Lack of autism specialists, therapists impacting families in Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The puzzle piece is the universal symbol for autism awareness. The different patterns and colors represent the diversity of people living with the condition.

Yet, finding care for autism in Southern Nevada for some can be like a time-consuming patchwork of frustration.

Just think of your life as a giant puzzle filled with unique pieces that need to be put together to feel complete.

For the nearly 9,000 children living with autism in Nevada, life is like a puzzle and finding the right pieces, the right services can be a fight against time.

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Time is a battleground for moms like Brooke O'Gara and Angelea Bielinski.

“That’s an 18-month waiting list that we’ve been on just to get help,” O’Gara said.

“I think that’s the hardest part because you want to get help for your kids,” Bielinski said.

Both are caught in the middle of a desperate need for providers and therapists to work with children living with autism.

“We’re short speech therapists, occupational therapists and especially aba therapists,” said Dr. Mario Gaspar De Alba, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician.

He agrees the shortage of medical professionals is a missing piece to the puzzle that's also affecting him.

“I can’t see a lot of kids per day because each kid takes quite a bit of time,” Dr. Gaspar De Alba said.

Cases of autism have risen over the years in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 59 children are diagnosed with the condition.

“We don’t have enough people to help make the diagnosis,” said Patrick Leytham.

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Leytham is a board-certified behavior analyst and Associate Professor at Touro University says early diagnosis and early intervention is key. That means getting timely help.

“We only have about 193 who are licensed to supervise and oversee the treatment for kids with autism from a medical perspective,” he said.

Dr. Gaspar De Alba says treatment often requires more than one professional.

“Sometimes they don’t just see me. A lot of times they need to see a neuropsychologist, and often they need to see us both,” Dr. Gaspar De Alba said.

It has taken Brooke’s son Jimmy more than a year to get therapy.

“Just feeling like it’s not fair,” O’Gara said.

Grant A Gift Autism Foundation is picking up some of the pieces, making it their goal to raise money, helping families with treatment options and trying to bring more providers into our community.

“We really do have to have that the focus every day, and it might depend on each day what that next resource might be,” said Grant a Gift Autism Foundation CEO, Terri Janison.

Angelea is starting to see a change in her son Maxwell who is finally getting therapy at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Touro University.

“It’s really helped us especially as a family,” she said.

Both mothers are determined to stay positive.

They're hopeful other families living with autism will join forces and start seeing the pieces come together.

According to Dr. Gaspar De Alba, Nevada ranks fourth lowest in the nation when it comes to insurance reimbursements for autism care.

That makes it a challenge he says to attract medical specialists, leaving families paying out of pocket for treatments.