13-year-old was a champion of insurance coverage for autism therapy

Matthew Jankovich: He enjoyed being with his family, he liked the Huskers “and he loved his church,” his mom said.

http://www.livewellnebraska.com/health/year-old-was-a-champion-of-insurance-coverage-for-autism/article_8f9589b1-f4b5-50df-a990-7a6a0794f3f1.html?mode=image&photo=0


Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2015 12:30 am
By Roger Buddenberg / World-Herald staff writer

At age 11, although he could not read, write or talk, Matthew Jankovich became the smiling face of a legislative crusade.

In 2014, the Legislature made Nebraska the 36th state to require some health insurers to cover treatment of autism such as Matthew’s. For years he and his Omaha family campaigned for the law, which his mother, Colleen, said this week was “the proudest thing I’ve ever done other than bring my babies into the world.”

Matthew left the world Monday. He was 13.

He died in his sleep of a seizure, his mother said, even though a recently implanted vagus nerve stimulator had seemed to be controlling the epilepsy that accompanied his autism. She added that his autism symptoms — constant motion, occasional self-injury, impulsive behavior such as bolting through open doors — had improved in recent years.

FULL story at link.