Today is Autism Awareness Day. If you know someone with born autistic, you are aware of the joys and challenges of parenting on children on the autism spectrum. For individuals who are autistic, they know how truly special their world view can be, the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for them.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve had debates over cuts to funding for Special Olympics, Medicare/Medicaid, and other programs. Something that hasn’t gained enough attention are the devastating cuts aimed at persons with autism. So, as we celebrate Autism Awareness Day, maybe we should be more aware of what this administration is doing sabotage the forward progress we’ve made for families that support autistic members. The Washington Post took this on directly.
The administration wants to zero out funding for Department of Health and Human Services programs relating to autism, including a developmental disabilities surveillance and research program, autism education, early detection and intervention, and the interagency autism coordinating committee.
An editorial in the NY Times sums up how many parents of children on the spectrum feel today.
At a checkup when my son was almost 5, the developmental pediatrician was brutally honest: She said she did not expect a child like mine to ever be able to live independently. I suppressed fury and shock, and just listened. Both the social worker and the doctor were trying to prepare me for the future.
My son is almost 7 now, and adorable. More often than not, he is happy and affectionate. He loves to draw, go swimming, ride the subway and go out for ice cream. His father and I find him perceptive and sometimes brilliant, regardless of what any evaluations say.
President Trump is clearly aware that autism exists and needs support — White House Twitter sent out friendly social media posts. They did so while continuing to back budgets and proposals that are immoral and poor investments in communities of people with disabilities.
You see, for years, right-wing talking heads have blasted help for those with disabilities. Some opposed the ADA. Others opposed continued research support. Special education. What they fail to realize is there are two opportunities here: people with autism, like any differently abled individual, desires to find a way to live in this world. Making it possible is a financial benefit to our community; we have the opportunity to welcome in employees, neighbors, and friends to our community.
Trump, in his proclamation of Autism Awareness day, touted job creation, but he misses the point. Under his administration, more persons with disabilities have stopped looking for work. Because the opportunities and support isn’t there. As Trump touts unemployment, he forgets: those who aren’t seeking employment don’t count toward that number, and toxic environments minimize opportunities.
Why? Because Trump has rolled back the policies, as Ari Ne’eman points out in the Washington Post.
The Affordable Care Act also created new opportunities for people with disabilities to enter the workforce, since many people with disabilities go on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to get access to public health insurance. To keep their eligibility for those programs, and insurance, such individuals must limit their income — meaning they turn down job opportunities). Because the ACA prohibited preexisting condition discrimination and expanded Medicaid, many people with disabilities were freed to enter the workforce without fear of insurance loss. Research has shown that states that expanded Medicaid on balance saw improvements in employment outcomes for people with disabilities not present among those states that failed to do so.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration has worked to reverse many of these measures, making the president’s attempt to lay claim to his predecessor’s successes especially galling. In December 2017, the Justice Department indicated it would no longer stand behind important guidance issued during the Obama administration that required states to give people with disabilities services to help them access integrated workplaces.
It’s simple. You can provide people a path to participate, to belong, to find acceptance. Or you can shut them out, and then proclaim victory as those who feel totally shut out stop trying, drop out of trying to participate, and no longer count toward your unemployment figures.
Today is World Autism Awareness day. Part of that awareness is supporting a future for those with neuro-diversity; and that isn’t taking victory laps as we strip services and turn more and more into shut ins, providing parents with less support and threatening the future of Americans who need us.
We actually have to see them, welcome them, and provide the support needed.