health insurance

The Tragedy of Canada's Autism Treatment Neglect: a leading psychologist speaks

I just watched a fascinating, sixteen minute interview with a very well-respected Canadian psychologist -- Dr. Glen Davies -- who weighs in on a variety of issues pertaining to autism, including the rise in diagnoses, the efficacy of ABA as the treatment for autism through the lifespan and what happens when people with autism are not provided effective treatment. Dr. Davies discusses the fact that children with autism in Canada have been thoroughly abandoned by the health care system for their core health need, which of course is autism treatment. He provides valuable, sober advice to policy makers. This is definitely an interview worth watching!

Draining the swamp of autism health care discrimination, one state at a time

Delaware has become the next state to force health insurance companies to cover the diagnosis, and most importantly, the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. This requirement includes people with autism up to their 21st birthday! Delaware is the 32nd state to pass autism mandate legislation. Mental health parity marches on!

Congratulations to all those who works so hard on getting this legislation passed. Kudos to
Autism Votes, an Autism Speaks Initiative.

The next five states to look forward to similar bills being passed are:
  • Hawaii
  • Minnesota
  • Nebraska
  • North Carolina
  • Utah

If you want to be part of this incredible state by state initiative, contact
Autism Votes.

Autism Treatment Insurance in Washington State Makes Huge Progress

Over the last few years, we’ve seen parents successfully advocate for state legislatures to pass autism treatment insurance mandates. As of June 13th, 2012, thirty-one states have joined this important roster of jurisdictions with insurance parity for mental health coverage, with another twelve states in the process of making autism treatment health insurance mandates a reality.

Autism advocates in Washington State are not sitting still and waiting for their state legislature to pass the law. In a
class action suit, Washington State public employees have just won a big legal victory. Now all children with autism whose parents are insured through the Washington State employee healthcare plan (Uniform Medical Plan) are covered for autism treatment. These children are not the only group to be covered. In addition, Washington State’s Group Health Cooperative is going to be covering another 800 autism families! I’d say that the parent advocates in Washington State are having a very productive summer!

Pennsylvania's Doctors Take Charge of Autism Treatment Standards

Pennsylvania has taken a very important step toward professionalizing the field of autism treatment. The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine is now granting behavioral specialist licenses to professionals who treat children with autism spectrum disorder. This is a huge development because finally children with autism, a neurological condition, will be treated by professionals who will be under the auspices of a medical board instead of subordinated to special education systems that do not have the organizational culture of excellence in autism treatment in particular, and do not understand the value and importance of data in measuring progress. In short, the educational model of specialized teaching has an abysmal track record when it comes to autism treatment. This makes sense because autism is not a “learning disorder.” The special education system will hopefully now cooperate with the medical system in the same way that education is required to cooperate with a medical supervisor when a physically disabled child has any other medical condition.

What’s particularly promising about the new Pennsylvania requirement is that every autism treatment practitioner, including behavior specialists, needs to complete a
utism-specific training. Parents of children with autism and many Board Certified Behavior Analysts who work with children on the autism spectrum have been asking for specialist standards and licensing for behavior specialists working with children with autism. Being a specialist in Applied Behavior Analysis is not sufficient when it comes to treatment for children afflicted with autism. That next step, a recognized specialty for autism treatment that ABA professionals must meet, is what makes the Pennsylvania initiative so important.

The overall effect of this change in the status quo is that requirements demanded of professionals who work with children on the Autism spectrum are going to become more rigorous over time. This means that all the kooks and quacks will no longer find the field of autism to be as warm and cozy a corner of the disability world in which to park their incompetent caboose!

Now that Pennsylvania has raised the bar, hopefully other jurisdictions will follow suit. Our children deserve no less!

Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Autism: The Fight for Coverage

Allison Dean is a writer bringing to us the latest information on the legal fight for the reform of autism insurance laws to cover Intensive Behavioral Therapies. We welcome her thoughts on this important issue.

With recent medical innovations in both technology and treatments, new therapies have been developed and shown to benefit those children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. One in particular is Intensive Behavioral Treatments (IBT). The legal fight for children to receive this treatment has been an ongoing one.

But first, what is IBT? IBTs include Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), and Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI). These treatments are exercises and techniques consistently applied to autistic children for several years, for 25 to 40 hours per week; children usually work with a therapist, paraprofessional, parent, or some combination of some or all of said people. However, the involvement of children’s parents throughout the process is imperative to its success.

Beginning treatment concentrates primarily on improving behaviors such as:

  • General social responses

  • Self-stimulating behaviors

  • Socially non-aggressive behaviors


Early on, children are rewarded for good behavior with food although this reward is very quickly faded to non-food reinforcers; all throughout therapy, bad behaviors are rewarded with neutral responses.

Intermediate treatment concentrates primarily on:
  • Peer interaction.

  • Teaching children language skills.


Advanced treatment concentrate primarily on:
  • Observational learning in social settings.

  • Proper social emotional responses and expression.

  • The teaching of basic education skills.


So where is the U.S. in terms of making these therapies not only more available, but mandated for insurance to cover?
As of November 1, 2011, the following 29 states have passed autism insurance reform laws according to austismvote.org:
  • Arizona - Enacted March 21, 2008

  • Arkansas - Enacted March 4, 2011

  • California - Enacted Oct. 9, 2011

  • Colorado - Enacted June 2, 2009

  • Connecticut - Enacted June 9, 2009

  • Florida - Enacted May 2, 2008

  • Iowa - Enacted April 29, 2010

  • Illinois - Enacted December 13, 2008

  • Indiana - Enacted May 3, 2001

  • Kansas - Enacted April 19, 2010

  • Kentucky - Enacted April 14, 2010

  • Louisiana - Enacted July 2, 2008

  • Maine - Enacted April 12, 2010

  • Massachusetts - Enacted August 3, 2010

  • Missouri - Enacted June 10, 2010

  • Montana - Enacted May 5, 2009

  • Nevada - Enacted May 29, 2009

  • New Hampshire - Enacted July 23, 2010

  • New Jersey - Enacted August 13, 2009

  • New Mexico - Enacted April 2, 2009

  • New York - Enacted Nov. 1, 2011

  • Pennsylvania - Enacted July 9, 2008

  • Rhode Island - Enacted June 30, 2011

  • South Carolina - Enacted June 7, 2007

  • Texas - Enacted June 15, 2007

  • Vermont - Enacted May 27, 2010

  • Virginia - Enacted May 6, 2011

  • West Virginia - Enacted April 1, 2011

  • Wisconsin - Enacted October 19, 2009


The following 14 states, according to autismvote.org, will pursue autism insurance reform laws in 2012:

  • Alabama

  • Alaska

  • Delaware

  • Georgia

  • Hawaii

  • Maryland

  • Michigan

  • Minnesota

  • Nebraska

  • North Carolina

  • Ohio

  • Oregon

  • Utah

  • Washington



And unfortunately, the following states are not pursuing autism insurance reform laws at this time:
  • Idaho

  • Mississippi

  • North Dakota

  • Oklahoma

  • South Dakota

  • Tennessee

  • Washington, DC

  • Wyoming


The fight for coverage of IBTs is ongoing, but it has been a successful one. If things continue as they have, it is only a matter of time before all states mandate that IBTs be covered by insurance.

Allison also writes about medical malpractice on her website, Medical Malpractice Lawyers.