Why do autistic children get special education priveledges while children with Down's Syndrome do not? It is because there is not a powerful lobby behind Down's Syndrome.

I hope that Lovaas therapy doest turn into stay-at-home moms making 50,000 a year because they get a "certification." I believe that lovaas therapy should be known as "good parenting."

I want proper and responsible treatment for all disorders/diseases/syndromes, but that does not mean that certain disorders get precedence because they have political support. Taking insurance dollars for these services will raise premiums on the targeted buisnesses unlucky enought to be out of the unions/chamber/government system.

I have a nephew born with Russell-Silver Syndrome which is a genetic condition that affects chromosome 11 P:15...He does not qualify for special treatment and his medical bills are now totalling over 650,000 dollars...WHERE IS MY LOBBY??? There is not one because it is not as common...equali

Part 3: paying for services for a disabled child and ignoring the needs of a typical child; having families fall apart over the stress of having a member with autism; visiting deceased relatives who had autism and were buried in the back of a mental institution without a marker). So, pay now, or pay later. Insurance makes sense.
WH

Part 2: with, and without autism) will be better off when the *schools* are relieved of some of the expense. So who must pay? Insurance makes the most sense at this time. It spreads the cost among all of us who must pay for *all* disorders and diseases. Not just *our* disorders and diseases, but our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and complete stranger's. Paying for autism is a dilemma. Paying for *someone else's* problem is always a dilemma. So we resort to doing the *right* thing. Resorting to *ignoring* autism and expecting it to go away has already cost our schools, families with autism, adults with autism, and our predecessors with autism a lot of pain and suffering (for example, placing a child in a residence as a last resort;

Part 1: As parents with children who have autism we (those of us who have commented here) are all too well aware of the consequences of autism for families. We worry most about our low functioning loved ones, especially after we're gone. Will he suffer? Will she be raped? Will she have good help? Will he be able to tell someone when he is abused? What people who don't live with autism must understand is that people with autism live well into adulthood. *Someone* must care for them. Many families place their severely affected children in a residence long before adulthood. Someone pays for that - nothing is free. Right now the bill is paid with a mix of school money and some government funding (that's being cut as we speak). ALL of our children

As a parent of an autistic child, I want anything and everything that can be done to be done. But I am also acutely aware that this is not the entire story; ABA may help when children begin at a very early age. After that it is unclear. There is a significant cost for a service of limited benefit. What is not covered in order to assure my son gets ABA? Money - from the state (obviously) or insurers is not a bottomless well. Who do we ask to pay, and with what assurance the money is well spent? Ask a small business owner about new mandates, and the impact on her viability to remain in business.

Vote yes! My son is autistic and without these services or the ability to provide these services ,cause of money issues is unexceptiable, especially for families that have nothing. I am very thankful i have had these services for my son he is a diffrent kid, he has learned so much because of these services, we have no room for regresion and we need to have sevices!
Concernd in Mass.
Mother of 3 year old Autistic son!

I agree 100% with Wilhelmina. My son is on the autism spectrum and I have to fight with the school to get him more services. I can't afford a lawyer, so my son misses out. I honestly don't know how these school officials sleep at night, when it seems their job is to deny services at all costs.

What I don't understand - 1 in 5 children are on the spectrum - why isn't anyone thinking ahead to when these children are adults and 1 in 5 cannot function properly in society because they did not receive the assistance necessary as children?!

Thank goodness there are legislators trying to look out for the truly disadvantaged (children on Autism spectrum). Like another who posted on 2/1, we have 2 children on the spectrum. We have done everything we can, and that the school district (Hopkinton) and health insurance company (BCBS) won't; pay for research-based therapies and services.

The bottom line in today's world is that health insurance is relatively useless to those who need services for Autism Spectrum. And, districts know the odds are in thier favor to ration justified supports to the child; as parents will ultimately lose the will to challenge them as legal/expert fees become better spent on the actually services (not the legal battle). This is a viscous loop that leaves parents shouldering a vast majority of the financial and therpeutic burden.

I am a proud father of a child with autism. I see all these people (that have the money) that say autism is treatable...One thing that those people need to understand. Is that there are differant spectrums of autism and not all is treatable. My son has moderate to severe and to be honest I couldnt be any prouder to be a parent, but i dont have the money for these so called treatments that "could" treat my son and anyother child with Autism and its many spectrum...Our tax dollars can go to meaningless things. But I feel the government(not just massachusetts but all othe 49 states) should play a better role into what could be...cause reguardless our kids are the future just like the kids that dont have Autism. I am greatful for Ft Meadows (school in Westfield) and my sons teachers that have the patients as much as they do with him. They need all the help that they can get.
Edwin Reyes
Proud father of a beautiful autistic boy

Yes, this is a good thing, I know families that have dished out there savings to place there children in the right school setting and summer programs. This is a serious handicap for these children, and it has been known to have great results for these children providing they have the right resources to accomodate there needs. So I commend on such a bill to be passed and keep offering for the needy that reside here in Mass and the United States,
Concerned for my friends children
Kelly

I'm sure there are downsides in the nearterm, but this has to be a good thing in the future. To get services for our children with autism in MA three things are necessary today: 1) Money, and lots of it 2) a lawyer, a really really strong one, and 3) a neuropsychologist, one the school will agree with. This is wrong - ethically and morally. This is Massachusetts, where the laws for people with disabilities are stronger than anywhere in the world. Where getting a great public education IS a possibility. Yet attaining services for our loved ones with autism requires the almighty dollar... shameful. Thanks to all of you who've worked so hard to get here... Please keep the insurers honest. All the best to the teachers of our people with autism who have the power to make their lives change.
Wilhelmina Howell
Mother of 2 kids on the autism spectrum