BACOLOD City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has filed House Bill 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.
Benitez said in a statement 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.
He said the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) revealed that poverty rates are 50 percent 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," he added.
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 P4,000 to families with POS.
Benitez said 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.
He 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.
He added the initial consultations cost around P4,000 to P5,000 a session, and “when diagnosis is confirmed, recommendations for appropriate therapies of four to five times per week are made, which would cost around P1,000 per session.
"Every child, regardless of their abilities or differences, should be treated with dignity, respect and equal opportunities," Benitez said.
He said 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. (MAP)