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Sana maipasa talaga to!!!
Isang pag asa para sa mga autism family. 🙏👍

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐳 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞

With the costs of autism treatment beyond the reach of ordinary Filipino families, Bacolod lone district Rep. Albee Benitez has filed House Bill No. 3379, or the National Autism Program bill, intended to provide support to around 1.2 million Filipinos, including almost 350,000 children, living with autism.

In his explanatory note, Benitez lamented that “given the cost of the assessment and therapies, it is unlikely for low and even medium-income families to regularly afford these life-changing therapies for their children. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) revealed that poverty rates are 50% 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.”

To address the inaccessibility of autism treatment, HB 3379 establishes an Autism Support Allowance Program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that will provide regular stipend amounting to Php4,000.00 to families with POS.

The measure would also provide other services such as free developmental assessment for all Filipino children until the age of five; free occupational, speech, and behavioral therapy in DOH 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 (ASD) 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.

The lawmaker pointed out that initial consultations cost around Php4,000.00 to Php5,000.00 a session, and “when diagnosis is confirmed, recommendations for appropriate therapies of four to five times per week are made, which would cost around Php1,000 per session.”

According to Benitez, “every child, regardless of their abilities or differences, should be treated with dignity, respect and equal opportunities.”

“It is incumbent upon the government to provide necessary support for persons on the spectrum to afford them better prospects of a future where they reach their full potential, and become self-reliant and functional members of society.”