INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Father of three Dwayne Moment said he and his wife started the emotional process of trial and error when their twin sons were just a few months old.
My wife noticed things that were definitely not happening, motor skills, trying to talk, Moment said.
After a diagnosis of autism, which now affects an estimated one in 50 school-age children, Moment and his wife started looking for treatment options. One of the therapies they wanted to try is called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
For example, if youre trying to help a child say the word cookie you would reinforce their behavior of saying the cuh sound and then go from there to use their full language skills to then say that word. Its about breaking everything down into small pieces, said Kristen Dovenmuehle, director of ABA at Damar Services in Indianapolis.
ABA is one of the most successful therapies for autism. Some families have even said they no longer see the behaviors associated with autism in their children after ABA therapy. But until recently, ABA was expensive and most insurance companies didnt cover it.
Growing evidence of the success of ABA combined with the prevalence of children diagnosed with autism, has led more and more private insurers to cover the cost of therapy.
There has been some expansion in coverage through types of insurance. A lot of it is about creativity and knowing those systems, finding an ABA provider that understands some of the nuances of different insurances so they can maximize the benefits and make sure theyre covering as much as possible for children with autism, said Dovenmuehle.
Moment said during his familys fight to find a way to pay for ABA he and his wife met with other parents of children with autism who were going through the same difficulties.
You understand how frustrating it becomes to try to get the services that your child needs, but then battle with the insurance companies, said Moment.
That idea of coming together to find solutions is the concept behind a local mothers new project. Autism Companion magazine comes out in September.
Read more from the original source:
More resources available for children with autism, families