Mar 23 Special Needs Stats and News-Health-care Bill Passes Both Houses

Health-care Reform Bill Passes
 Both Houses in US

Sunday, March 21, the US House of Representatives passed the Senate version of Health-care Reform Bill.

This is welcome news for Autism Support Groups and families affected by autism. After a year of debating, the bill passed 219 to 212.  Once the bill is signed by President Obama, which is expected to happen early this week, the new law will be a great step towards ensuring that all people with autism have access to health-care.

Some of the long awaited provisions for people with autism are:

Parents would receive coverage of “behavioral health treatments” such as ABA therapy.

*Insurers would be prohibited from excluding coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

*Insurers would be prevented from selectively refusing to renew coverage.

*Insurers would no longer be able to charge people different premiums based on their health status, gender or occupation;


*A standardized annual out-of-pocket spending limit would be established so that no family would face bankruptcy due to medical expenses;

*Annual and lifetime benefit caps would be prohibited;

*Mental health would be covered;

*“Habilitative” and “maintenance services” would be covered; and

*Coverage of “behavioral health treatments” such as ABA therapy, would be required.
Will the passage of this bill affect your family in any way?

Related post: Applied Behavior Analysis ~ Maximum Learning Efficientcy

Mar 23 Sensory Tip- What Is a Social Story

Do You Know What Is a “Social Skill Story”?

These stories are teaching tools to develop social skills and to prepare the child who finds various new settings difficult or confusing.

Children who have Sensory Processing  Disorder or children with Autism and related disabilities are overwhelmed when faced with a new situation. To help these children know what to expect and how to act, simple personalized stories are told. By repeating these “Social Stories”, about basic things most other children intuitively know or are not bothered if they do not know, it prepares children with ASD and/or SPD.

The stories use the real setting, the same events and emphasize how the other children will act and how he should act also. “Today, after recess, I go to the gym to hear a man play his guitar and sing for us. I will walk to the gym with my class and teacher. I see all the other students sitting in chairs. We sit and are quiet to hear. The principal, Mrs. Snow, tells us the name of the man. The man is playing the guitar and sings for us. The children are happy and they clap. I see my friends clap, I can clap also. The clapping is louder than the principal’s voice but it stops fast...

Social Stories cannot take away the underlying problems but they can reduce the anxiety experienced in new, unfamiliar, over-stimulating, or stressful situations.

Do you use Social Stories?
Are they effective?
Leave a comment to share with us.

Mar 23 Fidgeting Tip- ADHD Kids Cannot Control Fidgeting

Children With ADHD
 Really Cannot Control Their Fidgeting

Hyperactive children are unable to inhibit the impulse to move around; it is not because they do not want to it is because they cannot.


Giving punishments or promising rewards are counterproductive because the squirming and fidgeting are all part of the life of your child with ADHD.

It is a futile effort on the part of parents and teachers to get these children to sit still and focus. The same applies to home activities, like homework or sitting at the dinner table. When kids with ADHD are past their point of controlling their urge to move around-LET THEM MOVE!

The adults dealing with a hyperactive child must help make the most of his or her strengths and overcome the challenges. Parents must seek professional help and work with the Educational system  to plan strategies that will allow this on-the-go child to reach his potential.

What strategies work with your child with ADHD?