Government Support of Early Intervention in Curing Autistic Children - Research Paper Example

Argument: Government should support early intervention for autism children Introduction Autism is a congenital disorder which is caused because of neuronal impairment. It leads to lack of social interaction and communication in the individuals who suffer from it. The signs of autism can include repetitive behavior in children, lack of communication, lack of understanding and lack of self esteem or confidence. These signs can be seen in a child when he is nearly 3 years old and it can be easily diagnosed by the parents (Riva, Daria, and Rapin, P. 158). Autism can be further classified into Aspergers Syndrome and high functioning autism. Individuals who suffer from autism cannot survive without a caregiver in the society and face difficulties when entering a relationship. All these above mentioned factors clearly show that autism is a disorder which needs to be cured to have a better society. ( Shore, Rastelli, P.50).For this purpose several cures have been proposed which involve early intervention programs for the children. The question now arises if the government should intervene in these programs to cure autism in the children or not. In my view governments should take an equal stand in the early intervention programs for the autistic children. This essay would further discuss both the viewpoints regarding government intervention and would further provide with a conclusion as to if the government should intervene in the programs or not. Autism Autism is a disorder which is widely prevalent throughout the world. It is seen that the number of cases in the recent years has increased. In the United States it is seen that the prevalence rate of Autism in the year 2007 was nearly 30000. This increased rate of the prevalence of autism is considered to be because of its diagnosis in the recent years. Previously the disease could not be diagnosed and thus it could not be established as to what an individual was suffering from. Following graph shows the cumulative growth in the cases of Autism in United States of America (Fighting Autism) Children suffering from autism need to have a clear view about whatever they are doing as these children are unaware of all the social aspects of the society. Thus to cure these children and to make the capable of knowing these realms of society one has to provide them with the proper guidance. This guidance includes the programs which should either be promoted by the private organizations or the government ones. Pre- school programs and other diverse programs have clearly shown to be very helpful when curing children with autism. (Turkington, Harris ,P.37).These programs include behavioral interventions which make the children use all their capabilities so that they can get normal like the other children in the society. These children are asked to use their visual skills through which they are instructed by their parents or staff members of the organization . However, this is not the only program which can help the child to become better but there are other programs also which help the child to cope up with the society. These include discrete trial teaching, music therapy, occupational therapy, dietary intervention and vision therapy. All these behavioral interventions can help the children to learn and adjust to the social functioning aspect of the brain. It can be seen that many organizations all over the world are promoting these programs so that the individuals suffering from autism can be cured (language disorder and autism. Spec. issue of The Medical Journal of Australia 182.7 (2005): 354-60). Governments are also involved in the interventions of these programs. However some critics oppose the intervention of the governments in these programs as it is believed by several that autistic individuals should not be considered to be suffering from a disorder but these individuals should rather be accepted the way they are in the society. According to the opponents of this view the children should not be necessarily provided with the interventions and the government should not interfere at all in these interventions. Autism is a disorder because of which the social cognitive abilities of the children do not develop properly but the disorder is not lethal enough to cause death in these children or individuals. Because of this the government should not be emphasizing much on this disorder as proposed by the critics. According to them there are many other diseases and disorders which should be emphasized upon more by these governments because they are lethal in nature. The examples of such diseases can be cancers, diabetes, pancreatitis and other factors which lead to such lethal diseases. According to the critics if the government intervenes in these programs the money lost on these programs would not be able to save a precious life. If the money is invested elsewhere in the other programs which aim to lower other lethal diseases it can be seen that a life is saved but here the curing the disorder cannot save a life However on the other hand these views are opposed by the parents and other organizations which aim to cure the individual from autism. According to these individuals autism is a social cognitive disorder which almost kills the individual if his abilities are not retained. These individuals cannot even concentrate or talk to anyone properly, thus they do not have any individual identity in the society. The early childhood intervention programs can greatly help these children to excel in their skills and abilities. Usually these programs emphasize on the parents to be the central caregiver for the autistic child as they are the closest ones to the child. The early intervention process helps the children learn and stand out in the society to make an individual status of their own . The proponents of the claim say that it is necessary for the governments to intervene in these programs as without them these programs will not be able to be effective. It is necessary for the governments to finance the preschool programs for the children so that the children are able to get proper care because of which they can retain their abilities. It is said by the proponents that the government should provide all the resources to the caregivers of the children so that they are able to implement those resources in a proper way because of which the children can be treated. ( Jacqueline ,P.230).According to the proponents the parents are the ones who are most close to the children so the implementing portion of the program should be left totally on the parents. Governments cannot involve themselves in the implementation programs as it would require huge processes to be undertaken. The governments should solely be responsible for the financial objectives of the programs as the parents of these autistic children are at times not affording enough to provide all the resources to their children. The governments should also be responsible to provide benevolent services to the parents as some parents may not be affording enough to provide their children with admissions to special schools who have a program designed for autism . If the governments don’t intervene in these programs there would be no one left to keep a check on these autistic children. The children would not be provided with the right resources because of which they can get back to normal. If governments don’t intervene in early childhood parents would no longer be held responsible for the condition of their child and they may not realize their duties regarding the disorder. Moreover if the governments do not intervene the educational institutions might not even give admission to the deprived individuals. Autistic children would be viewed as a disgrace and because of this these children would suffer from more problems. Government intervention is necessary to cure the autistic children as said by these proponents because without government intervention no organization would like to put their financial resources for a deprived group. According to the proponents if early intervention is provided to the children the governments would save further cost if these children grow up to have cognitive problems. And when they tend to grow up the governments would have to invest a larger amount of money for these individuals. It can be seen that the early intervention by the governments is necessary for the child as autism is such a disease which only gets cured properly when in its preliminary stages (Reeve, Carr."Prevention of Severe Behavior Problems in Children with Developmental Disorders. spec.of " Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. 2. 3 (2000): 144-160.). After the person ages it would be difficult for government interventions to work on the individuals. Moreover without government intervention proper resources would not be allocated to the cure of this disorder and children with the disorder would tend to increase. The proponents of early government intervention oppose the critics who have the view that lethal diseases should be first handled by the government and then the other social disorders should looked upon after. Here the proponents put forward the argument that the individuals who are suffering from social cognitive disabilities are individuals who are alive in a form which they themselves are not aware of. With the intervention of the government induced programs these individuals can again have a hope and make a difference in the society. As it is quoted in a government paper ‘Together from the start’ .Effective early involvement and support can create improvements in children’s health, cognitive and social development and help deal with some of the many social and physical hurdles families of disabled children face to full membership in society. Moreover it is also said that intervention for autistic children is necessary so that children do not develop further behavioral problems. As stated by the National Autistic Society , early intervention for children, as soon as possible after a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder, is considered essential and the involvement of parents has been shown to have a positive influence on outcomes. Although early intervention cannot cure autism, it can minimize the buildup of secondary behavioral problems. Early intervention bridges the gap between diagnosis and school placement.( Puzzle Center, Early Intervention in Autism in the UK, puzzlepreschool.co.uk ,2009) In the world today the governments have progressed and have introduced programs which tend to lower autism in the children. These intervention programs however need to be further enhanced by the governments so that the problem of autism is removed from the society. The governments are responsible for providing all financial resources to the schools and parents so that they can implement those programs designed by the governments. The governments specifically ask parents to play a major role so that proper behavioral programs are being induced on the children. This intervention by the government also makes sure that the primary caregivers as identified by the government are carrying out the necessary steps to ensure that autism is being minimized in the society. However it is also said by some critics of the government intervention that the governments are not keeping a regular check on the financial resources which they are providing to the primary caregivers. Moreover some also suggest that government intervention has not been successfully planned out in the society to remove autism in children. It is also proposed that government intervention has not proved to be successful while introducing these behavioral programs. In countries such as United States of America acts have been introduced so that the problem of autism is tackled. The American with Disabilities Act ensures that the individuals with autism are recognized as disabled and it urges to employers to let go some actions of these individuals on the basis of their disorder. Moreover financial programs are also provided by the government in America to the schools because of which the schools provide the children with necessary education and therapy so that the children are able to tackle any such disorder. In the United Kingdom the report of ‘Every Child Matters’ states that early intervention programs should be always there for the disabled children. Conclusion In my view the government intervention programs for autism are necessary so that these children able to survive in the society and cope up with the changing principles of this world. The claims by the proponents of the government intervention have more satisfying views which tell us that a child with autism should be properly treated at his early age and this would ensure that the child makes an individual identity in the society (Reeve, Carr. Prevention of Severe Behavior Problems in Children with Developmental Disorders." Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. 2. 3 (2000): 144-160.) Bibliography: Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form 1-Riva, Daria, and Isabelle Rapin. Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Montrouge: J. Libbey Eurotext, 2005. Print 2-Shore, Stephen M, and Linda G. Rastelli. Understanding Autism for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006. Print. 3- Turkington, Carol, and Joseph Harris. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006. Internet resource. 4-Top of Form Wray J, N Silove, and H Knott. "7. Language Disorders and Autism." The Medical Journal of Australia. 182. 7 (2005): 354-60. 5. Puzzle Center, Early Intervention in Autism in the UK, May 2009 (last updated) Accessed on 6th dec. 2011 (http://www.puzzlepreschool.co.uk/ei.html) 6-Rhoads, Jacqueline. Clinical Consult to Psychiatric Mental Health Care. New York: Springer Pub. Co, 2011. Print.Bottom of Form Top of Form 7-Reeve, Christine, and Edward Carr. "Prevention of Severe Behavior Problems in Children with Developmental Disorders." Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. 2. 3 (2000): 144-160. Read More