Recently, Ms. Adams attended a seminar regarding Health Insurance for Autism. It was presented by Dr. Karen Fessel. Ms. Adams found it very enlightening and believes that this is a service that we should all recommend to our friends and clients.

A little bit about Karen and the Autism Health Insurance Project:

According to her website bio, Dr. Fessel sought to get the most out of her health insurance benefits. Having a Doctorate in Public Health and having worked in a variety of health settings, she felt that it was important for health insurance to provide medical care that individuals need.

Like many of us, she was inspired by her advocacy for her own child. When her son first came to need medical attention, Dr. Fessel was told to take him to the school district for further evaluation. Her son was offered a half hour a week of group speech therapy during his pre-school years.

With only a vague diagnosis of expressive and receptive language delay, she turned to her health plan to supplement the school district’s meager services and also to provide occupational and later group social skills therapies. Later, with the diagnosis of Asperger’s, Dr. Fessel was able to secure regional center support, more extensive educational programs from the school district, and health insurance protection under AB 88, the California Mental Health Parity law.

The Autism Health Insurance Project was founded to support families in their journey through the insurance maze, so that families can be treated fairly through this process, and that children can get the coverage for interventions that they so desperately need. For More Information go to: www.autismhealthinsuranceproject.org