Some parents, students and staff at Palm Beach School for Autism made their voices heard at a protest against Senate Bill 82.
At a rally in the school's parking lot on Monday, parents and teachers who spoke said they wanted to give a voice to thousands in Florida with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
“My wife and I will eventually not be here any longer and that’s the biggest concern. It’s not going to be us, it’s going to have to be the community that provides those services,” said John Spruance whose son Joshua is on the autism spectrum and is non verbal.
He says his family relies on the state and federally funded iBudget program which provides a number of medical services so people with disabilities can live independently.
Bill sponsor, Senator Aaron Bean is proposing to make changes to the current program but not cut services.
But families like Adriene Ferns are opposed. She’s a mother of a child on the autism spectrum and the director of family services at Palm Beach School for Autism. '“Our job here at the school is to make them as independent as we can but we need the support of our politicians, of funding and awareness.”
The program offers services to thousands of people and there are thousands more on a waiting list.