Progress

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I feel it's my public service to inform the military public (especially retirees and soon to be retirees) that we have a little victory.

Let me explain. In the past, if you had a child with any variant of autism and you were a military retiree you were out of luck if you wanted ABA therapy (Applied Behavioral Analysis which is one of the most effective forms of therapy for kids with autism). Which meant they were just out of luck. ABA is ridiculously expensive. Mostly because it takes lots of work (and schooling and hours) to become a behavior analyst, so there aren't a lot of them. It's a hard therapy to render, but it basically takes behavior therapy (if you're in to psych at all think of B.F. Skinner or Pavlov).

But because of a lawsuit it is available. It's still in litigation right now, so it's not for sure it will stay, but it's looking pretty good because Tricare's not looking to file a counter suit (which is what they would have to do). Also with ECHO going out the door soon, this will also make ABA easier to get (without jumping through their bureaucratic hoops).

I think this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully this map below will have more coverage in states:

If you want more information, please contact me (you can comment below) and I'll see what resources I can find. Some states have grants or scholarships for kids who need ABA too. Or at least I can try to help point you in the right direction.