The Hankook Ilbo : A balanced view of the world

Jang Yoon-yeong (pseudonym), who is raising an 11-year-old child with severe developmental disabilities along with brain lesions and intellectual disabilities, goes to and from the hospital every day pushing her son’s wheelchair. This is because when the son is a year younger, when he earns even a penny more, the impatience to have a lot of treatment increases. The burden of medical costs cannot be ignored, but there is another problem that is more pressing. The point is that Mr. Jang’s son will have to leave the well-known pediatric treatment room in just four years and move to an adult treatment room. What is the reason for going to an adult treatment room when you are only a teenager? The following is a question-and-answer session with Jang. -How often do you go to hospital? “My child goes every day. He goes to two general hospitals and two private treatment centres. Originally, he went to the university hospital twice a week or more for an hour, but at some point, an upper limit was placed on the number of visits per patient. We can’t even do it.” A reporter from Hankook Ilbo made inquiries to famous autism professors in mid-September, and found that Cheon Geun-ah, professor of pediatric psychiatry at Dismissal Hospital, said by 2027, Kim Boong-nyun, professor of psychiatry pediatric at Seoul National University Hospital, by 2025, and Yoo Hee-jeong, a professor of psychiatry at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital was already fully booked until 2024, and I heard a reply that there is no timetable after that. As a result of a survey conducted by the Hankook Ilbo, 27.9% of respondents in Jeju, 19.7% in Gyeonggi, and 18.4% in Seoul responded that they had waited more than a year after applying to a tertiary medical institution (advanced general hospital) such as a university hospital. (Related article ▶ “Professor who specializes in autism, treatment appointments are closed until 2027”: If you can’t click, please search at this address: www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2022100310430004161) Do you you’re a god? “It can’t be. When you turn 15, you have to move to an adult treatment room. University hospitals and general hospitals are getting rid of pediatric treatment rooms because of problems with COVID-19 and the volume of treatments.” According to the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there are fewer than 400 child psychiatrists. Even they have been concentrated in the metropolitan area. There are a total of 266 hospitals with pediatric psychiatrists nationwide, but they are concentrated in Seoul (111), Gyeonggi (58) and Incheon (12). There are only three places in Jeonnam and two each in Gyeongbuk and Sejong. -What problems arise when a child uses an adult’s treatment room? “Almost elderly people are in the adult treatment room, so the system runs around them. Active behavioral treatment is no longer done, and the emphasis is on nursing care and care. “Behavioural therapy in the treatment room can’t help but feel like scratching the surface. Imagine you’re only in the 3rd year of middle school and not getting proper treatment. Mothers are increasingly greedy to ensure that their children get as much treatment as possible while they are at least a year old.” -Mothers probably don’t like to send their children to the adult treatment room. “No. There are many mothers who think it is a relief to send them to an adult treatment room. It is true that treatment is not possible (in an adult treatment room), but private treatment centers are very expensive. There are many families with poor economic conditions.” -Your mother cannot ignore the burden of medical costs either. “That’s right. I really want to provide the best possible treatment, but I can’t really do much. My child was diagnosed with a disability immediately after birth, so it’s like spending a lifetime on treatment, but costs more than tens of millions of earnings I don’t belong to low income families or single parent families, so I can’t benefit from treatment costs I can’t even get it in full The income standard is for supporting the amount of voucher is also based on a pre-tax basis, so it feels more restrictive.” – What level of support do you currently receive? “It’s about call taxi support for the disabled and the activities support service which I started receiving after the age of 7. The voucher was not received until the child was 2 years old, but I started receiving it when the child was 3 or 4 years old. Old. We pay 180,000 won per month. If we collect the self-payment, there are around 400,000 to 500,000 won per month.” (Related article ▶ Won 150,000 for an hour therapy class? Parents being driven into the private education market: If you can’t click, search at this address: www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2022100509190004669) – What do you think is most urgent to solve? ? “In any case, I hope that pediatric treatment will be more active. If we cannot build more pediatric treatment rooms, I would like to extend the age of use of existing pediatric treatment rooms so that children can continue with the current pediatric treatment system for several years. another year. If so, your body will harden or deteriorate immediately. ▶ Interactive Shortcut: Click to see the entire survey results of 1,071 people. If you can’t click, copy the address (interactive.hankookilbo.com/v/ disability/) and enter it in the search box.