SC Loses Medicaid Funding for Autistic Children
On December 31, 2006 South Carolina will loose $1.4 million in federal Medicaid funding used to teach autistic children. The loss of Medicaid funding will mean that school districts will have to find other ways of paying for expensive Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy.
ABA therapy is a research based therapy that has proved to be very effective in treating children with autism. The earlier the intervention the better the results. Studies have shown that half of the children who receive ABA therapy to treat an Autism Spectrum Disorder become socially and academically indistinguishable form their peers, and all children receiving ABA therapy make some progress.
While critical to an autistic child's education, this therapy doesn't come cheap. Up to now school districts have relied on Medicaid funding to help pay for these services. With the evaporation of that funding there are some huge questions as to how schools will find the money to provide these children with what they need.
And if the school districts don't find the money, what then? Will the parents of autistic children find that they are being asked to sign new IEPs at the end of the school year---IEPs that don't include ABA therapy?
For more read the letter from Cheryl Bauerle.
