Thousands await Waiver in Virginia

Preston Philip Leech is a lucky man in many ways.

Gwen Leech and her son Preston
at their Beaverdam home.

Although he is among the 25 percent of autistic people who are nonverbal, and he cannot be left alone, Preston’s mother, Gwen Leech, quit her job as an executive in corporate banking to take care of him when he was young.
Preston has been able to live at home in a nurturing, comfortable environment rather than in an institution for people with disabilities.But Gwen knows that one day, she and Preston’s father will die.