SPECTRUM CONNECTION

By Toni Lapp

As I leaf through the 164 pages of Missouri’s new autism guidelines (written about here), a thought occurs to me:

The typical well-child visit with a primary-care physician is not rigorous enough to detect signs of moderate or high-functioning autism in toddlers. At least not the well-child visits I remember, but then my oldest son was born in 1993, and nary a pediatrician had heard of Asperger’s syndrome then.
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By Toni Lapp

With autism prevalence rising at alarming rates in the United States, the push to make a diagnosis as early as possible has taken on new urgency. On Thursday, Missouri health officials unveiled the state’s first set of guidelines.

“This is a landmark document for the country, and definitely for our state,” said Michele Kilo, M.D., a developmental pediatrician at Children’s Mercy Hospital who served as one of four primary authors of the guidelines. “We’re hopeful it will be well-used and well-worn.” Missouri is only the second state to issue guidelines, the first state being California in 2001, Kilo said.

The guideline panel — a group of 42 professionals and parents who met over the course of a year — looked carefully at California’s guidelines, but in the end, came up with a completely new set, authors said. Missouri’s recommendations reflect more recent research and is more “state of the art,” said John Mantovani, medical director of St. John’s Mercy Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. “There has been a lot of progress in our understanding of the condition” since 2001, he said.
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By Julius Karash

Health insurance coverage surfaced as a key issue at a hearing Tuesday by the Missouri House of Representatives Interim Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders. The 3-hour hearing was held at UMKC School of Medicine.

Much of the testimony, by parents and experts in the field, focused on lack of insurance coverage for therapies such as Applied Behavior Analysis – an effective, evidence-based treatment. ABA treatments are expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars a year. But the improvements derived from these treatments can save more than $2 million in care and special services over the life of a person with autism.

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By Julius Karash

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt of Glendale said Saturday that he will press on with the fight to obtain health insurance coverage for autism treatments.

“What we’re fighting for with these therapies is the difference between whether or not a dad can take his son to a baseball game, or the difference between whether or not that child can have meaningful friendships with other kids,” Schmitt, the father of a five-year-old boy with autism, said at an autism insurance reform rally at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing.
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