Our family moved to Tacoma, Washington, in the summer of 2007.  It was soon after our move that our son, Bode, started showing certain signs that were worrisome.  He was tiptoe walking, lining toys up and not sharing them, and he also lost eye contact.  The few words he had learned early on just vanished.  He was trapped in his own world.

When Bode was around 18 months old we decided we needed to get him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician. Bode was officially diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2. It was devastating news for our family. The problem is that when your child is diagnosed, you are left to pick up the pieces and decide how to proceed. And there is no guidebook. We didn't know any other Autism families and felt very isolated.

Luckily, in those early months following diagnosis, I was able to find amazing therapists for Bode. Bode started Occupational Therapy, and soon after started Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) therapy. The combination of both helped bring Bode back to us. We also tried Speech Therapy twice, but with little success.  We started doing sign language with Bode, and amazingly, he started saying the words as he learned to sign them.

We did three years of intense OT and RDI therapy, with a little bit of Craniosacral therapy mixed in.  Fortunately, I was employed as a stay-at-home mom, so I was always available to take Bode to therapy appointments, but it meant bringing him to school late or picking him up early a few days a week.  Our lives seemed to revolve around therapy appointments.

Coco, Charles, Bode, and Susan

In the midst of bringing Bode back into our world, our daughter, Coco, was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 2011 at the age of 7.  That pretty much put us over the edge.  She had a whole different set of challenges that we needed to address.  Coco started OT and RDI therapy and suddenly we were juggling two kids with multiple appointments.  In the summer of 2012 we decided to take a break. The kids were both doing relatively well, so we decided to enroll the kids in a few special needs camps.  (LittleBit Therapeutic Riding, The Lemonade Company, and Seattle Children's Playgarden)  We had a summer with no therapy appointments and it was wonderful.

In the fall of 2012, my husband and I decided it was time to start Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for Bode, but we knew our insurance didn't cover it. We had literally "broken the bank" with the cost of paying for our kids' previous therapies out of pocket and we knew we needed help with ABA.

I attended a WAAA seminar in Kirkland in late fall of 2012. There, I saw Ele Hamburger and Arzu Forough speak about insurance coverage and advise on how to get coverage for ABA. I went home and immediately started looking up Group Health policies for my son. Thankfully, I got in just before the window of open enrollment ended and starting in January of 2013, my son had ABA benefits under the interim benefit through Group Health.

We started working with Maxim Healthcare immediately and are still happily with them. This year, I reapplied for a new policy, as Group Health now has ABA benefits under its regular plans. We now have the freedom to increase our son's ABA program and hours and are not worried about a monthly budget.

Some of the main things Bode is working on through his ABA program are language, communication, and social skills.  Since we started ABA therapy, we have a tangible record of Bode's progress as he completes goals.  Our lead BCBA (board-certified behavior analyst), in fact, has to keep coming up with new goals for him because he is a quick study. We see his progress when he appropriately asks for things, or greets people and tries to start a conversation.  People who haven't seen him for awhile are stunned at his progress. He works very hard and is constantly improving.  I feel that the future holds a lot of unknowns, but for the first time in a long time we have hope.   Bottom line, the future is not so daunting as it was back in 2008.

Thank you, WAAA, for your tireless advocacy efforts which have truly helped our family. Now, when I am contacted by a family with a new diagnosis or a family looking into insurance coverage for therapies, I have a place I can refer them to for help. And that's something that all Autism families need.

-- Susan Leusner, Bode's mom