Military Families Press For Increased Coverage Of Autism Treatment
By Daniela Altimari, The Hartford Courant | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"He didn't babble much," recalled his mother,
Cody was diagnosed with autism at 20 months and soon after, his parents started him in an intensive and expensive therapy program called applied behavioral analysis, or ABA. Cody, now 3, responds to his name and has made many other strides.
Yet he is only receiving 12 hours of ABA therapy a week, not the 25 hours a week that his developmental pediatrician recommends. That's because
Cody's father, Army Ranger and
The Kapacziewskis and other military families whose children have autism are pressing for
They have found an outspoken ally in U.S. Rep.
"To find out that your own government is denying this ... it's just insane," Larson said. "You could have taken my jaw off the floor."
Larson, along with Republican Rep.
The bill passed the House last month and Larson expressed hope it will make it into the final version of the
"This is a rarity in
The transient nature of military life makes the benefit all the more necessary, advocates say.
"Military families have a lot of more uniqiue and challenging needs than many other families," said
"If someone is sent overseas and deployed, they shouldn't have to worry that their children are getting the services they need," Greene added.
ABA treatment is especially important in the early years of a child's life, immediately after diagnosis. Thirty-seven states, including
"If 37 states and the federal employees [insurance plan] consider it as necessary medical care, why should
Under current coverage, ABA therapy is capped at
"Families are grateful for the benefits they have, but we want to make sure their needs are being met," said Driscoll, the mother of a child with autism and the wife of a recently retired Marine.
While he has made great strides, there are still challenges, his mother said. "He just wants to wear fleece all the time," she said, a preference that's just not practical in
"The thing with autistic children is, the more early intervention you can get, the better,"
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