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I worked with children with autism for a total of 8 years. They are angels and so special. My brother in law has a son with autism and my heart goes out to them and all of you. It is so sad how insurance pay for everything else and they don't understand how important is to give their speech theraphy and OT theraphy at early age. God Bless all of you.
posted by Denise on 1/11/08 11:59: AM

I have a 3 year old son who was just diagnosed with autism. He also is unable to communicate meaningful words. I feel so angry that he will not have the opportunity to get therapy until summer of 2009 if all the paperwork goes well. In Wisconsin we need to push Bill 178 that Gov. Doyle is putting forth which would require insurance companies to pay for in home therapy that our children need NOW, not in 2 years! My prayers are with you and every other parent who is lucky to have an autistic child:)
posted by Lynda on 1/11/08 11:43: AM

I am a mother of 5 boys and thank God they are all healthy and ok. My heart goes out to ALL of you whose child/children suffer from this disease. God Bless all of you! I am a strong believer in Faith and I know something will eventually get done.
posted by Angelina on 1/11/08 11:16: AM

There is not much more to say than it is time for universal health care to cover all children with illness & disabilities - be it ASD, Cancer, AIDS, speech delays, FAS, whatever. Taking care of the health of the next generation is paramount to the overall health of a society at large. As for CG's comments and others below - I have refinanced my house TWICE, live frugally, and have no large expensive 'toys', jewelry or other such assets to sell anymore. I can tell you it is NOT EVEN CLOSE to enough capital to cover the therapies and medical treatments for my son. It is painfully hard when you have to 'willingly' let some therapies go because there is just no way to pay for them. The psychological guilt of 'not being the best provider' for you child is something I'm not sure I'll ever fully be able to cope with. The irony is seeing record compensation for high-level insurance executives and overall record profits, while children and adults with these disorders and illnesses are being pushed aside. This is a sign of a society lacking compassion and love for fellow human beings. Those within the Autism community try to find the love and compassion with each other, struggling laughing, and crying with the complexities of life with ASD. Day-by-day is where most of our community is at and it is a stressful life. Thank you for doing this - it made me smile and the outreach looks to be just amazing! It is these things that will help make a change for the better.
posted by Kenneth on 1/11/08 11:15: AM

I watched the video and cried and cried. I am the grandmother of two grandsons with autism. The video is powerful and sends an important message. Arizona has scheduled a Candlelight Vigil at the state capitol building on Jan. 29, 2008 at 6 p.m. in support of the Arizona Autism Insurance Bill. If you live in Arizona please contact your legislators to ask for support of this legislation. It would include coverage for diagnosis, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and behavior therapy.
posted by Nancy on 1/11/08 11:05: AM

MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU. I HAVE BEEN DOWN THIS DARK SCARY ROAD. AUTISM HAS MANY FACES AND EACH ONE DESERVES THE BEST CARE AVAILABLE MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER
posted by Dana on 1/11/08 10:53: AM

Our first grandchild was born wednesday the 9th...we just hope and pray all is healthy in the years to come...bless you for this site...
posted by Mark on 1/11/08 10:37: AM

God bless you all for taking such creative steps to spread awareness about Autism. Our prayers go out for all children with special needs and research is needed to battle all childhood disorders but discovering the cause and cure of the full autism spectrum has been especially elusive-may God guide those who are involved in every way--in battling this disorder as well as all others. In Him, all things are possible and the concert of continual and worldwide prayer will help move mountains! Regards, Anna
posted by Anna on 1/11/08 10:29: AM

Your daughter is beautiful. Your famiy is in our prayers. It is shamefull that all insurance companies don't cover this early intervention. Something needs to change NOW. And by your video and information being out here on the web will make a differance.
posted by Fran G on 1/11/08 10:28: AM

Let's fight through the corporate bogeyman talk and vote for a 2008 presidential candidate who sincerely proposes to do something about universal health care for all citizens of these United States. Some neanderthals think citizens don't have health insurance because they don't want it! The reality is that we don't have health insurance because we can't afford it. And even when we can afford some measure of health insurance, too often we find that it does not provide the coverage we need! Don't let the hatemongers scare you! It's got nothing to do with merit, socialism, welfare or any other divisive scare words.
posted by Pauline on 1/11/08 10:13: AM

Our six-year old was diagnosed at 26 months but luckily was already in Early intervention. It has made all the difference in the boy he has become. I try not to think about the days that he was unable to communicate with us. It's just to painful. What I want to know is whether insurace companies would deny treatment to a child with cancer or AIDS. Somehow I just don't think so. I keep hoping that with all the new cases diagnosed, more government funding will be applied. I pray daily for all of our children affected by this awful diagnosis but also thank God for sending me our son. He has made me educated myself with something I had only knoe as the "rain-man"disorder. For him and all the wonderful children I hope a cure comes soon!
posted by Janet on 1/11/08 10:02: AM

Yes, we have done signing....we have all of the Signing Time DVD's...(again - another expense!). They are worth their weight in gold. My son who is also ASD regularly used about 55 signs before he spoke his first word at 38 months, then within 45 days he was speaking in full sentences. My language-challenged daughter loves the signing time videos, and has memorized the sequence of the words and can read many of the words as well. The problem is not that she cannot say words. It's that she does not communicate in any reasonable, consistent fashion. She is extremely echolalic. She does not say mom. But she can sing Barney's "I love you" song. She usually does not say "Bye-bye" or "Goodbye," but instead says, "Bye-bye, Elmo loves you."
posted by Laura on 1/11/08 9:03: AM

C G - Bankrupting more American families ("remortgage my house / sell my possessions / hock my jewelry") is not a solution. I know a family with an autistic child, and the monthly nut for the treatment is very hard. They live frugally as it is (second-hand clothes, coupons, etc.). We need a more compassionate health care system, one not based on insurance company profits, but rather service to those in need. If legal action is required to facilitate that, so be it.
posted by www.rogerowengreen.blogspot.com on 1/11/08 8:43: AM

Have you tried sign language? Just start with something simple like moving hand to say Yes or No, and add other simple words like love/hug... Our daughter had delayed speech, which frustrated her into tantrums. Once we got her using some basic signs, she could respond to us. This led to further speech progress in our case. At least give it a shot. If you can find a speech therapist (or other provider) that's willing to talk, you might be able to get some free advice to make some progress.
posted by Dan on 1/11/08 8:43: AM

to c g: most of us with children with autism have already done what you said, including losing income to be home with a child who cannot attend daycare. none of it is enough to cover medical, therapeutic and educational costs and the time and energy and resources to fight to get those needs met. there is also a lot of resistance in the medical field to diagnose autism, making it even harder to gain the above, nevermind the cost or availability. we need to raise more awareness in order to mandate that insurance companies cover what is required. that's what this video is about. if i ever had the money to cover everything my son needed, it would be long gone already and he is only 9 years old. i can't imagine how much better he'd be off of those funds, diagnosis and access to his needs were met in time before the medical wait and see approach. this is a life long struggle and affects everyone who comes in contact with him. we are lucky that he is verbal and high-functioning. how much better functioning would he be if we had funds and access to intensive ABA therapies before age 2 rather than waited until nearly 3 and gotten much lesser therapies later?
posted by cc on 1/11/08 8:36: AM

Re: Dr. Gilbertson's comment...We have hired special needs attorneys to advocate for us at IEP's...my husband is also an attorney. I am aware that there are some school districts across the country who provide adequate services...ABA and adequate speech therapy. But ours isn't one of them. There is inequity in school districts, and since special education is inadequately funded to begin with, this is yet another reason why insurance should cover this. If my child suffers a stroke and loses her speech, speech therapy is covered. She was saying some words at 12 months old, then "lost" those words. Yet speech therapy from qualified, well-trained therapists is not covered. To the person who says we should mortgage our home...well, between the cost of special needs attorneys, biomedical interventions, gluten-free casein-free diets, and diapers, believe me, there is nothing left to mortgage.
posted by Laura on 1/11/08 8:32: AM

as a mother of a 7yr old son who has Autism we need more awareness and help with this! My son's school is great with him and thank god he has teachers that have never givin up on him!
posted by Molly on 1/11/08 8:27: AM

This is not to take away from the family's pain, and difficulty. And I dont mean this to sound heartless. But if that were my child I would remortgage my house / sell my possessions / hock my jewelry to pay for the help my child needs. Yes, I would be angry that the insurance company wasn't paying. But I would not just wait around and hope that the laws change... I would do what was needed immediately. And then consider suing the insurance company later.
posted by C G on 1/11/08 8:02: AM

Awesome!
posted by Deanne on 1/11/08 8:01: AM

First time I actually watched a video sent to me. So glad I did! Such a REAL way to get a message out there. I hope insurance companies chage for the sake of our chirldren, and our future! Isn't that why people want to move to this country? Best of luck to all..Flynn
posted by flynn on 1/11/08 7:48: AM