A local family is struggling to support their disabled child when the only aid received is a $1,000 a month that may not last and the only bread-winner will soon be on unemployment.
The state-funded program, Acumen offers $1,000 a month to help with the needed autism therapies that their insurance will not cover for 8-year-old Joy Springer.
The program is only helping 137 children at the moment and as many as 57 families are on the wait list. They say even though the allotment is "a small drop in a large bucket" every little bit helps.
It is the only help offered and as of December, it may cease to exist because of the current budget crisis in Nevada.
The Office of Disability Services has a similar program to help pay for some autism therapy but that money has to be reallocated every legislative session. The bureau chief says it's very doubtful the money will be available for these families when the current funding runs out in June of 2009.
They will literally be on their own.
"That's the scary thing, we don't have any more options," Shannon Springer said. "We ran out of options so this state needs to get something for these families now otherwise families like us are going to be living on the street if they want therapy or hope for their kids."
The Springer family has refinanced and mortgaged their home to help with the costs and is scraping by. Over the last year and a half they have spent $70,000 on therapy just to help their child learn to communicate and function in everyday life.
"It's huge because my husband's income is lower than the therapy," Shannon Springer said.
Due to the high cost of their daughter's therapies, Shannon home schools joy with guidance from autism experts and is studying to get a special degree so she can work with joy. She says more could be done.
"My sole focus goes to Joy," Shannon Springer said. "I can give her an education but I still can't give her assistive technology devices- those all cost money."
Dan Springer works as a banker for Citibank. He puts in a full day there, helps with the girls when he gets home and then studies at night to get his masters degree in finance online.
"I think of it as I don't just have to finance my daughter's car or college, I have to finance my daughter's life," Dan said.
It will soon get more difficult for the Springer family, as of Friday, Dan is going to be without a job due to local Citibank branches shutting down. He has some job applications out but it's a frightening time for the whole family.
"We just try to take it one day at a time," Springer said. "There's lots of programs out there that stress one day at a time and that's what we are doing."
