Judith Ursitti, regional director of state advocacy for Autism Speaks, said the American Academy of Pediatrics requires that all children between ages 18 and 24 months be screened for autism. “Lots and lots of kids are being diagnosed with autism,” Ursitti said. “But then the treatments are prescribed, and health plans routinely exclude treatments that are related to autism. It’s a downward spiral of denial that families face.”

One resident who has faced financial difficulties is Michael Giangregorio of Merrick, who has a son with autism. “My family has spent over $85,000 over the years to care for my son, which has depleted our savings and reduced our retirement funds,” Giangregorio said. “Far too many others have been forced to do the same, or worse, could not get care for their loved one because they simply exhausted their finances.”

Ursitti, who has a daughter with Asperger syndrome and a son with classic autism, has gone from state to state to advocate for passage of autism insurance legislation. Five years ago, she said, only two states had laws requiring health insurance companies to insure people with autism. Today, 24 states do. “There’s a national trend that requires health insurance to cover treatment for autism, and many more are working on legislation now, just like New York,” she said.

Ursitti said she believes that insurance companies routinely deny coverage because they consider autism an untreatable condition. “People thought that autism meant ‘hopeless,’ but it really doesn’t,” she said. “There are treatments out there that really make a difference. But they have to have access.”

Ursitti began working with Fuschillo and Morelle last year to write the legislation. “They’re true champions for the cause,” she said. “They really believe in what they’re doing.”

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