DES MOINES -- Since 7-year-old Noah was diagnosed with autism five years ago, his father, Sioux City resident Josh Cobbs, has labored vigorously to get his son the best care available.

Cobbs uprooted his family from South Dakota to let Noah have access to Iowa's special education system, even touring a handful of district schools with his wife before picking the one they thought would best help their son. He spent countless hours researching the developmental disability, even traveling across the country to get Noah some of the nation s top services.

"We've gone all out," Cobbs said. "What can you do? It's your kid."

But in Iowa's school system, Cobbs found room for improvement.

Cobbs said Noah's Sioux City teachers and administrators were eager to help his son, but they didn't know how to do that, he said. The instructors didn't have access to modern methods to help children with autism, and had limited resources with which to work, he said.

So Cobbs took his concerns to the Statehouse Thursday, where he urged a group of lawmakers to pass a bill he hopes would modernize how the state teaches autistic children.

"If we give people the tools and the services, they can have their Noahs back," Cobbs said.

Autism is a developmental disability that can cause communication and social interaction impairments in varying degrees. Children who are identified as autistic and given treatment when they re young tend to lead more productive lives than those who are not.

About one in 150 children have some form of autism, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bill Cobbs' is advocating would allot $200,000 for teacher training and classroom resources. Many districts across the state use antiquated methods, which means some autistic children aren t getting the best education they could, Cobbs said.

"(Teachers) need the right tools to do the right thing," Cobbs said. "They just simply don't have some of the proper tools and resources."

The bill would also mandate Iowa teaching students to receive specific instruction on how to assist autistic children. That training could be applied to other students who don t have autism, Cobbs said.

House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, who is sponsoring the bill, said Cobbs experience illustrates the state should to ramp up its special education services.

"I think we see from parents, as well as teachers dealing with these special needs students, that they need more assistance, better training to make sure that they recognize the challenges," Rants said.

Rants said the money that would be allocated by the bill undoubtedly would be stretched thin -- it would be spread across Iowa's 364 school districts -- but that it would be a good start.

"Arguably there's never enough money in education," Rants said. "But with this year, this budget, I'd be happy with $200,000."

Officials with the Iowa Department of Education oppose the bill.

The department would prefer the state wait to act on such a measure "for at least a year" to see if the federal government ramps up assistance for such services, education department lobbyist Jeff Berger said.

While autism diagnoses -- which have been on the rise for years -- are cause for concern, the state has a responsibility to care for all students with special needs, Berger said.

"The dilemma we have now is … how do we meet all needs in all categories," Berger said.

Rants called the Department of Education s position "very disappointing."

"It's almost as if the Department of Education doesn't want to make any changes," Rants said. "You can always look for an excuse to wait. The challenging thing is to have the courage to act."

Contact Whitney Woodward at (515) 243-0138 or whitney.woodward@lee.net.