make government paid specialized therapy services available for our children?

3. Early Intervention is extremely important. Do you have any plans for improving the identification and diagnosis of autism and an earlier age?

4. Autism families need a voice within the government. There are several great organizations that lobby and advocate for us, but we need government officials to take up our cause. Do you have any plans to stand up as a voice for the autism community and bring about more government involvement in addressing the concerns of families raising a child with autism and bringing about practical help for us?

5. Finally, have you considered the time when our children are adults and will require even more help? As parents, we like to think that we will always be here for our children. As our children get older, we realize that soon they will be adults and may become dependent on the government for their care. Do you have any plans to address this issue?

Governor Bob Riley, Alabama
Governor Charlie Crist, FL
Gov. Bev Perdue, NC
Gov. David A. Patterson, NY
Gov. Chris Gregoire, WA
Gov. Martin O’Malley

Alexander, Lamar – (R – TN)
Barrasso, John – (R – WY)
Hagan, Kay R. – (D – NC)
Burr, Richard – (R – NC)
Boxer, Barbara – (D – CA)