According to the Kentucky Advisory Council on Autism, one in 36 children born nationwide is diagnosed with autism by eight years old. Advocates said of these children, many have profound social and intellectual disability and require more care options than the state currently provides.
In a recent Senate Standing Committee on Families and Children meeting, Kentucky lawmakers heard testimonies about the difficulty of obtaining autism care in the Commonwealth. Presenters said long wait times for diagnosis and treatment, alongside limited options throughout the country, have created an unnavigable landscape.
Rachel Moldoveanu, a former nurse practitioner and the mother of a profoundly autistic teenager, shared her story alongside practitioners and policymakers in February. Her son currently resides in a care facility in Kansas because of Kentucky’s lack of viable options. She said while attaining care for her son, she was pushed to relinquish custody of him to the state. Moldoveanu received legal counsel and was able to keep custody, but she said families like hers almost always feel like they have no other choice…