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Good News! Our Action on CA Kids and Autism

June 5, 2013
Ashley Boyd's picture
Ashley Boyd
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I’ve got great news. After thousands of California parents called on the California legislature to protect effective services for children with autism a few weeks ago, our legislators took action!

The latest budget proposal coming from the California Senate includes $50 million to ensure that children enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal system will have access to critical Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy. This type of therapy has been shown to significantly improve socialization and learning in children with autism spectrum disorders. Hundreds of children and their families lost access to ABA therapy after the state transferred their health coverage from the Healthy Families Program over to Medi-Cal beginning in January.

Now we need to make sure the Senate’s “fix” to this problem is included in the final budget proposal and signed by the Governor.

We've got an easy, fun way to keep up the pressure - by contacting legislators via Twitter. If you have a Twitter profile, just click below to send this tweet:
tweet
Our state legislators - and the media that cover them - watch twitter to see what constituents care about.  When a number of tweets are posted with the same message, they can get an issue noticed in a big way. So your tweets can help children with autism get their access to ABA services restored.
Here's why your help is needed now.
Starting in January of this year – despite an outcry of concern by autism advocates, children’s health advocates and legislators – California officials began to move all children covered by Healthy Families over to the Medi-Cal program.  Before the transfer began, parents received letters from the state assuring them that: “Your child will continue to have all of the same services during this move. Your child's coverage will not be interrupted.”

Now, however, we have learned that hundreds of California children receiving Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are being left without coverage for this critical therapy under Medi-Cal. This is so important because research has shown that ABA techniques can produce improvements in communication, social relationships, play, self-care, school and employment. These improvements are critical for giving children with autism the greatest chance of independence and success as they grow older. ABA can make the difference between leading a productive, engaged life and one of isolation and, therefore, can save money in the long run in reducing the need for special education services in school.

Click now to post this tweet in just a few seconds:

tweet

It is in the interest of all Californians to make sure children with autism and their parents have access to the most effective behavioral health services.

Join MomsRising and the amazing leadership of organizations that are helping families in California and leading the charge on this critical issue, the Autism Health Insurance Project and Autism Deserves Equal Coverage.

** Please share this email with friends and communities of parents in California so they can take action too! 

Thank you for your support of California’s children and families!

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.

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