Mark Randall and his wife Angel, of Ansonia, got the word out Sunday about autism.
“Having a child with autism is more difficult than most people would imagine,” Mark said at Ansonia High School, where the advocacy group Autism Speaks was hosting a forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D‑3.
“Our son doesn’t talk, he has no verbal skills at all. Everyday things people take for granted, he can’t express. You have to figure it out for him. It’s a challenge,” Mark said.
Autism is a disorder of neural development in which the child suffers impaired social interaction and communication, as well as other symptoms including restrictive and repetitive behavior. It is diagnosed in children as young as three or even younger.
DeLauro was joined by State Sen. Joe Crisco, State Rep. Themis Klarides and panelists from around the region to talk about progress being made at the legislative level, as well as answer questions from parents.
About 30 parents of autistic children attended the event. DeLauro said one of the most important pieces of legislation for them is the proposed health care reform bill, which would contains provisions for autism insurance reform.
“We do have an exceptional challenge. i should start by saying this is an issue the Congress is taking very seriously and it has acted in a bipartisan fashion,” DeLauro said.
“There is broad understanding on both sides of the aisle of the impact autism has. it is a condition we are only beginning to understand.”
Raising awareness is the goal for the forums, said Shannon Knall, advocacy chairperson for Connecticut for Autism Speaks.
The New York-based group claims to be the largest advocate for autism in the U.S.
“We’re going to each congressional district and setting up these forums to allow people with autism to bring their concerns to people making decisions,” Knall said. “We really hope to provide resources for our families and educate our policymakers on what its like to live with autism.”
The state has a good head start thanks to the hard work of its legislators. Crisco, for example, was instrumental in winning passage in the state of a law mandating insurance coverage for the diagnoses and treatment of autism. Now they want to do the same in each state.
Autism has been in the news lately. Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven last week opened a new autism center to focus on training educators and professional staff.
Klarides said the fight is not over.
“We’ve accomplished so much, but with your help and my colleagues’ help we’ll continue to work in this direction,” Klarides said.
