Of “Handouts” and the “Most Vulnerable”
August 22, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Retired Fort Myers physician John R. Agnew goes a step beyond the argument attributing the increase in autism to better diagnosis and awareness in today’s News-Press—–it’s also due to families increasingly seeking “government money.” Writes Agnew, “Once the government gets involved, money follows, along with rules and some bureaucratic thinking.” He does not specify what form “government money” for autistic children might take; he references Thomas Sowell’s argument that the increase in autism is too many children who are really “late-talking” are being given an autism diagnosis.
Considering the emotional and other resources that are expended in seeking services for an autistic child, and in getting an official diagnosis of autism, I’m not so sure that “getting something” from the government is a primary motivation for parents seeking such services and a diagnosis. I have heard arguments that it makes little sense for taxpayers to pay so much for special education programs and services for students like Charlie as it’s not that he’s going to Harvard and then med school and then will go and solve the problems of the world. In view of the need for (as a commenter put it), “a permanent and long-view commitment to basic and quality safety nets/systems for those most vulnerable in the society,” there’ll be more calls for more funding for programs and services. It’s not a matter of “handouts” to those “most vulnerable in the society”; it’s about, how do we as a society see those “most vulnerable”?
I didn’t take as much umbrage at Dr. Agnew’s thoughts as I expected, but unless there is much more researched information that he is saving for later, the argument seems to be based on relating a couple of unrelated-to-autism interactions with particular government agencies, adding some opinion, a little folksy humor, and a dash of appeal to authority (Thos. Sowell) then shaking together to pour this conclusion. So it’s an opinion piece. Full stop.
These premises seem to be suggesting that intervention and support systems relevant to autism are just rolling in dough for the taking. Really, is that anyone’s first-hand experience?
These suggestions that parents are running out and getting much-coveted autism diagnoses for their kids because they (a) want to drug their kids, and (b) want government hand-outs for their kids, would have a bit more traction if there were actually drugs that were used to treat autism, or government handouts actually available based on autism diagnoses. My experience is that the label of autism is more likely to get someone written off as not worth the expenditure of resources than to get them more services. For example, until a legislative change in my state last year, many insurance companies (including mine) excluded speech and occupational therapy for people with autism, but not for others. The school system spent a considerable amount of energy trying to get away with warehousing my son in a classroom designed for children with mental retardation (although my son has a high IQ). I have had to fight every step of teh say to get services for my son. And that has been the experience of most of the parents I know. And I have yet to meet a parent that WANTS a diagnosis of autism for his or her child.
I guess conservative politicians/beliefs have nothing to do with how autistics are viewed or treated? I guess its just my imagination.
Agnew isn’t anything special. But I’d love to see Agnew just look for two seconds at the relative number of diagnoses relative to income level. It’s not as if it the diagnosis has been only for those of modest means. More the opposite, really.
Cliff
@CS, as you know, I’m not good at discussing politics. I’ve a longstanding frustration with Sowell because of the notion of “late-talking child” business and his claim that misdiagnosis accounts for the increase in autism.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this op-ed—-it seemed to start on one note and then to turn into something else.
‘Government handouts’ only go to the poorer populations. If this was true, the rate of autism wouldn’t be about the same across socio economic lines… says a mom who does receive a ‘government handout’ for her son, and who knew very little about it until after he was diagnosed and the social worker recommended we apply. We got the diagnosis because his dr said he was developmentally behind and recommended contacting Early On to evaluate him.