Autism Rally...a family affair

What a night, what a turnout. Last night was the Candlelight Vigil at the Capitol in support of new legislation that will mandate that insurance companies cover children that are diagnosed with Autism or other spectrum disorders. Currently, there is NO law that protects our children when they are diagnosed with autism...that means that when they hit the age of 3, that parents of these children would have to pay out of pocket for much needed therapies should their insurance company not have a clause that covers them.

So, we arrived right at 6, and I was concerned that there would not be a very good amount of people, but by the time that we unloaded and got ready to walk over, the flood of people was really amazing. We put our blankets down right up front and sat together as a family. It was wonderful to see the united effort of mothers and fathers, legislators, caregivers, health care providers alike all together for an important cause. It was a grassroots effort for autism activism and we fit perfectly. There were children of all ages, all with varying levels of severity along the spectrum. Tristan was happy...I was afraid that he would be overwhelmed by the sounds, but he soaked them up...he danced by the speakers (within a safe enough distance so as not to hurt his little ears of course) we watched while he swayed back and forth to "One Love" by Bob Marley...how fitting a song to play..."One love, one heart, lets get together and feel alright"....I felt a sense of unity that I hoped for. There was no judgement...even when he was stimming, arching his back to see the candlelights, to see the palm trees as they were lit at night..but I look to my left, and right there on the lawn was a little boy doing the same thing..his mother shared a smile with me as if to say "Yeah, us too."

The speakers were amazing. There was a mother who talked about her son (now 16) who was so fargone by the time he received his diagnosis (at 4) that they emptied their entire life savings to get him the much needed treatments that helped him so well. His insurance company would NOT cover him...he was excluded just on the basis that he was afflicted with a disorder that 1 in every 150 children are now diagnosed with every day. This epidemic is growing at such a fast rate, (In 1994, 1 in 2,500 children were affected by autism ⿿ In 1999, the stats were 1 in 500 ⿿ In 2005, the numbers have risen to 1 in 166 children) and the fact that insurance companies are not recognizing or addressing this is paralyzing. The positive note, her son was standing next to her as she talked about his accomplishments, tears came to her eyes as she discussed his road to RECOVERY and that he now is a 3rd degree blackbelt in karate, holds down 2 part-time jobs, drives, and does well in school. It was great to see and to show the world that with treatment, these children...MY CHILD, can lead normal and productive lives...but, we need the help of insurance companies to get them what they desperately need.

I feel so hopeful about this movement. There were House Speaker's there and with them they carried letters from Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton supporting the legistation. The bill is called "Steven's Law", support this bill (http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SB1263) contact your legistators and tell them how important it is...that health insurance is not a priveledge, it is a RIGHT, and our children are no different from anyone else.

For more information visit http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer http://www.azleg.gov/ http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer