Dear Future President,

My brother was diagnosed with Autism when he was only a year old. He is fourteen and has lived with Autism almost his entire life. There are more than 200,000 cases reported in the U.S., and he's one of them. Not only is there no cure for Autism, but not many people get the proper treatment for it, and that's a problem.

Autism is a disorder of brain development. How the person with Autism interacts with others is impacted by this disorder. They do not show eye contact as much as one without Autism does, they do not learn easily, their speech is not the greatest, etc. Services for Autism costs around $236-262 BILLION for a U.S. citizen annually. It costs $12,000 per year for a student who is learning, whereas it costs about $26,000 for a student with Autism. Like everyone else, adults with Autism would need a job to get money. In June 2014, 19.3% of those with disabilities participated in the labor force, so ask yourself, how would one manage to afford anything for the matter if they were unemployed, if they couldn't get an education because of its high expenses and so on?

No need to worry because I have a few solutions! There are many events that are held for such things like Breast Cancer Awareness, and although Autism Awareness exists, I have not attended many events that focus on it. Maybe, by hosting events for Autism, you could raise money that goes to those with this disorder. Another way to help those in need is to lower expenses for those with Autism, such as therapy. Even lowering a minority of these costs would help. Lastly, to my comprehension, those who have served in the military get military discount, like my dad. They get this at many local stores and a plethora of other places. Maybe Autistic people could get this benefit!

Now, some may ask, “Autism is a disability, and there are many other people with disabilities that may be different. Shouldn't they get the same benefits?" If they had taken the time and patience to study this disorder, they'd learn that the cost over a lifespan with the disability costs $2.4 MILLION, let alone the cost without is only $1.4 MILLION. As you can see, the average American makes $500,000, so when you think about what an Autistic American has to pay, you may realize, that's a lot, and it is.

In summary, because of high expenses and the fact that most of those with Autism are unemployed, the proper treatment, such as therapy and other needs of help, is hard to establish. Almost 1% of the world has Autism so why take the time to help when you can make an immediate change and help those like my brother?

A concerned citizen,

Patricia G.