In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. As many posts have discussed, the challenges are especially great for military families.
The Pentagon is under fire on Capitol Hill for a plan that critics say could leave thousands of military families whose children suffer from autism without access to the healthcare coverage they need.
For the second time in as many years, the Department of Defense is proposing to slash payments to healthcare professionals who work with autistic children by as much as 15 percent.
This would make it difficult for military families to find help for autistic children, critics say.
The proposal has outraged dozens of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, who are urging the Pentagon to abandon the cuts.
“Are you at all concerned about the impact changing rates will have on children’s access to [autism] therapy?” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) asked a top Pentagon official during a recent hearing.
Gillibrand suggested the cuts could "derail" autism coverage for military children.But the Pentagon denied the claims that military families would lose autism coverage.
