To: President Donald Trump, The Florida State House, The Florida State Senate, Governor Ron DeSantis, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Autism reform
Please sign this petition and try to get reform on a local, state, and federal level. I have written Dennis Ross whos office basically told me there is nothing they can do and Rhonda Storms, who wasnt even courteous enough to acknowledge recepit of my letter. Please see my letter below:
Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Daniel Cunningham. I am thirty-one years old and I live at 2707 Wilder Reserve Drive, Plant City, Florida, 33566. I am a single father of a six year old son, Kody, who has Autism. The reason for my letter is to try and reform how Autism is managed on a state and federal level. Autism is a brain disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others. With autism, the different areas of the brain fail to work together. This can cause certain individuals to need lifelong care and therapies to be able to function in their daily lives. Autism affects 1 out of 88 children in the United States and even more so in Boys, with a ratio of 1 out of 54. These children are born with this disability and spend their lifetime trying to progress from it. All need help in terms of speech and occupational therapies to help them adapt, learn, cope, and function.
The problem is that autism and the therapies that are needed for this disability are not covered by health insurance companies in a way that can effectively help the children it affects. For example, my insurance at work only provides ten (10) visits per year for therapies. My son needs to go to two (2) therapists at least once a week. I would then have to pay out of pocket for the rest of those visits. Per the federal guidelines, as they exist today, a child that is autistic qualifies for SSI as well as Medicaid if, and only if, the following is met:
- For a single parent income must be less than $2000/month
- For a married couple income must be less than $3000/month
- These figures are before taxes are taken out.
- For a single parent income must be less than $1600/month to qualify for food assistance.
This seriously restricts the amount of money that anyone can make to pay the necessary bills to live, plus the extra expenses that a family with autistic children have. These children have sensory problems that affect the kind of clothes they wear, the types of foods they eat, to even bathroom habits. So the expenses of those families with autistic children are higher than those families that don’t have autistic children. Handcuffing families of those with children who have autism by limiting the amount of money they can make to provide for their families are not giving those families the ability to have the American dream. If a family decides that they need to make the extra money and does so, then their children’s medical as well as their SSI income (which is for the daily care of that child) is taken away and that negatively affect the family of those trying to provide because the Out of Pocket Expenses per month for necessary therapies can be over $1000/month plus regular living expenses as well. Governor Rick Santorum has a child with special needs and is also affected by the expenses of having a child with special needs. Gov. Santorum is also a wealthy individual. If he struggles with the expenses, how can a regular, blue collar family be able to afford the same kind of care with even more limited resources?
I implore you to please present a bill that either:
- Provides families with those with special needs children the capability of not being penalized by the system for trying to provided a better life for their families by raising the income level that they can make without it affecting their much needed federal healthcare (Medicaid, SSI)
- Provides free government funded health care for therapies only (speech, occupational, etc) to those children who were born with this neurological disorder.
- Raise the level of income that these families can make without taking away the necessary food assistance to provide for these children (due to their sensory issues that they were born with.
I still believe that the American dream can be a reality for these families, but only if the system how it is now changes. Without a change in the system, these families will continue to struggle and give up on the American dream. Please do not let these families give up on the American Dream. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Daniel Cunningham
2707 Wilder Reserve Drive
Plant City, FL 33566
863-509-8003
Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Daniel Cunningham. I am thirty-one years old and I live at 2707 Wilder Reserve Drive, Plant City, Florida, 33566. I am a single father of a six year old son, Kody, who has Autism. The reason for my letter is to try and reform how Autism is managed on a state and federal level. Autism is a brain disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others. With autism, the different areas of the brain fail to work together. This can cause certain individuals to need lifelong care and therapies to be able to function in their daily lives. Autism affects 1 out of 88 children in the United States and even more so in Boys, with a ratio of 1 out of 54. These children are born with this disability and spend their lifetime trying to progress from it. All need help in terms of speech and occupational therapies to help them adapt, learn, cope, and function.
The problem is that autism and the therapies that are needed for this disability are not covered by health insurance companies in a way that can effectively help the children it affects. For example, my insurance at work only provides ten (10) visits per year for therapies. My son needs to go to two (2) therapists at least once a week. I would then have to pay out of pocket for the rest of those visits. Per the federal guidelines, as they exist today, a child that is autistic qualifies for SSI as well as Medicaid if, and only if, the following is met:
- For a single parent income must be less than $2000/month
- For a married couple income must be less than $3000/month
- These figures are before taxes are taken out.
- For a single parent income must be less than $1600/month to qualify for food assistance.
This seriously restricts the amount of money that anyone can make to pay the necessary bills to live, plus the extra expenses that a family with autistic children have. These children have sensory problems that affect the kind of clothes they wear, the types of foods they eat, to even bathroom habits. So the expenses of those families with autistic children are higher than those families that don’t have autistic children. Handcuffing families of those with children who have autism by limiting the amount of money they can make to provide for their families are not giving those families the ability to have the American dream. If a family decides that they need to make the extra money and does so, then their children’s medical as well as their SSI income (which is for the daily care of that child) is taken away and that negatively affect the family of those trying to provide because the Out of Pocket Expenses per month for necessary therapies can be over $1000/month plus regular living expenses as well. Governor Rick Santorum has a child with special needs and is also affected by the expenses of having a child with special needs. Gov. Santorum is also a wealthy individual. If he struggles with the expenses, how can a regular, blue collar family be able to afford the same kind of care with even more limited resources?
I implore you to please present a bill that either:
- Provides families with those with special needs children the capability of not being penalized by the system for trying to provided a better life for their families by raising the income level that they can make without it affecting their much needed federal healthcare (Medicaid, SSI)
- Provides free government funded health care for therapies only (speech, occupational, etc) to those children who were born with this neurological disorder.
- Raise the level of income that these families can make without taking away the necessary food assistance to provide for these children (due to their sensory issues that they were born with.
I still believe that the American dream can be a reality for these families, but only if the system how it is now changes. Without a change in the system, these families will continue to struggle and give up on the American dream. Please do not let these families give up on the American Dream. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Daniel Cunningham
2707 Wilder Reserve Drive
Plant City, FL 33566
863-509-8003
Why is this important?
The reason for my letter is to try and reform how autism is managed on a state and federal level. Autism is a brain disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others. With autism, the different areas of the brain fail to work together. This can cause certain individuals to need lifelong care and therapies to be able to function in their daily lives. Autism affects 1 out of 88 children in the United States and even more so in boys, with a ratio of 1 out of 54. These children are born with this disability and spend their lifetime trying to progress from it. All need help in terms of speech and occupational therapies to help them adapt, learn, cope, and function.
The problem is that autism and the therapies that are needed for this disability are not covered by health insurance companies in a way that can effectively help the children it affects. For example, my insurance at work only provides ten (10) visits per year for therapies. My son needs to go to two (2) therapists at least once a week. I would then have to pay out of pocket for the rest of those visits. Per the federal guidelines, as they exist today, a child that is autistic qualifies for SSI as well as Medicaid if, and only if, the following is met:
- For a single parent income must be less than $2000/month
- For a married couple income must be less than $3000/month
- These figures are before taxes are taken out.
- For a single parent income must be less than $1000/month to qualify for food assistance.
The problem is that autism and the therapies that are needed for this disability are not covered by health insurance companies in a way that can effectively help the children it affects. For example, my insurance at work only provides ten (10) visits per year for therapies. My son needs to go to two (2) therapists at least once a week. I would then have to pay out of pocket for the rest of those visits. Per the federal guidelines, as they exist today, a child that is autistic qualifies for SSI as well as Medicaid if, and only if, the following is met:
- For a single parent income must be less than $2000/month
- For a married couple income must be less than $3000/month
- These figures are before taxes are taken out.
- For a single parent income must be less than $1000/month to qualify for food assistance.