subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Nov 10 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Photos


Rep. Ed Cannaday


Published October 02, 2008 03:56 pm -

Legislature needs to address autism


By Rep. Ed Cannaday
Local view

As we go into the fifth month of the legislative interim, last month was busy with interim studies at the Capitol. One such study conducted by the Economic Development and Financial Services Committee was on the question of how well our educational system is providing for the work force needs of the state.

It was clearly demonstrated that as a result of our state’s educational system being driven by No Child Left Behind and our own ACE Initiative, we are failing to provide workers for our numerous areas of state’s economic activities. This is caused by the mind-set that “Higher Education is for every student” and our graduation requirements, which are tied to high-stakes testing, is driven by this assumption.

Hopefully this study will result in legislation that will bring reality back into consideration of our educational objectives.

This committee also conducted another series of studies on autism and the need to consider mandates for insurance coverage for those with this disability.

Autism impacts families and schools as a result of the lack of early therapeutic intervention, leaving the schools with students who must be served but are not able to function in a regular classroom. We saw in this study that there is such a wide range of disability under this classification that schools can often be harmed with the monetary demands of services for these students.

The cost was demonstrated to exceed over $100,000 a year in some severe cases. It was shown that 85 percent of families with an autistic child will result in divorce. In the last session we tried to place this disability under an insurance mandate, but the Republican leadership of the House Economic and Development Committee thumbed their noses at the parents’ and children’s needs so as to please their insurance company coaches.

Maybe we have learned a valuable lesson as a result of letting the committee finally hear evidence about this matter. However, in our second study the committee still failed to come to grips with the insurance needs of families with autistic children.

Hopefully, we will address this when our 52nd Session begins in February.

E-mail District 15 state Rep. Ed Cannaday, D-Porum, by Clicking Here



print this story    email this story   






autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide


Premier Guide

Premium Jobs

5308-CMA/CNA/MAT

CMA/cna/mat
Full time position
Dogwood Creek is currently accepting applications. Apply in person, 3230
...>MORE

5309-cna
?????????
EASTGATE
VILLAGE
Is now accepting
applications for the
following positions
CNA...>MORE

5358-Master Teacher
Master Teacher
Needed for child care center, call 918-684-4011.
...>MORE

5269-RN
RN
Are you looking for the Great Pay, Full Benefits, Stability, and Strong Reputation of a large company without th
...>MORE

5355-Current Openings
CURRENT JOB OPENINGS

Cherokee Nation whose headquarters are located in beautiful Tahlequah, Oklahoma is a nat
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Autos

5335-2008 Yamaha
2008 Yamaha Rafter 700 SC Red & White, $6,000 - 2007 Yamaha Rafter 700 Blue - $5,000 or both $10,000 OBO. Great conditio...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Extras

5368-Angus Bulls
Angus Bulls & Angus Sired Open Heifers.
R P Angus at Checotah
918-685-8279 or 473-6628
...>MORE

5363 3 yr old solid red
3 year old solid red pure bred Simmental Bull,excellent calving ease. Son of Dream On. Must see to believe! $2000. 918-4...>MORE

5377-2000 Dodge
2000 Dodge Caravan handicap-ramp-hand controls, new tires & battery $2750. 918-682-4004....>MORE

5296 black yorkie poo's
Black Yorkie Poo's, 3 females, 2 males, $250. ea 918-683-4987....>MORE

5340 country check sofa, .
Country check sofa, wingback chair & ottoman, ex cond $275. Antique treadlesewing machine ex cond. $75. 918-687-1891....>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index