Personal What's It like for A Middle Class Mom to Have a Child With ASD

It's a struggle. I am not ashamed to classify myself as middle class. My family relies on my sole pay check and we have been for the last 3 years. Now, when I go into forums reading which Developmental Pedia to choose for their autism angel, on my side it's where do I get the funds to pay for that highly priced check up and assessment?


alel


Ok, so yes - there are free services in far flung sides of Metro Manila that will ask you to line up for half of your day, and someone will carelessly suggest it to you thinking they know what it's like to take your autism angel to a crowded area they are unfamiliar with, let alone travel for more than 10 minutes with a traffic jam.

No, it isn't an option. Travel is a struggle. We take public transport, sometimes a cab but with all those options my little boss is restless especially when a traffic jam kicks in.  So please don't ask us to commute somewhere far when you know we don't have our own means of travel. 

Then you have the "Dapat ipa- theraphy nyo yan" statement, well of course we would love to then maybe you could donate to the expenses perhaps? It takes a minimum of 2 sessions per week of Occupational Therapy which is 700php each session (that's the affordable fee still) and 1,500php just to get the assessment for the therapy to be applied.  That's like 5,600php a month! Seeking free services is not an option especially when you do not have a nanny/house help and a schedule to match. 

What's sad, is that in this country, the availability of Government funded services for individuals on the Autism Spectrum Disorder is so limited and that's rather alarming, when the gap now is 1 out of 48 kids that are diagnosed with ASD. 

Ok, so you have a PWD card which gives 5% discount for purchases (limited use), and no extra exemption for Taxable income. Which makes me start to wonder, where does my 5,000php worth of tax every month go to again? Because so far my discount for groceries has been 65php. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful since it is still savings but it could help if it was more felt right?

Sorry if this sounds like a rant post dears, but yes I am saddened that being in this social status is no where near easy and you realize that you may only rely on yourself to make this situation better. 

Ok, rant over - now my autism angel, while playing an app to put together puzzles, just said "Dog"! How cool is that? 




siggy



No comments