Budget Cuts Cut Out Therapy for Austistic Kids

Budget Cuts Cut Out Therapy for Austistic Kids (Added: April 16, 2010)

The state of North Carolina cut 40-million-dollars from its budget by eliminating some Mental Health Development Disability and Substance Abuse Programs. Parents of children with autism got a six week (more)

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Budget Cuts Cut Out Therapy for Austistic Kids

By: Shantel Middleton | WNCT
Published: April 16, 2010

GREENVILLE, NC - The state of North Carolina cut 40-million-dollars from its budget by eliminating some Mental Health Development Disability and Substance Abuse Programs. Parents of children with autism got a six week advance notice, and now some of them say they can't afford to help their children.
“Point blank they need the services and they can't get them. That's very frustrating,” says Toni Adams.
Busy mom Toni Adams has five kids. Two of them have autism. 8-year-old Joseph was diagnosed at two and receives one-on-one therapy that is paid for by Medicaid.
“It has made a huge difference,” said Adams.
Adams would like to see the same results for recently-diagnosed daughter Haley, but the resources aren't available. The Autism Society thinks losing state funding for the program is a huge loss.
“There are I think 5-hundred-9 people, individuals with a developmental disability, on the waiting list for that right now,” says Autism Society Community Coordinator for Greenville Jenna Hilgoe.
With developmental behavior funding cut out of North Carolina's budget, Medicaid is now the only option for some families. In the week and a half since those cuts have been made parents say they've already noticed a change in their children- some of them losing skill level and going back to bad behavior. Carla Canady's son John Carter is one of those children. The lack of structure is already creating problems.
“Unfortunately, we make too much money for Medicaid,” Carla Canady.
Her family makes too little to pay for the therapy out of pocket. On average, it's about 6-hundred-dollars a month.
“Kids with autism really need that structure. We're trying to advocate for these kids,” said Hilgoe.
The state is now offering group therapy instead of the one-on-one developmental therapy that