Kate Snow Shares Powerful Stories Of Young Adults Living With Autism And Their Families’ Desperate Search for Specialized Support
Dateline’s “On the Brink” Airs Sunday, April 12 at 7pm/6c
NEW YORK – April 9, 2015 – On Sunday, April 12 at 7pm/6c, NBC’s Dateline will air “On the Brink,” a powerful new report, three years in the making, that puts a spotlight on autism’s ‘aging out’ crisis. Over the next ten years, an estimated half a million young people with autism will turn 21 and ‘age out’ — losing their eligibility for help through the education system. The stability and structure they have had nearly their whole lives will end, and there’s no equivalent support system to take over. “On the Brink” takes an unprecedented look at the lives of young adults with autism and the extraordinary measures parents take to provide their children with specialized services and a better future.
Over a three-year period, Dateline chronicles the raw and emotional journeys of two New York-based young adults with autism and their families, as they transition from graduation to adulthood and make a leap towards an uncertain future. NBC News National Correspondent Kate Snow interviews two mothers who devote their lives to caring for their sons and helping them find a voice. Snow shares their heartbreaking stories and the tremendous challenges of navigating a broken system of programs that will allow their sons to progress in life. “On the Brink” documents both families’ ongoing fight to help their children and revolutionize the way autism is perceived in the U.S.
“We spent countless hours with these two families for over three years and it truly was an eye-opening experience,” said Snow. “It’s one thing to know that services end for people when they turn 21, and it’s another to see it play out. We are grateful that both families allowed us into their private lives, so we are able to share their compelling stories and shine a much-needed spotlight on this important issue.”
Snow also speaks about concerns surrounding the ‘aging out’ process with Sharon Lewis, Senior Advisor on Disability Policy to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Linda Walder, Executive Director of the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to studying the issues facing adults with autism.
Early excerpts from Snow’s interviews will air on TODAY and NBC Nightly News, Friday, April 10. Dateline’s “On the Brink” airs Sunday, April 12 at 7pm/6c on NBC.
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David Corvo is the senior executive producer, Liz Cole is the executive producer and Lester Holt is the primary anchor of “Dateline.” Follow “Dateline NBC” on Facebook and Twitter @datelinenbc.
For more information contact:
Brianne Beers
NBC News
