• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is pushing support for autism treatment, noting that the cost is beyond the reach of ordinary Filipino families.
Benitez said he filed House Bill (HB) 3379 or the National Autism Program bill, which intends to provide support to around 1.2 million Filipinos, including almost 350,000 children, living with autism.
HB 3379 establishes an Autism Support Allowance Program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development that will provide regular stipend amounting to P4,000 to families with POS or persons on the spectrum.
Given the cost of the assessment and therapies, Benitez said it is unlikely for low and even medium-income families to regularly afford these life-changing therapies for their children.
He noted that the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund revealed that poverty rates are 50 percent higher in households with children with disabilities.
“It is more than crucial that the government make available free or affordable services for the diagnosis and therapies of children on the spectrum,” Benitez said.
The proposed measure also seeks to provide other services such as free developmental assessment for all Filipino children until the age of five; free occupational, speech, and behavioral therapy in Department of Health hospitals; and free medicines for POS diagnosed with Level 3 autism.
Benitez said the hurdles to the provision of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder include the low number of developmental pediatricians in the country that results in a long wait for a proper assessment as well as the high cost not only for consultation but also for prescribed therapy.
“Every child, regardless of their abilities or differences, should be treated with dignity, respect and equal opportunities,” he added. | GB
