I am FRUSTRATED with Autism!!

I just sent this email off to Society for Treatment of Autism:

Hi There,

My son was diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD when he was 8.  He is now 11 and we are no further ahead than we were 3 yrs ago.  We were told his diagnosis and left to fend for ourselves. As I follow link, after link, after link, I am getting frustrated and overwhelmed.

Why can’t it be simple?  Why can’t it be like this:  1. Diagnoses 2. Here is where you get funding 3. Now get the help you need ie: social classes, OT, Speech

So far I have been stuck on 2 so we haven’t advanced to 3.  A friend pointed us to FSCD and we just got the forms in the mail so I am filling those out.  My son goes to JR High next year and I am terrified.  Can you help me?

Sincerely,

Jody McKay

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Everything that I know what I am suppose to do comes from word of mouth from other parents.  It shouldn't be this difficult. I start out typing Aspergers, Calgary into a search engine.  A few links come up and they all talk about Aspergers and what the challenges are but none of them actually help.  

I don't know how to get funding to pay for what my son needs. I can't believe all money for Autism/Aspergers is split up between 20 friggin organizations, and I have to figure out how to get money to pay for Occupational  Therapy, Social classes and Speech.  

This needs to be mainstreamed, and Psychologists and the Government need to speak to each other.  The Gov needs to create a hand out for Dr.s so that way they can truly help us.  Once we were told our son has Aspergers and ADHD, we should've been handed a folder with  steps inside.

1. Call this number or visit this website and start receiving funding.

or to make it simple, OT, Social Classes and Speech should be free - call this number to get appts. Then I don't need to go thru the bullshit of finding funding.

2. Since free won't happen, list where I can get help.  

When you spend 2 hrs going from website to website and clicking link after link, hoping for the "magical" link (click here to get funding), it gets way overwhelming and you begin to feel like a failure. DUMB.  

Then you sit down at lunch with some co-workers and you find out there kid is half the age of your kid and doesn't even have a diagnoses per se, but they have funding and their kids are getting all stuff your kid needs.  You feel like a frigging moron and a failure.  Then anger sets in.  How is that someone figured this stuff out and I haven't? No diagnoses, and they get everything.  My kid is older and has nothing. WHY?

I met with a friend yesterday whose son is 13 yrs old and they have been pay out of their pocket all the expenses.  I asked why they didn't have funding, and then it was like me talking. "I have looked and I can't figure it out.  I don't know where to go".  I felt sad but inside, happy that I wasn't the only moron.  We shared our feelings of how we felt stupid and frustrated and for once....it was nice to know, I wasn't alone.  This isn't OK for us to feel that way. Something needs to change.

Now, a dear friend had pointed me in the direction of FSCD for residents of Alberta, to get funding and help. I think so far this is the best lead I have been given.  She is also the one who directed me to STA (Society of Treatment for Autism) and the recipient of the email above.  So, if you are in Alberta the following link will be of help  Government of Alberta

If you can help me find the way to dealing with this, please leave me a msg.