This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re the July 22 Tribune article "Utah families question quality of care in autism experiment":
As the mother of a son in the autism waiver program, we have seen results that I never expected could happen in so short a time. While the challenges of some rural families to receive quality care should be quickly remedied, I feel the story failed to report the positive experiences many families have seen from the program in its first few months.
Since starting the program, our son has doubled his vocabulary, learned to follow directions and now can do such things as pick up garbage and throw it in the trash, or bring food from the pantry to the kitchen as we prepare a meal. It's hard to describe how much joy it brings all of us to be working together, playing together and understanding each other better.
Our program provider has been stellar. Our son's therapist has a degree in psychology, is starting a graduate program, and has three years of formal training and work with children with autism. We are daily grateful to have this program in our lives, and I wish more families could experience the same quality of care.
Alisa Bolander
Sandy