For example, in states like NJ there are private schools for students with autism who teach functional life skills along with academics. Students can be educated until age 21. After age 21 it is described as “the cliff”. All programs cease and day programs and certainly residential programs are few and far between with waiting list of 17,000+. Many are difficult to staff with quality people and parents live a life or fear on a daily basis worrying what will become of their children once the parents pass away. Students and young adults with ASD have all levels of abilities and many can work with the assistance of a job coach and others are fully independent and can even drive. It truly is a disorder that cannot easily be tossed into one big box. Bottom line is we are in this horrible predicament due to greed and outright lies. IT IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY and child abuse. There needs to be money to replicate the good programs that are out there and train and employ staff who want to work with our kids. In addition to always looking for a way to reverse the effects of autism, we should continue to have day programs that teach life skills, homesteading, wood working, STEAM/STEM, reading, drivers education, culinary arts, exercise, etc…etc… our kids have been ROBBED of their God given rights by Big Pharma and greedy pediatricians.
This is important, and there are some support organizations out there in the private sector that do some of this, such as Sarasota | Academy at Glengary, Inc.
They can be replicated by private charity.
This is NOT something that should be done at the federal level.
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