Military Parents Battle the System to Help Their Autistic Children

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Military Parents Battle the System to Help Their Autistic Children

Unmet treatment needs add to family strains from transfers and

war-zone deployments

By for usnews.com. http://is.gd/cPSO

Driscoll might seem the unlikeliest of lobbyists to

cruise the halls of Congress. Indeed, the Marine Corps wife and mother

with three young children, one of whom has autism, didn't envision

herself hustling down the marbled corridors in a power suit. Yet, on a

recent fall day, Driscoll is maneuvering her way like a K Street pro,

eager for any opportunity to make her case that the Pentagon's

healthcare system is failing active-duty military families with

autistic children, families like her own.

And there are many of them. By the Pentagon's own data, some

13,243 of the estimated 1.2 million children of active-duty military

personnel have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Only

1,374, though, are qualified to receive treatment under the extended

care arm of the federal healthcare program TRICARE. A congressionally

mandated hybrid of both military and civilian medical services,

TRICARE is the military's healthcare program for active-duty

servicemembers, retirees, and their families. The cause of autism,

which strikes about 1 in 150 children nationwide, remains a mystery.

And for reasons that aren't clear, autism is diagnosed in military

children at roughly double the rate it is in the civilian world, a

striking 1 out of 88, according to Defense Department data.

Pressure. By themselves, the numbers tell only part of the

story. Driscoll has become the chronicler of heartbreak and knows

that, for each family, there is the challenge of doing what is best to

help the child through what is often a long-term and costly program of

intensive behavioral treatment. Layered on top of that are

near-constant wartime deployments that strip households of a parent

for extended periods. The hardships for military families are

compounded by the realities of frequent moves that disrupt or end

altogether treatment programs such as applied behavior analysis

therapy, or ABA, which medical experts say makes a huge difference in

the lives of autistic children. The skyrocketing out-of-pocket

payments for expenses not covered by TRICARE are forcing some

servicemembers to consider volunteering for additional combat

deployments, which come with tax-free danger pay, to help dig their

families out of debt. And the financial pressures are prompting some

to leave the military, a development that officials warn is harming

military capabilities.

Driscoll has gone to the Hill to battle on behalf of her own

autistic son, 10-year-old , and others like him, arguing that

military healthcare has left families stranded. On this, she can speak

with authority. For the past four years, she has put in countless

hours, drawn on income and home equity, and taken on thousands in debt

annually to get her child the medically prescribed therapy not covered

by the military's healthcare program. " The majority of families who

face the circumstance of having to pay out of pocket for therapy are

simply going without. That should never be the answer for military

children, " says Driscoll. " This is a devastating medical condition

that is treatable, and children can make significant gains. "

Autism is a developmental brain disorder that can rob children

of their speech or even the ability to look their parents in the eye.

And because there is no cure--only intensive therapy aimed at

minimizing the impairment--it is considered a chronic disorder, as

persistent and deeply rooted in one's health blueprint as arthritis or

high blood pressure. Yet, according to the Defense Department's own

data, 90 percent of military children diagnosed with autism are not

receiving ABA therapy treatment.

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