This guest blog post kicks off a new series written by my friend and colleague – Dr. Dan E. Burns. Dan’s series will address many of the challenges faced by families with adult children living with Autism Spectrum Disorders. In this first post, Dan breaks down and describes many of the ways families can go about “Funding Autism for Life” with pertinent suggestions and ideas for parents with younger children as well. I know you’re going to learn a lot and enjoy Dan’s guest series. Please help me welcome Dan!
Funding Autism for Life: A Map to Treasure Island
By Dan E. Burns
“It’s autism. There is no medical treatment. Let the schools take care of him and save your money for his institutionalization when he turns 21.” Those were the final, chilling words Ben’s pediatric neurologist spoke to me on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1990. Ben was three years, four months old.
I declared war. With an ABA manual in one hand and biomedical primer in the other, I fought for Ben’s future. But as the months and years went by and the hope for a full recovery dimmed, I had to admit that his pediatrician was right. Where would Ben live, work, and find friends after the school bus stopped coming?

This is Adina Rich’s second guest blog for AutismSpot. Adina is a mother of three and is the Chief Education Officer at Rich Educational Consulting. You can read her first guest post HERE. We welcome your comments below. Also, we welcome your comments and thoughts on Facebook and Twitter.
HOW TO ENSUSRE THE NEEDS OF YOUR CHILD BE MET IN THE SCHOOL SETTING
By Adina Rich
“…People say believe half of what you see,
Son, and none of what you hear.
I can't help bein' confused
If it's true please tell me dear?... Cuz I heard it through the grapevine.”
These are the lines of a popular song from the 60’s sung by the late Marvin Gaye, but could just as easily have been written today about programming for kids with ASD. School districts often have difficulty recognizing what an individual child with ASD needs based upon their observations and parent feedback - not on what they’ve “heard” works with kids with ASD.

An article titled “Independence Day” was recently published in the Dallas Fort Worth Thrive magazine. The article emphasizes the importance of encouraging children with special needs to work towards independence at an early age as opposed to steering them towards “learned helplessness.”

Happy Independence Day to our readers in the United States of America! I am very thankful to be an American and grateful for the freedoms I have enjoyed throughout my life thanks to the sacrifices of all those who fought for our independence (so long ago) and those who have fought to maintain it since that time. I don’t take freedom or independence for granted.
Like so many families raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I frequently wonder what the future will hold for Ethan in terms of independence…and when I stop to ponder, I wonder about the future – not just for Ethan, but other children of Ethan’s generation, especially those affected by ASD.
On this journey, I’ve come to meet so many families working day-and-night just to help their child with ASD gain independence in areas families with typical children may never even give a second thought to…
For all families raising children with ASD, today I’m sending prayers and wishes for the children’s independence this Independence Day specifically concerning:

One of my good friends recently sent me a blog piece by Casey Chan entitled Tech Start-Up Exclusively Hires People with Asperger's Syndrome for Their Technological Prowess on Gizmodo.com. Chan respectfully questions the intentions of a new tech start-up company called Aspiritech. In a nutshell, this non-profit in Chicago offers “competitively priced, human-powered software testing services” to software development organizations. In his post, Chan raises some great points and does a nice job sharing details about why and how some individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome make absolutely superior software testers. And, I can absolutely understand why he, and others, might question whether or not companies like Aspiritech are taking advantage of individuals of this population; that actually wins Chan some big “points” in my book…he cares enought about the topic to write and publish his concerns. Like Chan, I'm the last person who wants to see some start-up tech company playing bully to its employees.
However, I see this issue from a totally different perspective. As a mother of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how Ethan’s future will play out. Will he be independent? Will he find a career which will fulfill him? Will he require long-term financial support from us? Like any parent, these are things I desperately want for Ethan. He deserves independence and fulfillment (and my husband and I would very much like to retire someday and actually have an “empty nest”).

It's July 4th, 2009 and in the United States that means we are celebrating Independence Day. As I watch my boys play this morning and think of the soldiers who have bravely served our country throughout the years it gives me pause. Many of our friends (including many of you) live in a country where the idea of freedom, and the benefits we often take for granted in the United States, is a distant dream. You face hardships and struggles that we (in much of the free world) only imagine and see in the movies.

Allergies have been killing my girls for the past few days. We had an entire Sunday afternoon to fill up, though. Hmm, what to do. It had to be indoors, it should hopefully provide exercise, and it had to be cheap (or better yet free). I may not have mentioned that last (cheap) part, though those who know me should take that as a given. I had a brief daydream (aka unreachable fantasy) of sitting in a comfortable chair and reading while the girls played games on the floor, periodically pausing to run over to me and give me a hug and tell me how much they love me.

It's not classical or hip-hop. It's not Wayne Newton or Lil' Wayne. It's not the Super Bowl or Wimbledon. It's the millions of children, tweeners, pre-teens, teens, adults, and seniors around the world who have Autism that we should be celebrating. Beyond the medical journals, beyond the statistics, beyond the vials of blood that sit in labs to be tested ......we have wonderful friends who are making history every day. Through hard work, dedication and love there are teams celebrating everyday successes that will never be splashed across the headlines. Want to know what team is?