10/08/2025
Insha Allah ๐คฒ
๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฐ๐ข๐๐
With the costs of autism treatment beyond the reach of ordinary Filipino families, Bacolod lone district Rep. Albee Benitez has filed House Bill No. 3379, or the National Autism Program bill, intended to provide support to around 1.2 million Filipinos, including almost 350,000 children, living with autism.
In his explanatory note, Benitez lamented that โgiven the cost of the assessment and therapies, it is unlikely for low and even medium-income families to regularly afford these life-changing therapies for their children. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) revealed that poverty rates are 50% higher in households with children with disabilities.โ
โIt is more than crucial that the government make available free or affordable services for the diagnosis and therapies of children on the spectrum.โ
To address the inaccessibility of autism treatment, HB 3379 establishes an Autism Support Allowance Program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that will provide regular stipend amounting to Php4,000.00 to families with POS.
The measure would also provide other services such as free developmental assessment for all Filipino children until the age of five; free occupational, speech, and behavioral therapy in DOH hospitals; and free medicines for POS diagnosed with Level 3 Autism.
Benitez said the hurdles to the provision of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include the low number of developmental pediatricians in the country that results in a long wait for a proper assessment, as well as the high cost not only for consultation but also for prescribed therapy.
The lawmaker pointed out that initial consultations cost around Php4,000.00 to Php5,000.00 a session, and โwhen diagnosis is confirmed, recommendations for appropriate therapies of four to five times per week are made, which would cost around Php1,000 per session.โ
According to Benitez, โevery child, regardless of their abilities or differences, should be treated with dignity, respect and equal opportunities.โ
โIt is incumbent upon the government to provide necessary support for persons on the spectrum to afford them better prospects of a future where they reach their full potential, and become self-reliant and functional members of society.โ
