Lawmakers in AL Unanimously Approve Autism Coverage Mandate

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The mandate would require insurance plans at businesses with at least 51 employees to cover autism treatment, including applied behavioral analysis therapy, which focuses on improving speech, behavioral and social skills.

Parents of children on the autism spectrum have been fighting for insurance coverage of ABA therapy and say it can be life-changing but at $100-per-hour it's out of many families' financial reach. Insurance companies and business groups have raised concerns about costs.

The Senate, by a 19-13 vote, added an amendment Wednesday to specify that insurers do not have to provide the coverage to adults.

I abused children for a living. It didn’t look like abuse. It didn’t feel like abuse (at least not to me) but it was definitely abuse. I see that now. Back then, I actually thought I was helping those kids. In fact, it was and still is considered ‘therapy.’ And not just any therapy- the most sought-after autism therapy, often the ONLY therapy insurance will cover. To this day it’s lauded as the only “evidence-based treatment” for autism.

You see, I was an ABA therapist. My official title was ‘Behavior Technician’ which in itself is really telling.

We learned things like ‘planned ignoring’- how to ignore a distressed child until they comply with your demands, how to ‘properly’ restrain a 2-6 year old child, how to not show empathy when a child has a meltdown- that would only reinforce the behavior and we can’t have that, how to ‘desensitize’ a child to painful or uncomfortable sensory experiences (hint; they aren’t actually desensitized, just forced to endure it until they successfully and consistently don’t react), how to change the environment- not to make it more accessible, but to make it more conducive to compliance (ex; feed the child salty chips so that she’ll drink more water so that she’ll use the potty chair at the designated time.)

Sensory overload? Executive function or sensory-motor difficulties? Exhausted from 40 hours of child labor? Different style of communication work better for you? Upset about being treated like a circus animal? Not my problem, kiddo. I’m here to lure you with candy and manipulate you into doing my bidding, no questions asked.

During the 3+ years that I worked there, different things would come up. “Why does he have to have quiet hands? He’s not hurting anyone.” “Why can’t we just find out what’s bothering him & help him find a solution?” “Why do we need to track that he knows 1000 words when he obviously knows way more than that?” Every time I would question their methods or their reasoning, my questions would be answered with some variation of, “This is the only evidence-based treatment for autism. It’s the only way they can learn.”

Timmy is being taught that his body is not his own. Timmy is learning that he has to ‘earn’ access to his own belongings. Then when the therapist leaves, his favorite things are stored away until the next session. I don’t doubt that Timmy is having fun in the moment. The kids I worked with often seemed to be having fun. But the thing is, a lot of this abuse takes place on a subconscious level. The child might not even realize he’s being abused because he’s distracted by candy, or balloons. But there is a power imbalance. And little Timmy’s brain is picking up on all of this and filing it away.

Some of the things getting filed…
-People with more power than me can force me to do whatever they want
-Nobody, not even my parents will come to my defense
-Other people are in charge of my body
-I’m not allowed to say no, or protest
-It’s OK for people to physically move me if I’m not doing what they want me to do
-If I am having a hard time, adults will ignore me instead of helping me; they don’t care
-My parents must hate me too because they won’t even give me a break (a big deal is made in ABA about ‘consistency’ and making the parents and everyone the child is around use ABA on them in the off hours too)
-I am the sum of my behaviors, I have no inherent value

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-strength-focused-approach-to-autism-2017042011607

The Behavior Technician stuff seems ill informed at it's root and is really horrifying in how it plays out.

However, I remain hopeful that the basic ideas regarding treatment for autism will change from working against autistics to working with them, and therefore I regard this measure as a good thing. Already, the scholars and the people involved in diagnosing and treating autism are starting to see that it is best for all concerned when they work with rather than against autistic children and adults.

Ex:
A strengths-based approach to autism

I'm 34 and it's been a long time since I used any sort of service. It's been a long time since I even told anyone girl that I am autistic. The friends I have with autism are in similar boats. So I can only go by what I see here and what I see online.

I don't remember being subjected to any of the de-sensitization stuff in school or being ignored when I was upset. Maybe it was because of my social class, maybe it was because I was a girl, or maybe it was some other reason I can't think of. I did get information and instruction on making friends and reading the non-verbal cues of others and such.

I base my expectations of the present and future on the past. Specifically, my own past. I recognize this is limited, but it's the information I have. I also base it on my friends, and what I see in the media, and what I see on here. I recognize that is still limited. But again, that is the information I have.