Remember Cynthia Davis, the MO rep who thought hunger was a motivator? Here she is on autism:

Cynthia Davis: Autism is not a medical problem, let the schools pay for it

Autism is not a medical problem, Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O"Fallon assures us her latest capital report, suggesting the reason autism legislation failed during the 2009 General Assembly is because it was a "feelgood" bill aimed at penalizing insurance companies by requiring them to cover something that should be handled by the public school system.

Apparently, Mrs. Davis is not only an expect on the subject of hunger and its motivational aspects, but also on autism. She writes, "Those pushing this bill were asking the medical insurance companies also to cover educational problems in a category called Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). An educational difficulty is not the same as a medical problem. Autism is more than physical; above all, it is a spectrum of mental-behavioral inclinations that vary in intensity.

"Forcing the medical insurance companies to pay for this treatment would have been precedent setting by requiring them to pay for something non-medical."

more . . . http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2009/08/cynthia-davis-autism-is-not-medical.html

Testify, Rep. Davis. Testify!

She just ensures she will lose her next election every time she makes a comment.

:( As the mom of an autistic son she has no idea what the hell she is talking about....but we knew that, right? :)

How terrible.

I don't suppose she mentioned where the public schools would get the money to handle it?

I don't know if Minnesota mandates coverage for this or not, but I do know that at the my last job one of my coworkers had an autistic child and the insurance we had at the time did cover a good chunk of his educational expenses at a school here that specializes in autistic and other developmentally disabled kids.

It would be pretty hard to do ABA therapy as well as academics.

They do for all children with special needs.

She's saying that for the medical needs...keep it with the insurance companies. With their educational needs...let the states handle it.

And at school.

I am a special ed teacher. There is no way we have time for this, or the money.

This woman is a special kind of frootloop.

I thought she was talking about the educational needs. Sorry. :blush:

... let alone get elected to office?

K&R

I am asking that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education evaluate whether the ABA could be provided within the context of their educational mission. Under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each child with autism is served by their local school district. It is the local school district’s responsibility to provide a free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities.

My grandson has autism and the schools have provided him with an excellent education. They have helped him so much and he's not the same little boy that he used to be.

If I'm misreading this, please tell me.

Adults are not served by the school system. When cures are developed after your grandson becomes an adult, he would not be able to get them. There are a whole slew of parents who understand that they are now Autistic because they went out and got tested after their kids was evaluated in school. They have no support for very expensive therapies that are not covered by health insurance.

Autism is a medical problem. Go get a SPECT scan of your grandson's brain and you will see what the differences are between that and the normal brain. It is well documented. Many autistics take medicine. That's why insurance needs to cover it.

I think Cynthia Davis should get a SPECT scan and see if SHE has a brain.

We already know that it's a medical problem.

I'm talking about his education...not the medical aspects.

The point she made about states paying for the education of special children like my grandson is correct. That's what I meant. Sorry I didn't clarify it better.

It is a medical need. I am a special ed teacher. We are not doctors or therapists. We teach.


This is one of the dumber ideas I have ever heard.

A foul creature, Cynthia Davis.

Send Matt Simmons a few bucks. :hi:

http://www.stcdems.org/content/first-capitol-day

and I really miss the title. Could you please give it back to me? I think I've just said something deserving...Thank you."

.....she surpasses idiot to the level of deranged and malicious corporate insurance whore.

:wow:

but shouldn't there be some kind of repercussions when people whose salaries we pay openly lie?