Story Created: Mar 28, 2012 at 9:04 AM AKDT
Story Updated: Mar 28, 2012 at 9:04 AM AKDT
ANCHORAGE - Of the many bills being considered in the Alaska legislature right now, one stands out for parents of children with autism. Senate Bill 74 would mandate private insurance companies pay for treatment. The bill has the support of many agencies that work with children with special needs and plenty of parents. In Alaska nearly one out of every 100 children born will have the brain-based disorder.
Bree Ann Davis has a son with autism. Steven is six years old now. She said he developed normally up till about 18 months old, when everything changed.
It was like a light switch, said Davis. He wasnt the same child. He stopped talking, stopped interacting. He basically cried all night and day and we didnt know what was wrong.
By age two hed been diagnosed with autism. The family said its been a rough road ever since. The disorder makes Stevens behavior extremely unpredictable. He is overwhelmed by change and new experiences. Oftentimes his frustration results in violent or antisocial behavior. Biting and hitting have gotten him suspended from kindergarten more than a dozen times.
For a mom thats hard to watch. Davis said her son can be a loving little boy one moment then melt down in frustration the next. She and her family have worked hard to help Steven including securing a Medicaid waiver that makes him eligible for many services. But she said, so far, nothing has worked.
All I know is that we have exhausted every resource we have to help him and none of its working. And it's hard for me to know that there is a treatment out there that is proven to work that we can't get to.
Davis is convinced a type of therapy not covered by her insurance could make a big difference for her son. Its called ABA therapy. That stands for applied behavior analysis.
We work on finding out what is the function of that behavior and that's where we start, said ABA therapist Rebecca Edge. Why do we think that they are doing this? Then we try and tackle it from that angle.
Read more:
Bill in Legislature Would Mandate Insurance Pay for Autism Treatment