Parents want reps to pass Dylan's Law

We received eight separate emails from parents with autistic children urging House representatives to say "YES" to HB 2727 HD2, also known as "Dylan's Law", in our Outlook email box today. The emails were sent to all House permanent staff members. We're assuming that they also sent support letters to the representative's themselves, the people who will be voting on this measure tomorrow in third reading before being passed over to the Senate.

The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Tommy Waters, would make applied behavior analysis for autistic children covered under medical insurance. Currently parents must seek out treatment on their own and usually have to pay the full medical bill.

Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York and Tennessee already have laws that mandate autism insurance coverage.

In California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Virginia, laws require insurers to cover autism like any other mental illness.

Here is what they had to say:

PLEASE VOTE YES TO DYLANS LAW HB2727 [sic]I AM A GRANDPARENT OF AN AUTISTIC CHILD AND WE DESPRATLY [sic] NEED HELP..THANK YOU.

Dear Representatives,
As a parent of a child with autism, I am urging you to please vote yes to Dylan's Law HB272. It will change the lives of many here in Hawaii affected with autism!
Sincerely,
Kainoa's Mom

Dear all honorable :

I am mother of a three years old son [sic] with autism. He's been around in this world for only 40 months and it is too early to give up on his life. This bill will open up the door to different interventions that we are currently unable to afford. Your support means the world to my little boy Tyler. Please help us and other parents like us reach every autistic child to their full potential. With your help, we believe they'll learn to speak and one day they will come and say thank you to you in person.

Please vote YES for HB2727!

Dear Representatives:

As a mother of a child with autism, I STRONGLY URGE you to vote "YES" for HB2727. We and other families in our situation really need the help of health insurance companies. We are in a lot of debt because of treatments and therapies for our son. PLEASE HELP US!

Thank you very much for your time.

Aloha Mai,
I strongly support HB2727 and ask that you please vote YES for this very important bill regarding health insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorers.
Mahalo

House Representatives,
Please vote yes that you will give all children with Autism a fighting chance to recover or progress to becoming independent productive tax payer instead of a ward of the state, and dependent on managed care.

Children with Autism do not outgrow this disorder nor do they get better without therapy. Without therapy they often times will get worse, can become violent, and become unmanageable. If you wait until then it will be to late. Any intervention from this point will be managed care.

The insurance companies believe that Autism is an emotional and behavioral problem. This is old outdated information, and no longer true.

No matter how much psychotherapy is devoted to an Autistic person, they will not improve.

Autism is a neurobiological disorder. They have the capacity to learn and function like us. However, their brain structures are wired differently from neurotypical brains.

When you turn the switch to a neurotypical brain on, the lights automatically turn on one by one, and begin to operate like a well oiled machine without any assistance.

When you turn the switch to an Autistic brain on, some of the lights go on, but not all, and the machine does not operate smoothly. As a result, WE have to go in and manually turn the lights on one by one and make sure they stay on. Once the machine is operating smoothly. We can then walk away.

Please say Yes to Dylan's Law. Please give children with Autism a chance to either recover or progress on to independence.