Services

Yesterday on the airplane, I found myself seated next to a woman who was reading proposal from the state of California about autism services.  I asked her about it and told her that two of my three sons have autism.  We spoke for a while.  She was serving a state board that was reviewing autism services.  California law says that people with autism have a right to services, and she was involved in writing recommendations for ensuring that minority communities are able to access their services.

For lower-income parents things like getting time off work and getting to appointments via public transit are major obstacles.  I commented on how financially fortunate I am.  I pay a caregiver to transport my children to appointments, and I don't have problems leaving my office for a couple of hours to go to school meetings or meet with the psychiatrist and neurologist.  Most people can't do that.  I pay caregiver more than lots of people make.

I asked her about rates of diagnosis among minority communities.  I wondered if they are diagnosed at a lower rate.  She said that they are diagnosed at the same rate, but they tend to be diagnosed later.  Where a middle-class child would be diagnosed at 3, a lower-income child won't be diagnosed until 4 1/2.

Let another way in which it is good to be a high-income white male.