Words matter. Ask any parent of a child with autism, or any professional or caregiver who works with a child with autism, and it's clear that gaining words, meaningful words, is the first goal of effective treatment.
Words matter. Ask any parent of a child with autism, or any professional or caregiver who works with a child with autism, and it's clear that gaining words, meaningful words, is the first goal of effective treatment.
By definition, children with autism have a deficit in language, either by not starting to talk at the expected age or by losing the words that he or she had once used. Words are essential to a child's learning, social interaction, and self-expression. Perhaps the most devastating characteristic of autism is the absence of meaningful words.
Words are why autism supporters are back at the Capitol this year: To encourage legislators to correct the wording that incorrectly included all autism-based treatment incurred by the child under the limit meant only for the evidence-based treatment known as applied behavior analysis. After the unanimous votes of approval from both chambers, after the bill was signed and celebrated and the final copy arrived in final form, it was immediately clear to supporters, who walked last year's bill through every step of committee debate and approval, that critical words had been altered.
When, how, or why that happened, honest mistake or not, the promise of the bill was also altered. The specified limit of $30,000 to cover applied behavior analysis treatment would now have to stretch to cover all treatment services: speech, occupational, and physical therapies, prescription drugs, and so on. The cap of $30,000, which was already the smallest cap approved so far by any state Legislature for the critical treatment that usually averages $50,000 a year, now was the limit for every treatment prescribed for the child.
Insurance lobbyists have come forward to claim that the change in the final legislation was not in error, that it was always the intent of the bill to include ALL autism treatment under a $30,000 cap. However, the fiscal note summary prepared by these same lobbyists last year states differently, reading "The original legislation has been amended to cover applied behavior analysis in an amount not to exceed $30,000 per individual for three consecutive years, then in an amount not to exceed $2,000 a month."
Once again, parents and supporters have returned to the Capitol to provide lawmakers with a copy of that fiscal note and an explanation of the importance of meaningful words. Thankfully, many of the legislators were as puzzled as we were with the last-minute change in the wording of the law and have agreed to support a cleanup measure. The House Judiciary Committee passed the corrected bill out of committee earlier this session, and last week, the House Finance Committee successfully moved it on to the House floor for approval. By next week, the Senate will have a chance to correct the error and then families can get on with the business of helping their children.
Autism supporters left Charleston last year with the assurance that young children with autism finally had a fighting chance, an opportunity to access the evidence-based treatment that had previously been denied by insurance companies. This year, we are back for legislation we were promised.
Poe is a licensed psychologist and an associate professor of child development in the Pediatrics Department of the WVU School of Medicine.
Words matter. Ask any parent of a child with autism, or any professional or caregiver who works with a child with autism, and it's clear that gaining words, meaningful words, is the first goal of effective treatment.
By definition, children with autism have a deficit in language, either by not starting to talk at the expected age or by losing the words that he or she had once used. Words are essential to a child's learning, social interaction, and self-expression. Perhaps the most devastating characteristic of autism is the absence of meaningful words.
Words are why autism supporters are back at the Capitol this year: To encourage legislators to correct the wording that incorrectly included all autism-based treatment incurred by the child under the limit meant only for the evidence-based treatment known as applied behavior analysis. After the unanimous votes of approval from both chambers, after the bill was signed and celebrated and the final copy arrived in final form, it was immediately clear to supporters, who walked last year's bill through every step of committee debate and approval, that critical words had been altered.
When, how, or why that happened, honest mistake or not, the promise of the bill was also altered. The specified limit of $30,000 to cover applied behavior analysis treatment would now have to stretch to cover all treatment services: speech, occupational, and physical therapies, prescription drugs, and so on. The cap of $30,000, which was already the smallest cap approved so far by any state Legislature for the critical treatment that usually averages $50,000 a year, now was the limit for every treatment prescribed for the child.
Insurance lobbyists have come forward to claim that the change in the final legislation was not in error, that it was always the intent of the bill to include ALL autism treatment under a $30,000 cap. However, the fiscal note summary prepared by these same lobbyists last year states differently, reading "The original legislation has been amended to cover applied behavior analysis in an amount not to exceed $30,000 per individual for three consecutive years, then in an amount not to exceed $2,000 a month."
Once again, parents and supporters have returned to the Capitol to provide lawmakers with a copy of that fiscal note and an explanation of the importance of meaningful words. Thankfully, many of the legislators were as puzzled as we were with the last-minute change in the wording of the law and have agreed to support a cleanup measure. The House Judiciary Committee passed the corrected bill out of committee earlier this session, and last week, the House Finance Committee successfully moved it on to the House floor for approval. By next week, the Senate will have a chance to correct the error and then families can get on with the business of helping their children.
Autism supporters left Charleston last year with the assurance that young children with autism finally had a fighting chance, an opportunity to access the evidence-based treatment that had previously been denied by insurance companies. This year, we are back for legislation we were promised.
Poe is a licensed psychologist and an associate professor of child development in the Pediatrics Department of the WVU School of Medicine.
