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Joel Fosha
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
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IU expert available to comment on issues raised by conflict over boy with autism attending church
IU expert available to comment on issues raised by conflict over boy with autism attending church
EDITORS: Indiana University autism expert Cathy Pratt is available to comment on issues raised by a Minnesota case in which a priest filed a restraining order to bar a 13-year-old boy who has autism from church services. The Bertha, Minn., priest said the boy's behavior is disruptive and endangers others at church.
Cathy Pratt is director of the Indiana Resource Center on Autism, part of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University Bloomington, and currently is chair of the board of the National Autism Society of America. She said the Minnesota case points to the need for improved public awareness of autism and the importance of resources and support to enable individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families to take part in day-to-day activities such as attending church, shopping and eating at restaurants.
"The increasing incidence of autism means that these kinds of issues may continue to arise unless families have the resources, communities have the awareness and individuals on the spectrum have the support they need," Pratt said. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nationwide prevalence for 8-year-olds is one in 150; and the incidence among Indiana school-aged children is even higher. That compares with one in 5,000 or even one in 10,000 when she began working with autism 30 years ago, Pratt said.
While there is more awareness of autism than there used to be, she said, "I think there is still a lot of misinformation. People in the community may think, 'If only the parents were better disciplinarians,' or 'The individual should know better.' They need to understand that autism is a complex neurological disorder, and how people with this disability are able to process information and negotiate the world is very different, and sometimes very difficult."
Families of children with autism spectrum disorders, Pratt said, often face not only a lack of community support but extensive costs for speech, occupational and behavioral therapy, specialized caregivers and medical and dental care. An Indiana survey two years ago found that families paid an average of $950 a month for such services, she said.
To speak to Pratt, contact Joel Fosha with the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at 812-855-6508 or foshaj@indiana.edu.