BREAKING: ILLINOIS AUTISM INSURANCE BILL SIGNED

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The autism insurance bill in Illinois was just signed into law

Hmm... This could be used for good or evil. We'll just have to wait and see whether it pays for straitjacket ABA or practical stuff like speech/OT/social-skills/career training classes... Let's hope, at least, that the alternative-medicine quacks don't get a piece of that pie. I'd hate to see government money going for chelation or megavitamins or detoxifying foot stickers....

ahh, not for nuthin', but the coverage only lasts until person is 21, right? Jeez. I don't know what to say about that.

I guess the hope is that by the time they're 21, they'll have learned everything they could learn. Apparently, adults don't have brains.

Ya, I kinda got disappointed when I saw it was until you are only 21. I mean great for the kids out there and parents who can not afford treatment.

I stay away from therapy and have always had an aversion to it, but I think it is definitely cause I dont want to pay for it. Now if we are talking just a copay, could change my mind.

I've heard other people say, that the problem with Autism Spectrum support, is people like to pretend someone stops being Autistic or Aspie at age 18.

This law just mandates that children have to be covered under their parents policy - if they have one until they are 21.

Messygeek is exactly right. That is all the law is. If you youngsters could see your parents medical insurance policy most of them have rules like my insurance does that "developmental disabilities are not covered" and occupational and speech therapy is only covered for patients that are in an accident or have a stroke and get brain damage. For a long time they used this as a way to not covered autistic patients as its considered extremely expensive to provide these therapies and even with them most autistics do not go on to be self supporting adults thus its considered a waste of resources. The law may sound great but still parents may be stuck paying co-pays of 20-40% so not many folks can afford a lot of OT sessions at that cost.

dang, only 30 years earlier, and the wrong state...I could be there.
Sometimes i wish they'd had all this earlier.

You know what its not like we missed out on much. As an adult I was able to get OT and speech therapist services and it still hasn't turned me into an NT. Seriously, it hasn't helped. I think the only thing that helps is social training which I get from my psychologist.

Oh, so it doesn't help low-income families at all. That kind of sucks... your parents have to have health insurance for you to be covered under it, obviously.

But then, there are some who would argue, with psychology being in the state it's in today, that that's a good thing; because if you can't be treated, then you also can't be overmedicated or institutionalized.

so if you are gay and wish to marry, go to Massachuchetes, and if you need stem cell transplants go to California, and if you are autistic and wish to have your health insurance parity Autism with medical health, then you go to Illinois?

think of the demographics in 50 years!

Merle

Earlier intervention is more effective as there are less habits to break through and the personality is more malleable.