por 
THE BAJA POST
NEWSROOM
The State Congress estimated that the detection of autism increased by 179 percent from 2000 to 2020, with an estimated number of nearly 10,000 people with this disorder. However, the lack of interest from authorities also implies not acknowledging them, as the data is not conclusive. In 2013, the Secretary of Health in Baja California, Adrián Medina Amarillas, estimated between 3,000 and 3,500 people with autism in the region.
By law, the State of Baja California establishes that all individuals with autism deserve and have the right to early detection, clinical care, protection, therapies, and official documents that identify them to any authority.
Textually, it is indicated that they should have «special teachers in their integration process into regular education schools, with didactic material and the use of new technologies.»
They should also have access to government programs to receive nutritious, sufficient, and quality food according to their metabolic needs.
However, parents pointed out that such services do not exist and that the education system lacks the tools to meet the needs of the autistic population.
«They should work more on the inclusion of children; as parents, we cannot afford to pay for a private school. We have to pay for therapies, we have to pay for medications, among other things,» said Paulina García, who participated in organizing the Caravan for Autism.
She added that if programs exist, the authorities do not promote them, or they are simply ineffective, as it is the same families who seek appropriate care for their loved ones on their own, but autism is an expensive syndrome to treat.
