For those with connections in NC - We need your help!

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Hi 's List Members,  

Butterfly Effects is asking for you help.... We realize this is a Florida based list serve but know many have connections in North Carolina who may be impacted by this artificial barrier to accessing ABA services.  Please take a second to review the request below and forward on to anyone who might be able to support this much need administrative code change.

Recent Press Release: http://www.i-newswire.com/creative-legislative-solutions/97177

Thank you!!!!

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Just a few minutes of your time can help ensure that the children of North Carolina have access to much needed Autism treatment!

The wheels are in motion to remove an artificial barrier currently written into the North Carolina Administrative Code that dramatically limits the number of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) providers permitted to treat children with Autism in North Carolina. It is an overlooked and over-complicated issue, but one that desperately needs your attention. In short, thousands of children who could benefit from ABA – the single most prescribed evidence-based therapy for children with Autism – are being put on waiting lists rather than getting the treatment they need when they need it. Butterfly Effects is fighting to remedy this problem.

We believe that treatment delayed is treatment denied. Our goal is to remove the barrier to treatment ensuring that all children have access to the treatment they need and deserve. The children need your help to make that happen!  

Please write your personal letter of support for HB487 right now!

Click on the link below and tell The Honorable Pat Hurley, Chairperson of the Health and Human Services Sub-Committee on Mental Health, that broad access to Autism treatment is critically important!

Be sure to include the following details:

Your full name and North Carolina address

Why you care about Autism, Autism treatment and accessibility to treatment (e.g. your son or daughter has been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum disorder, you are a treatment provider, etc.)

How you/your family and/or your life have been impacted by Autism – share something personal

Why it is important to you that all children have access to treatment in a timely fashion

If you are a parent: talk about your specific child and how your child needs access to ABA services.

If you are a treatment provider: talk about the children you treat and the plight of their families.

If you are a military family: talk about the particular hardships you face in getting the treatment you need for your children in North Carolina.

Most importantly, make the letter personal, heartfelt and urgent! (Sample letter below)

Please send your letter of support today and encourage others to do the same!

Click HERE to send a letter of support NOW!

Thank you so much for your time and commitment to this effort. If you have any questions about this complex issue, please don't hesitate to call (888)880-9720. I will be happy to discuss the problem and its solution.  

Charlotte F. Fudge, MSN, RN, BCBA

Butterfly Effects Executive Director: Main Office : E-Fax

www.ButterflyEffects.comcfudge@...

Sample Support Letter – Please put this in your own words.

This should only serve as a guide, not a script.

Date

Hon. Pat Hurley

Chair.

Health and Human Services Sub-Committee on Mental Health

North Carolina House of Representatives

300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 532

Raleigh, North Carolina 27603-5925

Dear Representative Hurley:

I write to you today in support of Representative Earline Parmon’s legislation to remove an artificial barrier in the North Carolina statute that is preventing children with Autism from receiving the treatment they so desperately need.  (Insert the appropriate remainder of this paragraph with the examples below)

(Civilian Parents)  We live in (City or county).  My son/daughter has been diagnosed with Autism at the age of ?.  (In a few short sentences, talk about your son/daughter and how they are impacted by Autism.  Keep it positive and talk about your family’s efforts to find treatment for your child.)

(Treatment Providers) As a (?) I work with North Carolina children diagnosed with Autism in (NC County).   If you could meet these children, you would truly be moved by their stories and by the dedication of their parents to provide them with the assistance they need to reach their full potential.  (If you want to cite a couple of particularly moving examples, without breaching any confidentiality, of children under your care, this would add to the support letter.)

(Military Parents) We are stationed at (base) in North Carolina.  Our son/daughter was diagnosed with Autism at the age of (?).  Military families are particularly impacted by Autism.  For some reason, the incidence of Autism among military families is higher than it is among the civilian population.  (In a few short sentences, talk about your son/daughter and how they are impacted by Autism and how it impacts your life as a military family.  If you can, mention the difficulties you face when the military parent is deployed away from home, if that is appropriate.)

Every child diagnosed with Autism is different.  The way they respond to treatment is also different.  But one thing is certain, while currently there is no cure for Autism, it is important that these children receive the treatment they need now while their brains are developing.  The proper treatment or combination of treatments can mean the difference between a child reaching their full potential or a child who needlessly suffers from the devastating effects of Autism for the rest of their lives.  Treatment delayed is treatment denied.

But in North Carolina there is a critical shortage of treatment providers for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), the single most prescribed form of evidence based therapy across the country.  This is because the North Carolina Psychology Practice Act defines “behavior analysis and therapy” as the practice of psychology and therefore only licensed psychologists may provide ABA therapy.  Unfortunately, there are not enough licensed psychologists in North Carolina also trained in ABA to meet the demand.  And this means that our children are forced to wait for treatment or seek alternative, less effective, treatments.

(Military Families should add the following)  Military families stationed in North Carolina are even more impacted by this law.  Our son/daughter is covered by TriCare, the military health insurance.  TriCare, under ECHO, funds ABA therapy for active duty military dependents, but only if the practitioner is certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).  Since in North Carolina under the law you must also be a licensed psychologist, only those licensed psychologists also certified by the BACB are able to provide ABA to military dependents in North Carolina.  There are approximately 25 psychologists certified by the BACB and many of those are academics.  Most of the remainder are physically located in urban areas far removed from our state’s eight military bases.  With the number of military families stationed here, you can see how this artificial shortage is impacting my son/daughter and all of the other military dependents in North Carolina.  The children of the brave men and women who are proudly serving our country shouldn’t have to endure the impacts of this artificial barrier to the practice of ABA in North Carolina.

By expanding the number of providers permitted to provide ABA services in North Carolina, this legislation will have a dramatic impact on the lives of North Carolina children, both military and civilian, and their families.  And it does so at no cost to the State.  In fact, by providing ABA services to those children that need it, the State will save money.  As these children mature into adults, many more of them will be able to lead independent productive, taxpaying, lives instead of relying on the State for assistance.

As a (military parent, parent, treatment provider) I/we cannot urge you strongly enough to support this critical legislation.  

Sincerely,

Name

AddressCC: Representative Earline Parmon

Representative (Your Representative)

Senator (Your State Senator)