Reply to best place for second opinion on ASD diagnosis?

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Reply to "best place for second opinion on ASD diagnosis?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP again-- I have never understood why people say you get "better insurance coverage" from an ASD diagnosis. I can't be the only person whose insurance has an exclusion for all autism treatment (my employer self-insures, so is exempt from state mandates for autism coverage, as are many large employers). NOTHING ASD-related is covered by my insurance, except 10 speech therapy visits a year (20 for OT/PT combined), and an ASD diagnosis doesn't change that. The only coverage I get from the diagnosis is ABA through early intervention until she turns 3.

However, ABA is ridiculous for a misdiagnosed child-- they are trying to teach my child goals like "sit still with hands clasped" or "verbally request an item she can't see", when *she already learned to do those things on her own*. Even the ABA therapists seem to see how ridiculous it is-- they kept saying things like, "Well, this will be easy!" during her initial evaluation. And when I said I was questioning the diagnosis and whether she really needs ABA, they tried to tell me, "ABA isn't just for autism. Any child can benefit from ABA." Which just sounds like a ridiculous money grab. I'd rather not unnecessarily torture my child, if what she really needs is just some speech therapy and time to grow. So yes, the diagnosis matters.

The previous testing was done at a world-famous hospital's autism center, so going to "the best children's hospital" in my area has already been done. For whoever asked, it has been less than 4 months since we were given the ASD diagnosis (so about 5 months from when she was tested).[/quote]
ABA is actually very controversial.  Often it is automatically recommended for ASD kids.  The research literature shows that it works well, but the actual experiences of parents and grown-up ASD kids who went through it suggest it doesn't work and could be harmful.

My opinion is that ABA is most helpful when your kid needs to learn basic skills that he or she is unable through language or social learning the most kids do it.  Usually it's the lower functioning kids, regardless of diagnosis.[/quote]

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