This letter came from Shelley Pereda Camp. She gave permission to republish it here:

I am the mother of a 12 year old autistic child in Asheville. She was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at the age of 1-1/2 and then diagnosed with autism with MMR tendancies at the age of 4 1/2. At 4-1/2, my almost catatonic, she only spoke 25 words, was still in diapers and was a danger to herself and those around her. You would never know this about her if you met her today but this would not have been possible without community support services, OT, PT, Speech and Medicaid.

Cuts to services these services may look like an easy way out but they will in fact create a generation of adults with autism that are dependent on a welfare state to provide for all their needs or worse, a generation of children who have to be abandoned by their parents so they can provide food and shelter for the rest of the family.

Without practical skills like the ability to communicate clearly or the manual dexterity to pull up a zipper these “well meaning” politicians will be sentencing developmentally disabled individuals AND their families to a lifetime of poverty, ignorance and dependence on others.

All of the therapies they intend to cut are not covered by medical insurance, because they are not considered necessary by most insurance companies for rehabilitation. The cost for these therapies run anywhere from $90 – $200 per hour and have been required at least 2 -3 per week since my daughter was diagnosed at 1 1/2. These therapies have greatly improved her ability to walk, climb stairs, talk and to develop the finger/hand strength that is necessary to write her name. Without state assistance I would have NEVER been able to afford the $1800 per week in medical bills that to pay for these services myself.

Furthermore, I would have had to quit my job of $60K per year to collect welfare and food stamps, to stay home with my daughter so that I could provide her with the one-on-one supervision and support that is needed to teach her appropriate social, behavior, self-help and personal hygiene skills.

It doesn’t really take a genius to quickly do the math and figure out that paying for these services will cost the tax payer and state far less than providing welfare, SSI & food stamps to an entire family. Multiply this staggering number by the 1 million + individuals in the US that have autism and it makes our current national debt look like a kiddie pool next to a tsunami.

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{Pic by Artgerm at Deviant Art}

Education is getting slashed across the state. Mental Health is being decimated. Now all those other our other social services are going under the hatchet as well. To put this in perspective, the money saved in this budget will be a drop in the bucket compared to the strain put on counties and municipalities across the state. It will fall to us to provide services for our most vulnerable populations – children, disabled, mentally ill, elderly. The problem, of course, is that we local governments don’t have any money either. Non-profits are struggling as well. Families are losing jobs and making enormous sacrifices to make ends meet. This move by legislators is shortsighted and irresponsible. We’ll be paying for it one way or another, and all of us will be affected.

AC-T:

The General Assembly has proposed slashing $2.4 billion from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services budget over the next two years in an attempt to close a $4 billion budget gap.

In all, 717 state jobs in human services would be cut, and programs like N.C. Health Choice, the children’s health insurance plan for low-income families, would be slashed.

State DHHS Secretary Lanier Cansler said the cuts, if left as they are in the House version of the proposed budget, “would change the way we do things.”

“If I eliminated every employee I have statewide, I’d only be halfway to the cut target,” Cansler said.

The Department of Health and Human Services accounts for 23 percent of the overall state budget, but it is being asked to take 50 percent of the cuts, said Elaine Mejia, director of the Budget & Tax Center of the N.C. Justice Center.

All of those teabaggers out there are getting their wish, deep cuts to that damnable nanny state. All the libertarians now have the chance to show us how the free market is going to solve the problem of caring for people without money or resources. All the Democrats and Republicans in Raleigh who think this budget is the right way forward ought to have sick children and elderly disabled people dropped at their doorsteps.

This budget will create crisis across the state now and for the next generation. Please contact your representative today and let him/her know what you think.

Rep. Susan Fisher – 919-715-2013 – Susan.Fisher@ncleg.net
Rep. Jane Whilden – 919-715-3012 – Jane.Whilden@ncleg.net
Sen. Martin Nesbitt – 919-715-3001 – Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net

If you’ve still got some wind in your sails, give a call to the House Leader and the Governor:

Joe Hackney – 919-733-3451 – Joe.Hackney@ncleg.net
Bev Perdue – 919-733-4240 – no email, but here’s an online contact form