Popular Autism Therapy Closer to Insurance Coverage

SEATTLE -- Two recent events come as good news for parents of children with autism — some of whom have struggled to pay for an expensive therapy not now covered by state-funded insurance plans.

In a case involving three children with autism-spectrum disorders, a judge has ruled that state coverage plans can't impose a blanket exclusion on the therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).

And a state panel has voted to cover — with qualifications — the two most promising types of ABA therapy. The panel decides what treatments the state should cover for state employees, injured workers and people on Medicaid

D.C. Group Home Operator Focus of Probe

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When health inspectors showed up at a group home in Northeast Washington in August, they found one problem after another.
A mandatory evacuation drill hadn't been held. Staff members weren't receiving adequate training. And some of the residents' wheelchairs weren't in proper working order.
The D.C. Department on Disability Services was notified, and Careco, the contractor that operated the home, agreed to fix the problems.
More than three months later, a 71-year-old resident died after falling out of his wheelchair. The man, who had been waiting more than two years for a specialized wheelchair, was still waiting Nov. 24 when he fell as he was being loaded into a van.
Not only had the wheelchair been unsuitable for him, but the seat belt had also malfunctioned, and the man was not properly secured when he was being lifted into the van, according to documents and officials.
Last month, the District closed the 57th Street group home.