A bill aimed at improving the lives of children with autism has the support of Florida’s Senate president and the appreciation of families who want the best for their children. One mom says a measure like this could have made a difference for her son.
From the time he was just a toddler, Debra Ervin knew there was something different about her son.
“When he could read at the age of 2 and read all of the continents and countries on a map, I knew something was going on, but I didn’t know what,” she says.
Ervin’s son, who is now an adult, is on the autism spectrum. She describes him as “a very, very bright young man with a great heart.” But when he was a child, she says, it was difficult to get a diagnosis, so that her family could know what was going on.
“He came home one day, very, very sad, that his teacher had told him that he would never get into the private school that we were applying for," she recalls. "And as it turned out, not only did he get into the private school, but he became the valedictorian in his senior year.”
Not everyone on the spectrum can do that. But Stuart Republican Senator Gayle Harrell says with the help of her bill, maybe more could.
Harrell is sponsoring a bill that’s a priority for Florida Senate President Ben Allbritton. It puts a focus on early detection and intervention.
“Before, we didn’t really have a mechanism for diagnosis," she says. "I think early diagnosis is absolutely key. If you can get kids with autism into programs that help them develop their skills and help them deal with the problems they have, I think you’re much, much better off.”
Today, Harrell says, experts are recognizing people with autism that we might not have diagnosed before -- wherever they might be on the spectrum.
“And the spectrum is so wide," she says, "that we really need to understand that it can be someone who is very, very handicapped…very, very unable to communicate…then all the way up to individuals on the Asperger’s syndrome that are absolutely brilliant. They may not communicate and connect, but they are absolutely brilliant.”
Harrell's bill would also designate the University of Florida’s Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment as the statewide hub for research, services and best practices.
And she says a key component of the measure is bridging the gaps between learning opportunities for children with autism. Currently, those kids stay in the Early Steps program until they’re 3 years old -- missing out on a year of learning before entering the school system. The bill would offer them the option of staying in Early Steps until they’re 4.
“This is going to end that gap," she says. "Also, summer school is important. Making sure you have those camps that are specific to kids with autism. They can’t go, many times, to a regular camp. And this is a full summer of nothing for them. And this is going to give them a place to really continue the learning process. So, those are two major, major parts of it.”
The idea is to identify each child’s place on the spectrum and then offer the best services for that individual.
Ervin says filling the gaps between learning opportunities would have made a huge difference for her son. She’s grateful for this proposal, but also looking ahead to the next advance.
“We need jobs for people that are disabled," she says. "And we need recruitment for people that are disabled. That would make such a difference in their lives.”
Both Harrell and Senate President Albritton have long histories of backing legislation for children.
