Autism
Autism is a disorder that effects the brain’s normal development of certain skills such as social and communication skills. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that autism and related disorders are more common in people than they previously thought, still many insurance companies don’t cover treatments that can help a child living with this disorder. Some companies claim that autism is “strictly an educational issue and that it is not a medical problem.” This is an issue that the Bilson’s family was faced with. I found an article on CNN.com that captures what a family dealing with autism has to deal with. Marissa Bilson, who is thirteen, has autism. Her disorder effected her in such a way that her family couldn’t even go out in public for fear of her making a scene or getting in trouble for an act such as shoplifting. Fortunately, a five-day intervention was provided for Melissa and she has seen a drastic improvement. Unfortunately, not all people with autism can benefit from this intervention because this type of treatment typically costs about $20,000 a week. Like I said earlier, many insurance companies won’t cover the cost. The only reason this family didn’t have to pay Autism Partnerships for their services was because CNN videotaped the entire process so they waved the fee. I feel that it is so sad that this kind of intervention can’t help more people. It isn’t like they are spending the money on medicine to help the person; they are just going to the home and implementing rules to help the person live a better life. It is horrible that insurance companies won’t cover the cost, because it benefits everyone in the family, not just the person with autism. The article says that the biggest benefit from the intervention was that the family is now able to go out together in public again. Every family should have the ability to enjoy this simple activity!
The link to the article from CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/04/autism.resolution/index.html
February 4th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Your blog was very informative. It was interesting to see how families deal with such situations. It’s amazing and sad to see to what extent it takes to help children with disabilities out!!