Autism Bill Unanimously Approved

“It’s a good day in Virginia for kids with autism.”

That was the response of local parent Jennifer Lassiter, in regards to a unanimous vote (40-0) by the Senate on Monday to pass a bill that would without having to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Lassiter, an employee at The Arc of Loudoun at the Paxton Campus in Leesburg, which schools at least 24 autistic students, was appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Council on the autism legislation last summer. Her 16-year-old daughter, Katelyn, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2.

“It feels so good,” Lassiter said, who has worked closely with Del. Thomas A. “Tag” Greason (R-Loudoun), an original sponsor of the bill, and Sen. Mark Herring to gain the general support that’s been  needed to get the bill amended.

“We advocate year after year after year,” she said. “This time it really happened and the legislators did the right thing. Now we just need the governor to do the right thing.”

Virginia Autism Project Founding Member Mark Llobell said Tuesday that this week’s news is “a big emotional lift.”  

It’s going to help so many kids and their families, he said, who have done everything they can to afford the services themselves.

Llobell said his grandson was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. Although the bill wouldn’t nessacarily help his grandson, since the bill is limited to ages two to six, Llobell said he hopes other families will be able to benefit as soon as it becomes available.

“When we got the diagnosis we were happy [to find out that] there was a service we could get for our grandson,” Llobell said, only to become appalled when his family found out that insurance providers in the state of Virginia would not cover those services.

As a result, Llobell said his family spent a lot of money to provide the services his grandson would need, something he wouldn’t want another family to face.

“I feel very ecstatic,” Llobell said, in regards to this week’s vote. “We know it’s going to help a lot of children, we know it’s going to help a lot of families that are blessed with a child that has autism. It’s going to help them to get their child the services they need and it’s going to help mom and dad to live more of a productive and normal life.”

Once Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) signs the new bill, the next step is to give the Board of Medicine the authority to create the regulations and implement the law.

Llobell said once everything is approved he hopes someone will notice the value and benefit of the bill, which will hopefully become available for children of every age.