Proposal Would Require Students To Be Screened For Autism Before Enrolling In School

Parents often check for correct number of toes, fingers and makes sure if their newborn can see or hear. Obsessions, fine motor skills, or picky eating hardships is not expected. Autism hardly comes in mind. It takes few years to diagnosed the developmental disorder. Confusion and exhaustion appear for child, parents and school. Time could have been lost. Lot of catching has to be done, and the question comes to the mind is what if it would have been caught earlier? While many young children are checked for autism at their doctor’s visit, there are few who are not screened at all. Some are told that boys are different and learn slow. Some have received wrong diagnosis. These kids are developmentally delayed, and are at a disadvantage in getting the individualized education help at their school. A bill has been introduced in Nebraska which would require children to be screened for autism before they are enrolled in kindergarten along with the physical and vision test. The screenings are done by a physician, physician’s assistant, registered nurse, school psychologist or other trained individual. Parents can choose not to screen their children. This is not a requirement for students to enroll, but rather makes sure if needed then the right services are provided to children in order for them to succeed. Early screenings and referrals are keys to have a better future for children with autism. Further, this can help to begin a talk in the legislature about autism diagnosis and its treatment.