PUBLISHER'S NOTE : ISSUE 22

Older Children & Cathy Moriarty-Gentile

There is so much emphasis on early detection and early intervention, but what about our older children? What about the adults? For years now, I’ve tried to figure out why our society turns a blind eye when it comes to our older children with developmental disabilities.

It’s also not uncommon that teenage children no longer receive home services for no other reason other than their age. Why is it that a 15- or 18-year-old no longer receives home services? It’s amazing to me that a 3-year-old child can get as much as 40 hours a week of services such as speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and even special education and yet older children are not given the opportunity to benefit from these same services. When and why exactly do the services start to diminish?

Many parents say that once their child turns 5 and is transitioned into CSE (Committee on Special Education), the committee then decides that the child no longer needs the home services because they get those services and more in school. The CSE usually consists of school personnel, such as one or more therapists, a teacher, school physiologist and special education chair. How qualified are they to be making these crucial decisions, and are the decisions based on what’s good for the child or the good of the district’s budget?

I would really like to see the same emphasis that’s placed on early intervention to be given to our older children and adults. We can’t ignore the importance of therapy when we know that our children may regress and often do. That needs to stop.

Cathy Moriarty-Gentile is a very special lady. After working with UCP (United Cerebral Palsy) for years, she has agreed to be Autism United’s national spokeswoman. Autism United (AU) is a not-for-profit national organization whose mission is to better the lives of our children today. AU is a new national coalition that has been formed to bring together many individual organizations into a cohesive force to fight the autism epidemic.

Moriarty-Gentile will make many wonderful announcements throughout the year of how AU’s efforts are helping to better the lives of children today. Cathy will also be honored by Nassau County’s AHRC chapter, recognizing her for her efforts within the developmentally disabled community.
Read more about Cathy and her efforts in this issue of Spectrum and stay tuned for AU events featuring Cathy in the near future.