Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez has filed House Bill No. 3379, or the National Autism Program bill, intended to provide support to an estimated 1.2 million Filipinos, including almost 350,000 children, living with autism.
Benitez, in his explanatory note, said, “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 percent higher in households with children with disabilities, he said.
“It is more than crucial that the government makes available free or affordable services for the diagnosis and therapies of children on the spectrum,” he said.
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 a regular stipend amounting to P4,000 to families with persons on the spectrum.
The measure would also provide other services such as free developmental assessments for all Filipino children until the age of five; free occupational, speech, and behavioral therapy in DOH hospitals; and free medicines for persons on the spectrum 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 P4,000 to 5,000 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.”
Benitez said “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”, he said.*