NBC's Dateline Investigates Autism's 'Aging Out' Crisis in "On The Brink"

[proverbialwisdom]

https://www.nbcumv.com/news/nbc’s-dateline-investigates-autism’s-‘aging-out’-crisis-“-brink”

NBC’S DATELINE INVESTIGATES AUTISM’S ‘AGING OUT’ CRISIS IN “ON THE BRINK”

Kate Snow Shares Powerful Stories Of Young Adults Living With Autism And Their Families’ Desperate Search for Specialized Support

Dateline’s “On the Brink” Airs Sunday, April 12 at 7pm/6c

PREVIEW VIDEO: http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/video/preview-on-the-brink-425150531817

NEW YORK – April 9, 2015 – On Sunday, April 12 at 7pm/6c, NBC’s Dateline will air “On the Brink,” a powerful new report, three years in the making, that puts a spotlight on autism’s ‘aging out’ crisis. Over the next ten years, an estimated half a million young people with autism will turn 21 and 'age out' -- losing their eligibility for help through the education system. The stability and structure they have had nearly their whole lives will end, and there’s no equivalent support system to take over. “On the Brink” takes an unprecedented look at the lives of young adults with autism and the extraordinary measures parents take to provide their children with specialized services and a better future.

Over a three-year period, Dateline chronicles the raw and emotional journeys of two New York-based young adults with autism and their families, as they transition from graduation to adulthood and make a leap towards an uncertain future. NBC News National Correspondent Kate Snow interviews two mothers who devote their lives to caring for their sons and helping them find a voice. Snow shares their heartbreaking stories and the tremendous challenges of navigating a broken system of programs that will allow their sons to progress in life. “On the Brink” documents both families’ ongoing fight to help their children and revolutionize the way autism is perceived in the U.S.

“We spent countless hours with these two families for over three years and it truly was an eye-opening experience,” said Snow. “It’s one thing to know that services end for people when they turn 21, and it’s another to see it play out. We are grateful that both families allowed us into their private lives, so we are able to share their compelling stories and shine a much-needed spotlight on this important issue.”

Snow also speaks about concerns surrounding the ‘aging out’ process with Sharon Lewis, Senior Advisor on Disability Policy to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Linda Walder, Executive Director of the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to studying the issues facing adults with autism.

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[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. That's a good reminder of one of the ways healthcare is broken.

That we have a system in place in which you can lose access to care and treatments simply by passing some magic age limit, or be ineligible for others by being 'too young'.

[jwirr]

2. I have worked as a social worker with children and adults with disability. And it is hard to

transition to adulthood. When a disabled child becomes an adult they are eligible for Medicaid on their own as a separate household in my state. They are considered a separate household even if they continue to live at home. They are also often eligible for SSI because they are not fully employed. If one of their parents is retired they are eligible for Social Security and Medicare.

In our state we have Day centers or sheltered workshops for the adults and work with the schools and families to help them enter this new phase of life. But it is not always easy. If a state does not have these types of facilities or if the young person does not want to attend then it would be horrible.