SEIT

I want to use this blog to explain some of the great services Josh receives. We receive amazing services in New York State and it has had a huge impact on Josh and our family. We feel so blessed by the miracles Josh's teachers have done and the kindness with which they have done them.

One of the kinds of teachers Josh has is a SEIT teacher. SEIT stands for Special Education Itinerant Teacher. She comes to our house every weekday morning and works with Josh for one hour. She can also do the appointment just about anywhere else. That's the "itinerant" part. Starting in the Fall, Josh's teacher is going to start coming for two hours a day. We plan to do more activities in the community so Josh can learn to interact in social settings and with his peers. Socialization is one of the three key areas with which children with autism struggle. Josh's SEIT teacher works closely with Josh's teachers at the school and a binder goes back and forth to school with him each day with notes on his progress at certain tasks. We are so grateful for Josh's SEIT teacher. We've had several people come into our home to help Josh and every one of them has been wonderful. They've come to be good friends. They love what they are doing and they love the children they work with. They bless the lives of children and families every single day. We would be lost without all of their help, or at least a lot more tired and stressed out.

So here is my soapbox. A lot of kids with autism or other special needs aren't getting the services the need. New York state has very good programs but many other states do not. Cost is the reason most often cited for underfunding these programs. However, there are studies that show that "an early diagnosis followed by proper early intervention can reduce the lifespan costs for treating, servicing and supporting a person with autism by two-thirds."* These lifespan costs are estimated to be 3.2-3.5 million.* If states don't want to help special needs children simply because it is right, then they should do it for savings they could be pocketing. I love it when the moral good and the economic good are the same thing! It makes it easier for people to do the right thing.

*Information taken from The Autism Advocate, Second Edition 2009, Volume 55, No. 2, pg. 4