article: speech therapy bill clears House

[tmorin]

"Speech therapy bill easily clears House" dated 12 May 2007 by David
Steves from The Register-Guard at
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/05/12/d1.cr.autism.0512.p1.php?sectio
n=cityregion.

"Rep. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, literally put a face to the issue of autism
in the Oregon House of Representatives on Friday. He did it by holding
overhead an 8-by-11 photograph of his 5-year-old son. Simon Edwards is one
of the thousands of children with the disorder in a state that has more such
diagnoses per capita than any other. Before the House voted 53-0 to require
health insurance to extend its coverage of speech therapy and other
treatments to children with autism, mental retardation and other
developmental disabilities, Edwards was among the legislators to speak on
the bill. "This guy, my son Simon, has autism," Edwards said while holding
up his son's picture for the other representatives and guests in the House
chamber to see. Top of Form 1
Bottom of Form 1
Edwards is one of thousands of parents who could potentially benefit from
House Bill 2918 if it becomes law. The bill now goes to the Senate for
consideration. The bill is intended to help families get medical insurance
coverage for the therapies that would benefit children with autism, mental
retardation and other "pervasive developmental disorders." The bill does so
by prohibiting insurers from denying benefits to an enrollee who has been
diagnosed with such a disorder. Edwards said the bill was necessary because
many insurance policies cover occupational and speech therapy and other
treatments for people with a brain injury, for example, but not those with
autism. Edwards said his family had personally run into the kind of
problems the bill is meant to address. His insurance paid only for 30
minutes of speech therapy a week for Simon, which Edwards said wasn't
enough. He and his wife looked into paying out of pocket for additional
therapy sessions. "I can't remember the cost, except that we couldn't afford
it," he said. Edwards said the bill was meant to aid thousands of families
whose children are part of a rapidly expanding population of young people
diagnosed with autism, yet are struggling to secure the kind of response
that past epidemics, such as polio, prompted from the medical system and the
government. According to the Oregon Department of Education, among people
between the ages of 5 and 21, Lane County has 673 residents with autism.
Based on those and comparable figures for other counties, Tim Mueller, an
autism-awareness advocate, did some calculations to conclude that Lane
County's school-aged population included one person with autism for every 91
people. That was the second highest ratio among every county. Marion County
had the highest ratio, 1-to-75, said Mueller, who is with the Lane County
chapter of the Autism Society of Oregon."
_________________
Tricia Morin
Military, VA