Supporters for Assembly Bill 162 turned out in big numbers yesterday. Nevada is one of the many states considering mandating insurance coverage for those affected by autism. As one supporter put it, Nevada will be hit by an "Autism Tsunami" if they choose to defeat the bill, forcing higher costs for adult care later. Opponents to the bill also turned out and noted that while a worthwhile cause, the timing because of the current economy is poor.

In an effort to raise awareness in her country of Jamaica, Maia Chung-Smith started a foundation that would assist autistic and disabled children.

Advocates for autism, including parents and lawmakers are pushing for the State of Maryland to include coverage for autism services from insurance companies.

Autism as we all know can be incredibly expensive. Insurance companies have proven to be less than cooperative in many instances when parents attempt to have therapies covered and paid for. Here are some tips that one parent came up with to help with the maze of insurance, red tape, and denials.

Autism coverage made significant progress today getting a 5-1 vote in favor to moving the bill to the senate floor. State Bill 43 called "Clay's Law," would require insurance to cover costs up $50,000 a year for early behavioral therapy, which typically involves one-on-one instruction at least 25 hours a week

The autism bill in Minnesota passed yesterday paving the way for parents to receive coverage by insurance companies to therapies for their children.

SB234 is being reviewed by a legislative panel in Montana. Parents sounded off yesterday telling their personal stories in an attempt to show legislators the depth of despair that their families are in. Like in many other states, many parents can simply not afford an extra $50,000 to $75,000 a year for therapies.

Disappointing thousands of families today, the autism bill that was before the Virginia House received a no vote. Despite open dialect between politicians and parents in the autism community, the eight subcommittee members present at the meetings today decided to not vote on the bill with no action taken whatsoever.

Virginia has seen a rise in autism cases. So much so that parents and legislators are working on garnering support for House Bill 1588. This bill will bring relief to thousands of families throughout the state that are being forced into a financial crisis because insurance companies choose not to cover therapies that have proved beneficial to children with autism.

Facing tough financial times, this family has put nearly everything they own up for sale to pay for mounting medical bills for two of their three children, one of which was diagnosed with autism.