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We applied to have our helath insurance cover ABA services. The response is that we need to submit peer-reviewed medical literature with methodologically and statistically sound, scientific studies supporting the effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis therapy for the diagnosis of autism.
Can anyone help me find this info please?
Thanks in advance ask your local Autism Society for links, I'm sure they could direct you.These are the citations citing efficacy for ABA in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_behavior_analysis#_note -1. You might want to read the link thoroughly and the cited studies thoroughly before using them are resources.
- ^ U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (1999). "Autism", Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
- ^ Smith T, Groen AD, Wynn JW (2000). "Randomized trial of intensive early intervention for children with pervasive developmental disorder". American journal of mental retardation : AJMR 105 (4): 269–85. PMID 10934569.
- ^ McConachie H, Diggle T (2007). "Parent implemented early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review". Journal of evaluation in clinical practice 13 (1): 120–29. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00674.x. PMID 17286734.
- ^ Sallows GO, Graupner TD (2005). "Intensive behavioral treatment for children with autism: four-year outcome and predictors". American journal of mental retardation : AJMR 110 (6): 417–38. PMID 16212446.
- ^ Eikeseth S, Smith T, Jahr E, Eldevik S (2002). "Intensive behavioral treatment at school for 4- to 7-year-old children with autism. A 1-year comparison controlled study". Behavior modification 26 (1): 49–68. PMID 11799654.
And from the Autism Speaks website there's the following:
"For more information about research supporting ABA as a treatment for autism, see:
www.behavior.org/autism [The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies Autism Page]
www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec6.ht ml#autism [U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health]
www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/eip/menu.htm [Clinical Practice Guideline, New York State Department of Health Early Intervention Program]
http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/index.html [Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis"
Hopefully these can be of some assistance in locating materials.
One other resource might be to download a copy of the recent bill signed into law in Texas by Governer Perry which requires insurance companies operating in Texas to pay for intervention services and therapies including ABA for children with autism up to the age of (I believe) 6. Several other states have similar provisions, which can also be reinforcement for your argument.
Good luck!
AnamCara39378.3793518519Just to empasize what AnamCara said about the Wiki references - be sure to look over the abstracts. Some of these are not in support of ABA, but rather supportive of other forms of interventions, eclectic, parent training, etc.Alison - have you asked the ABA provider to help you out with that? They may have dealt with this before. Anthony's psychologist told us from the beginning that she'd write any letter necessary to try to get it covered through insurance.You might try the book Educating Children with Autism, by the National Research Council. It was a review of peer reviewed research. It is getting slightly old (2000 copyright), but the NRC is usually considered non-partisan. I thought that there was a chapter on behavior analysis with lots of references. Amazon.com carries the book, among other folks
thanks everyone for all the suggestions!
I'll let you know if it works
The following site about fighting insurance is ideal if you live in California, but it also includes a section of helpful links, including links to a yahoo group about autism and insurance, and links for people living in a few other states.
http://www.insurancehelpforautism.com/index.html
"Criteria for Appropriate Treatments," a letter by Dr. Lovaas that "is intended to address the question of what constitutes an appropriate therapeutic intervention for a child diagnosed with autism." The document is dated 4/6/95 and is available from the UCLA Department of Psychology, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563." It is also available online at:
http://www.tacanow.com/pdf/Dr_Lovaas_Criteria_July2005.pdf
Good luck with everything! If you go to the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (you can google it) you will get their whole archive. |
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