• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, January 18, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Aging Out of the System: Society’s Abandonment of Autistic Adults

Joseph Lee by Joseph Lee
06/05/19
in Opinion
Arm pointing at brain scans

According to the World Health Organization, about one child in 160 has autism. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As my autistic sister Esther prepares to begin high school in August, dwindling boxes of medication, growing piles of healthcare bills, and the forgotten faces of once-frequent therapists have been my family’s latest causes of distress.

Over the past fourteen years, we have watched childhood sources of financial and therapeutic support wane substantially for Esther. Facing the expiration of federally mandated support upon her 21st birthday, the question of how we can continue providing the best care for her into adulthood remains alarmingly unresolved.

This crisis of care for families of autistic children has never been more urgent. An estimated half a million young Americans with autism will transition to adulthood over the next decade. Many will find themselves losing access to much-needed therapy and healthcare services they had growing up.

Medicaid’s Age Caps

The crux of this issue is Medicaid’s age caps. Like most families of autistic children, the few therapy sessions we can afford for Esther rely heavily on the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) Medicaid benefit, which entitles children to any services medically necessary to address their health conditions. This entitlement discontinues, however, after the age of 21.

This looming “services cliff” places families of autistic children in the greatest danger; per the Center for Disease Control, it already costs parents $17,000-$21,000 more per year to care for an autistic child than for a child without autism. Facing a future of uncovered healthcare and ever-rising medication, education, and caregiver costs, many parents are forced to discontinue their children’s life-changing therapy regimens past childhood. As their services dwindle, children like my sister face a future of isolation and mental regression, exacerbated by their parents’ old age and the loss of therapy sessions and school social circles.

Estimated autism prevalence in the United States
Image: Autism Speaks

To Esther and my family, the EPSDT age cap is an insult. It advances an underlying societal stigma that autistic adults are hopelessly unintelligent and incapable. Having access to a comprehensive range of services should be guaranteed for all people with disabilities who are among the most medically fragile and have the most complex needs.

Restricting autistic adults from these services doesn’t just neglect the simple fact that autism is a lifelong developmental disability – more harmfully, it conveys the notion that autistic adults are lost causes that society should stop investing in.

Medicaid and EPSDT Reform

Age caps for health insurance mandates must be removed or counteracted to ensure proper care for these individuals. Despite concerns that such measures are unrealistic, Virginia’s recent expansion of autism insurance mandates to include all ages suggests that guaranteed EPSDT access for all autistic adults in America is a very plausible reality.

Healthcare coverage should be indiscriminate for all people, young or old, disabled or not. More importantly, a society that neglects the disabled is neither humane nor morally upright. As their siblings, parents, friends, and fellow citizens, we carry a human responsibility to cry out for those who are unable to speak for themselves.

Autism CARES Act

The recent Autism CARES Act of 2019 seeks to remedy the drop-off in support for autistic adults. Unlike past legislation, this bipartisan bill directly addresses age-related disparities in autism through “across the lifespan” provisions.

The bill provides adults with opportunities for transition services, including job training, disability-accommodated education, and even independent living coaching. Without congressional action, however, the current Autism CARES Act will expire on September 30 and with it, $260 million of annual funds. As that deadline rapidly approaches, I plead with you to voice your support.

My sister represents a discarded population of Americans with disabilities whose battle against tremendous societal odds grows ever Sisyphean. By demanding laws that provide autistic adults with needed health and supportive services, we empower and equip them for lives of community participation and personal fulfillment. Simultaneously, we combat the stigma of hopelessness and alleviate the burdens of families who have committed their entire lives to fight on their children’s behalf.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Joseph Lee

Joseph Lee

Student at Southern Methodist University. Contact him via josephlee@mail.smu.edu

Related Posts

President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.
Opinion

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

by Peter Bloom
January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.
Opinion

American Democracy Will Prevail

by Saad Hafiz
January 13, 2021
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.
Opinion

Riots at Capitol Hill: Darkness Before the Dawn?

by Stacy Gallin
January 8, 2021
Playing the Un-Naming Game in New York Is Harder Than It Seems
Featured

Pandenomics: The High Cost of Living While Undocumented in the United States

by Benjamin Waddell
December 22, 2020
People holding up banners to defend DACA.
Featured

DACA’s Return and the Need for Action From Incoming Biden-Harris Administration

by Alessandra Bazo Vienrich
December 16, 2020
US President-elect Joe Biden delivers a speech at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware.
Featured

Did We Choose the Wrong Democrat for President?

by Stephen J. Lyons
December 8, 2020
Next Post
A demonstrator waves a Bosnian flag

Migrants Arrested After Brawl, Clashes With Bosnian Police

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of plastic and other pollution in the northern Pacific Ocean

Humans Eat 'Tens of Thousands' of Plastic Pieces Every Year [Report]

Recommended

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

UN Rights Office Urges Navalny’s Immediate Release

January 18, 2021
The filing was submitted by Justice Department lawyers on Thursday, January 14.

US Rioters Sought to ‘Capture and Assassinate’ Lawmakers at Capitol: Prosecutors

January 15, 2021
Biden proposes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Biden Unveils $1.9 Tn Economic Plan as US Recovery Buckles

January 14, 2021
Senegalese soldiers from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, July 24, 2019.

UN Peacekeeper Killed in Mali, Seven Wounded: Spokesman

January 13, 2021
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021

Opinion

President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

Riots at Capitol Hill: Darkness Before the Dawn?

January 8, 2021
Volunteers are given the Moderna vaccine on August 5, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan.

Who’s First-in-Line for the Vaccine? A Classic Problem in Medical Ethics

December 30, 2020
A sorghum farmer inspects her small grains crop thriving in the dry conditions in March in the Mutoko rural area of Zimbabwe

The 10-Year Food Systems Revolution Must Start Now

December 22, 2020
Playing the Un-Naming Game in New York Is Harder Than It Seems

Pandenomics: The High Cost of Living While Undocumented in the United States

December 22, 2020
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post