(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nate Johnson plays with his son Owen, 3, at their home in Draper Friday March 16, 2012. An unprecedented collaboration between the state and private industry is set to begin this summer as Utah launches a pilot program to fund treatment for autistic children. Nathan Johnson's son, Owen, 3, is among a growing number of Utah children diagnosed as autistic. Though his son already receives services at the Carmen Pingree Center for Children with Autism, he would like to see programs like Pingree grow throughout the state.
Utah government and private businesses are set to launch a collaboration with the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of families with young autistic children.
The state will run a two-year pilot that will pay for therapy for about 350 children between the ages of 2 and 6. Insurance companies and at least one bank are expected to donate $1 million, which will be added to state dollars.
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More information will be available on the Utah Department of Health website health.utah.gov in the coming weeks.
"Autism is not going away," said Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, who sponsored the bill to create the pilot. "We will know a lot more in two years about treating autism, what it costs and what the impacts are of therapy."
Utah is known for its growing rate of autistic children , though the causes remain unclear. About two Utah children per day were born with an autism spectrum disorder in 2008. That year, 1 in 77 8-year-olds in Utah had the disorder twice the number from six years before.
As autism becomes more common in every community, awareness has grown as shown by the number of elected officials who spoke during the Legislature about their first-hand experiences, including Lt. Gov. Greg Bell.
"In my family Ive seen a beautiful child afflicted with some conditions on the autism spectrum," he said. "They are wrenching to deal with not just for the child but for his siblings, and treatment options are really, really slim. Given the prevalence in the state of Utah, weve got to find something to help people."
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Utah to fund pilot program for autism treatment without mandate