Category: CDC

More Children in Need, Less Resources?

Although the Center for Disease Control issued their assessment in 2014 that 1 in 68 school-aged children are on the Autism spectrum, federal funding for the care of these Americans is in jeopardy. A person diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or diagnosed with any of the many other related conditions may qualify to receive disability-related Medicaid benefits.

Analysis from Avalere predicts that Medicaid, which provides supports and services to  disabled children and adults, could see a reduction funding of up to $215 billion should the Graham-Cassidy bill be passed.

Three Republican senators and all Democratic senators vowed to vote against the latest attempt to repeal and replace the ACA, stalling the vote. The effort to change healthcare laws is not over. Parents and advocates of children and adults with special needs must get educated and involved in the healthcare debate. The Affordable Care Act has many problems that need to be addressed, but if you or a loved one is the recipient of Medicaid benefits, speak out to block a disaster and offer a solution.

Has Your Child Paid the Price for Texas’ Lack of Special Education?

Policies of the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) are under investigation by reporters and parents.  It is alleged that there has been an organized effort to keep eligible students in Texas from receiving special education services in public schools.  It has been argued that the goal was to save the TEA billions of dollars; however, this is at the expense of disabled students.

Earlier this year, the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) stated it estimated 1 in 68 school-aged children in the United States have Autism Spectrum Disorder (“ASD”).  With diagnoses of ASD on the rise, the fact that Texas schools on average failed to reflect an increase in special education services is perplexing.  Many parents over the past few years have been informed that their children were not eligible to receive special education services despite parental concerns and outside diagnoses.

Parents have to know their rights.  The Individuals with Disabilities Act (“IDEA”) was originally enacted by Congress in 1975; improved in 2004.  Under IDEA, each state is charged with the obligation of identifying, locating and evaluating all children with disabilities in the state who need special education and related services.  Additionally, parents by referral, should identify their child as possibly needing special education and request an evaluation in writing.  After parents give consent to have their child evaluated, the evaluation must be completed within sixty days.

If parents disagree with the evaluation, the next step is to request an Independent Education Evaluation (“IEE”) at the public’s expense.  A new and independent evaluation of the student will evaluate the student.  The school can reject the parent’s objection to the school’s evaluation and file a due process complaint.

Frustrated parents can choose to remove their children from public schools and home-school or place their children in private schools or Applied Behavior Analysis clinics.  Without the supports and services in place for Texas students with disabilities, these students can lose the opportunity to reach their individual full potential as protected in IDEA.

CDC Estimates 1 in 68 school-aged children have autism

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a Press Release today regarding its findings from data collected by the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network.  The report shows no change in the autism spectrum disorder prevalence from the previous report in 2014.

According to Dr. Stuart K. Shapira, chief medical officer for CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities,

The most powerful tool we have right now to make a difference in the lives of children with ASD is early identification.

The CDC has more information at www.cdc.gov/Autism.