Parent's perspective on diagnosis of Autism, an Autism Spectrum Disorder
 
 

CREATIVE FUNDING FOR ABA INTERVENTIONS

By Carolyn Cordes

 

I have a son, Connor, who turned 3 in October 2003, and we finally got the diagnosis of Autism in that same month. I believe Applied Behavior Analysis is the best therapy for my child, but funding it is a big issue. I wanted to share some innovative ideas for finding funding for an in-home ABA program. I hope you find an idea here that will help you get the help you need for your child.

 

health insurance

First, try your insurance company. Read your plan carefully and call to talk to a representative to find out if a program like this has ever been covered. If you're not satisfied with the answer you receive, you do have rights to appeal their decision. You'll have to research the laws in your state to find out what they are required to pay for. Unfortunately, our insurance is self-funded, which means they aren't subject to most of the laws in our state designed to oversee HMO's and PPO's. Our insurance company has told me that this type of therapy would probably be covered under mental health, which only provides for 30 visits to a clinic per year under our plan. We are hoping this will help pay for visits to a clinic to get an evaluation, training, and guidance from a certified behavior therapist.

 

universities

If you live near a university or community college, try to recruit students who are majoring in special education or elementary education to act as the day-to-day "therapists." Talk to the professors to see if you can get them to include it as extra credit if the students volunteered for your program. Post flyers on the campus that say something general like "Looking for volunteers to work with 3 year old child with Autism in an in-home ABA program." Try to put them in the buildings where these students would have most of their classes.

 

We're currently trying to recruit students from a program called the "Low Incidence Program." This program is designed to teach them how to work with children with disabilities that are relatively uncommon, Autism being one of those disabilities. Many of these students will already have training in ABA so they may be able to start right away without extensive training. They will need training in the future, but it would get you started. And even if they don't volunteer to work for free, they won't charge as much as a certified therapist or clinic.

 

check out available services and sources of funding

I live in Texas, and here we have a state agency called "Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR)." They had a program called "In Home Family Support," which gave some families a grant to start up their home program. I have heard recently that this program has been cut, so if you live in Texas, this may no longer be an option. If you live in another state, research everything you can about state agencies that provide services to people with disabilities. You can save yourself a little time by contacting other parents or your local ARC. Find your local chapter at http://www.thearc.org. They are an organization that does advocacy work for people with intellectual disability and other developmental disabilities. They may be able to point you in the right direction for finding funding through state agencies.

 

fund raising ventures

I recently talked with the director of a group here called the Family Support Network, and she gave me some really good ideas on how to get funding. If you can't find anyone who will volunteer for free, you may want to try raising funds to pay him or her through local civic clubs. We are working on writing letters to the area Rotary Club, Lions Club, Elks Lodge, etc. Try anyone in your area who does charity work. If you can, get a letter from your child's pediatrician, any other specialists they may have seen, the Autism specialist (in-home trainer), and anyone else you can think of. Get them to write a letter stating their support for this program for your child. If they've never heard of it (my pediatrician wasn't entirely sure what it was), give them the information they need. If you have a local F.E.A.T. (Families for Early Autism Treatment) group, they can help you with getting the information. They may also be able to point you to where people have gotten funding before. The main webpage for FEAT is http://www.feat.org. They have links to all the FEAT groups around the US and Canada.

 

charities

If you need money, it is out there. It's a matter of presenting the evidence and appealing to those people in your community who participate in charity on a regular basis. You probably won't get all the money from one place, but if one club sends you a check for $500 and another for $1000, you'll be on your way. We're also looking into getting several families together and organizing a fun run or "bike for Autism" event. I've been told it's not that hard to start up your own non-profit organization. If you can get in touch with the other families in your school district who have children with Autism, you could try and all get together and organize an event.

 

Story supplied by Gary J. Heffner, creator of The Autism Home Page at MSN Groups.

 

Click to shut this Autism personal experience of diagnosis and intervention

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Click here to read the fact sheet about creating low cost early interventions for your child
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Visit http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/environmental.msnw which is the autism home page of Gary Heffner, the author of this article. This personal story remains under his copyright and is used with his permission. You are encouraged to visit his site as it is one of the few autism websites offering free comprehensive information.

   
   
Tips from a parent about money, finances, and paying for autism interventions.