Health | Oregon
OPB | Jan. 11, 2013 midnight | Updated: Jan. 11, 2013 7:05 a.m. | Portland, Oregon
Portland mom Anastasia Puha has her hands full. Not only does she have four little girls, but Mili, her four-year-old, is autistic. "(Her) speech didn't develop," she says. "Really sensitive to noise and light and texture and just pretty cranky, pretty cranky child."
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Anastasia Puha with four-year-old Mili
Puha says Mili has tantrums where she'll hit her head, scratch herself and bite.To reduce those tantrums, Mili has the relatively new treatment 'Applied Behavior Analysis' or ABA therapy.
"One of the biggest things that I think she learned from ABA is, we can go to the store," she said. "Or we can walk into therapy together, before she would run away or throw herself down and you couldn't really pick her back up. And so she'll walk with me and that's just amazing. Ha ha ha."
Applied Behavior Analysis is expensive - because it involves one-on-one attention. A 20-hour-a-week regimen can cost $50,000 a year.
Jennifer Kessel is Mili's ABA therapist. She's has a BA in psychology and is employed by 'Building Bridges' -- a Portland company that offers in-home, one-on-one services.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Originally posted here:
Parents Fight To Get New Autism Treatment Covered