PACA: Services needed to detect autism

Had there been enough children believed to be affected by autism, the Department of Public Health will be forced to provide the necessary services to diagnose them even on the early stage of their ailment.

The problem is the Parents Association for Children with Autism is yet to identify enough children who might be affected by the neurological spectrum disorder.

According to PACA consultant Jaime Vergara, parents are likely to spend at least $400 per diagnosis in an off-island hospital not to mention possible therapy charges to correct an initial problem.

The recently held Focus on Autism symposium was a collaborative effort of parents with children affected by the disorder, the mental health and the Public School System, in hopes to encourage other parents to come out and discuss the problem openly.

Mr. Vergara said there was a noted increase of children with autism in the Northern Marianas but only a handful has come out to seek assistance and learn other medical explanations about it.

The Commonwealth has no capability to diagnose a patient believed to be on the initial stage of autism disorder and only off-island hospitals like Hawaii and Guam can diagnose early symptoms associated with autism, said Mr. Vergara.

Autism is a condition occurring to young children before the age of three which is characterized by unresponsiveness to human contact, deficits in language development, and bizarre responses to environmental stimuli.

For the first four months of the year, PACA is bent on holding several public awareness programs to educate parents and community members on the causes, incidence and risk factors of the disorder.

Experts from the medical field were invited during the symposium over the weekend which was held at Joeten Kiyu Library to discuss the various aspects of and concerns on autism.

PACA also invited representatives from the Public School System to tackle the existing Special Education Programs for children with autism and the available services that they can avail.

Mr. Vergara explained that the CNMI had seen in the past the rising number of children with autism but the government lacks the resources to identify them.

Some parents, even the PSS, are not aware of the problem until children were diagnosed properly by experts, said Mr. Vergara.

In fact, the symposium is the first attempt of PACA to take a bolder action to redefine the concerns and resolve them through the joint effort of various agencies in the government including the education system.

Mr. Vergara said autism affects the normal development of the brain, impacting communication and social interaction skills, it presents a challenge to medical and educational professionals given the fact that not much is known on how to effectively diagnose and treat people affected by it.