In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to sign a bill requiring insurance companies to cover autism diagnosis and treatment up to $36,000 a year until a patient turns 21, today’s Chicago Tribune reports. Sen. Dale Righter (R-Charleston) is arguing that “the measure would cause the number of people diagnosed with autism to grow, therefore increasing premiums for other policy holders”—-an assumption that people are going to get children diagnosed with autism specifically so they can qualify for treatment?

In Oklahoma, a bill to provide insurance coverage for autism diagnosis and treatment has also been introduced in the state Senate, KTEN notes. The bill is called “Nick’s Law“—Nick is 11 years old and has autism—last year, the measure did not get past a House committe.

After legislators in Oklahoma did not pass Nick’s Law (which called for insurance coverage for autism treatments) at least one family is leaving the state to get services for their autistic child in another part of the country. Doug and Caroline Hall are moving to Cincinnati for the sake of their 4 1/2 year old son, Dougie. According to the May 30th News OK, the state of Ohio provides up to $20,000 a year for either private school or autism treatment.

We’ve moved and moved in search of the right educational placement and services for Charlie. The biggest move was when we left St. Louis (where Charlie was born) to go back to New Jersey (where my husband is from and where there are a lot of well-established autism schools). While we’ve now found a school district that provides the right school and services for Charlie, we are most likely not done moving. New Jersey’s services for adults (such as housing) are not where they could be. Also, all of my family—including several cousins who are near Charlie in age—live in California and the possibility of us having to move out there when Charlie is an adult often crosses my thoughts.

Small wonder the three of us sometimes feel the most at home on the road in our car.

Those are the very words that Rep. Ron Peterson (R-Broken Arrow) used to refer to autistic children in a “puff piece” profile distributed by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), according to the May 28th OKC Business.com (the profile can also be read on Nick’s Law and Autism Legislation in Oklahoma). There’s a fight going on in Oklahoma about getting “Nick’s Law”—which would require health insurance policies cover diagnosis, treatment and therapy for autism spectrum disorders — passed. Peterson is quoted as “belittling” treatment for autistic children:

Peterson said in the profile that the treatment that would be covered by Nick’s Law is clinically unproven.

“The medical profession has stated there’s no reason to believe behavioral therapy is any more effective than anything else,” Peterson said. “The results are described as marginal in any case, and these individuals will be wards of the state in any case. So you’d have the cost without any benefit, as best we can see.”

[Senator Jay Paul] Gumm [who wrote Nick's Law] said he was shocked at the impudence of the statement. “With one paragraph, Rep. Peterson tells every parent of every autistic child that their child is not worth saving, not worth even trying to save,” he said. “I cannot imagine anyone taking so cavalier attitude toward life; it truly is fear-provoking.”

Not everyone agrees about the effectiveness of behavior therapy for autistic children. It is the case that behavior therapy in the form of ABA (applied behavior analysis) has been very helpful for my son; we’ve been able to provide him with it with a lot of help from relatives, but that’s not possible for everyone. And certainly saying that autistic children will end up as “wards of the state in any case”—no matter what one does—-is to write autistic children off as hopeless cases. (And here’s a reference to autistic children as “all messed up“—-so much misunderstanding about autism no matter where you look.)

Elsewhere: In Louisiana, a bill for autism insurance passed the House and moves onto the Senate, according to WAFB; more details at Louisiana Medical News.

The Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill requiring insurance companies to cover autism, but the bill still has to pass the state’s Assembly. And in Oklahoma, families with autistic children are calling on the state Senate to pass “Nick’s Law, which would require health insurance policies cover diagnosis, treatment and therapy for autism spectrum disorders.

Here in my own state of New Jersey, the state Assembly’s Health and Senior Services Committee has released six new autism bills on Monday; last September, New Jersey Governor Jon seph S. Corzine signed a package of seven bills relating to autism; go here for details about the bills. The new “second phase” of autism bills calls for: insurance coverage for treatments (applied behavior analysis or ABA); creation of a new office to handle autism-related issues in the Department of the Public advocate to pair families with services and also of a one-stop shop autism Web site to make it easier for families in-need of assistance; creation of a special identification card in the case of emergencies for autistic residents; supporting choice in housing by supporting autistic adults who have aged out of the juvenile system living independently with assistance; and calls for the creation of new peer-programs to partner students and autistic classmates to foster social interaction among all students in middle and high school. But will these new measures take away funding and supports from others with developmental disabilities, asks the assistant executive director of the Arc of New Jersey in the Courier Post Online?

Not too many people are trying to get on ABC’s Supernanny tv show, notes the February 10th News OK (Oklahoma). “The parents featured on the show have seen their families spiral so far out of order that they’re willing to try anything to regain control of their children,” it is noted—–one of the mothers currently seeking to appear on the show is Sammi Williams. She’s a single mother working her way through nursing school and has three sons, Dalton, 11, Jesse, 7, and Garrett, 5, two of whom have “severe autism.”

She said it’s not uncommon for her to be reduced to tears in the grocery store or have mealtimes completely waylaid by outbursts.

Williams’ extended family wants to plan a ski trip, but she said that won’t be possible until she gets her children’s behavior under control.

She thinks that Supernanny Jo Frost can help her.

A family with a three-year-old autistic child, the Minyons, appeared on Supernanny back in 2005. Psychologist Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D—the co-founder of Autism Research Center at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara –appeared on the show. Bonnie Sayers at BellaOnline posted about the show and added this comment:

I read an article in the October issue of L.A.Parent, The Parent Trap: How Living in L.A. Can Feed Parental Anxieties. Dr. Catherine Selden, a clinical and forensic psychologist and consultant to ABC’s Supernanny was quoted, “The show highlights the most extreme cases of parents who’ve lost control of their children, and the household is in complete chaos.” After reading that quote I am more certain that we will not be contacting the Supernanny for assistance in my household!

Further in the article - “For her part, Selden says she spends several hours with each potential Supernanny family, ensuring that the group can be helped - and not harmed - by appearing on the show and to advise the nanny on the issues affecting the family. Afterward, she follows up to see whether the nanny’s techniques stuck.”

I would really like to see a show focusing on “behind the scenes” and how the show is formed from the time they make contact with the family. I think that would be helpful to viewers who are parents like myself.

It’s impossible to know exactly what day to day difficulties other families go through; what parents want to be considered “extreme cases” with a household in “complete chaos”? My son has had his share of difficult and challenging behaviors, but I would not want to have him presented to the public primarily as an incorrigible, problem child—-one of the realities of life with Charlie of late is that his moods have been swinging from highs to lows in a matter of seconds and calm moments are often followed by much less calm ones. One of the most important things I have learned from life with Charlie is that there are no quick and easy solutions, and that there is a lot that he can learn to communicate better and to control his anxieties, little by little.

So we won’t be seeking out Supernanny around here.