Autism and Politics: We're On The Island of Misfit Toys

[maddezmom]

Autism and Politics: We're On The Island of Misfit Toys
There's been a lot of talk about disabilities on the Presidential campaign trail. Sarah Palin has been presented by the McCain campaign as an expert in disabilities by virtue of the fact that she has an infant with Down Syndrome and a nephew with autism. The Obama campaign has put out statements regarding the Senator's commitment to disability issues and correlated that to having a staff member with a child with autism.

Well aren't we just in the news, autism Moms and Dads? Big whoop, I say. Newsflash, autism is to the disability world what cervelles de veau is to a snooty, French restaurant menu. Sure, it's French food, but it ain't Chateaubriand, no one quite knows what to make of it, and very few people order it. (I'll digress from my topic for a moment to share the origin of my cervelles de veau reference. As a senior in college, when autism was still 1 in 10,000 if I may date myself, my boyfriend and I went to dinner at one of New York's finest restaurants, La Cote Basque, which closed in 2004. I've no idea why we decided to go so fancy. Perhaps because he had his dad's credit card. Anyway, I used my best high school French and ordered the cervelles de veau, knowing that veau meant veal. God bless the waiter who asked me, "Miss, have you enjoyed calves brains in the past?" I blanched and ordered something else, I don't even remember what -- I'd have taken the frogs' legs over the calves brains!) OK, back on track now.

Yukon Cornelius, the silver and gold metal prospector from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, sums Hermie the dentist's and Rudolph's plight on The Island of Misfit Toys like this, "Why even among misfits you're misfits!" because they aren't toys. That's how it feels have to children with autism. We never quite fit into any disability, teaching or medical model other than those created just for autism.

Until recently, many people with autism did not qualify for basic state level services through departments of developmental disabilities because their IQ's were too high to meet the "mental retardation" criteria by which departments provide services. And yet, some of these folks could not hold a job or live independently. Massachusetts, a liberal state with excellent services for people with disabilities, only added an autism division three years ago to address the fact that many people with autism were falling through the cracks.

Take a look at health insurance. If you've a child with Down Syndrome, your insurance will cover the myriad medical issues you're likely to face, including heart surgeries. You've probably seen that states are just now adding mandates for services to cover people with autism. And they are spotty at best. It's an uphill battle to get even basic speech and occupational therapy and even harder to get ABA therapy within the confines of health insurance, let alone actual medical treatment.

Autism isn't a physical disability whereby the hurdles are a function of access or mobility.

more:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-stagliano/autism-and-politics-were_b_138580.html