Medical experts are advocating to empower communities especially small ones, in addressing autism.
According to medical website WebMD.com, Autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. Because of the range of symptoms, this condition is now called autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Dr. Ferriza Maria Isaguirre, training officer and department of pediatrics chairperson of the Brokenshire Hospital – Child and Adolescent Neuro-Development (CANDEV) Center, said on Monday that there is a need to authorize the family and the community to attend to the needs of autistic patients, considering that it is a lifetime condition.
“We need to empower the family and the community, especially the barangay health workers. Even if they are not speech therapists, they are of big help in addressing the needs of these patients,” said Isaguirre on Monday during the Kapehan sa Dabaw forum.
Although there is already the Republic Act No. 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons “providing for the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled persons”, she said that there is still a need to craft a specific law persons with ASD, since not persons with autism have the same condition.
Another setback, according to Isaguirre, is the high cost of maintenance that the government can address. In Mindanao, for example, P5,000 is needed just for the initial evaluation of a patient, while regular therapy sessions for three times a week (maximum), the cost is P400-700 per day.
The neurodoctor said that PhilHealth has already included a ‘Z’ a package for persons diagnosed with developmental problems. However, the provisions of the Z package still needs to undergo revisions, since autism is a different condition.
Based
on the record of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2016, one in every 68 children were diagnosed
with ASD. This is huge jump from 2004, when there was one of every 600 had ASD.
Isaguirre said that there are no available data, as to how many Filipinos, specifically in Davao region, are diagnosed with the mentioned condition.
She hopes that a statistical study will be conducted here in the country very soon, as it can be helpful in addressing the rampancy of autism.
Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education – Philippine-California Advanced Research Institutes, will organize a conference this March 19 to 20, entitled “Bridging the Gap, Molecular and Intervention Advances in Autism”.
Davilin Quilantang, Brokenshire CANDEV center speech language pathologist, said that the conference will discuss the global standards for behavioral diagnosis , and understand the behavioral and medical management for ASD.
“It is important to have awareness for ASD. This includes social inclusion and acceptance. And we hope that there will be a policy to accommodate these children with autism,” Quilantang said.
