I was listening to "This American Life" when I was first introduced to the term "stop treatment point." They were talking about the fact that every pet owner has a ceiling as to how much they will spend in order to save the life of their pet, or in other words, a stop treatment point. Every pet owner, whether they think so or not, has a stop treatment point. When it comes to saving a human life, it is of course a different story. And then there's the question of improving a life . . .
The 2010 CDC report states that one in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder. The cost of therapies are in the thousands. There are families that have mortgaged their homes in hopes of hearing their child speak, families that have relocated from out of state just to be nearer a special school, parents that fly across the US to visit with a promising specialist. The cost can be astronomical. But then there are more than just monetary costs to consider. The cost of disrupting the family, taking away any normalcy your autistic child may have had in the ease of childhood, strained marriages, neglected siblings.
We're considering another therapy for Nick
and it leads me to wonder
what is our stop treatment point?
2 comments:
I'm feeling ya sister! When is enough enough? When do we let them be kids? If I don't do this therapy, what will he miss out on? It's tough and I wish you the best.
What a hard call to make. I know you guys will make the best decision for Nick and your family.
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