Therapy for All: Grassroots movement!
It’s back to school and kids are returning with their stories about summer. My children have had amazing experiences too, but unlike the other kids going back to school, my kid’s favorite experience every summer is at a camp for kid with special needs. My daughter with complex disabilities receives therapy for 4 consecutive days from four therapists. Therapists are any combination of speech therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, music therapist, and pyschologist. Therapies are the medicine for my child, yet insurance covers none of it.
“Insurance shouldn’t cover a summer camp!” one might say.
Maybe, but insurance also doesn’t cover it outside of summer camp either. My daughter has a neurological speech disorder called apraxia but the insurance companies insist she will grow out of it despite the fact research shows us that apraxia is not developmental and needs specialized, frequent, and intense therapy.
Many of us in the community had accepted this fact until a grassroots group called MoDE (Missouri Disability Empowerment) was able to get ground breaking legislation passed in Missouri mandating insurance companies to cover therapy for ALL kids with disabilities. Children whose medicine to get better is therapy!
A news article caught my attention and I was hooked. If they can do it there, I could do it here in Colorado. CoDE (Colorado Disability Empowerment) was formed, modeled after MoDE and I put the message out on my SLP Mommy of Apraxia Facebook page where others saw the message and were inspired to take action.
MoDE fromed Disability Empowerment and the goal is to form a network of advocates in every state working to get #TherapyForAll!
We need YOUR help!! Will you join us in our first hashtag campaign on AUGUST 25th??
1. Share the video and hashtags #TherapyForAll #speechtherapy #occupationaltherapy #physicaltherapy
2. Post a photo of your child in therapy with the hashtag #TherapyForAll
3. Challenge: Tag two friends with hashtag #TherapyForAll
4. Share a video of why therapy is important for your child with hashtag #TherapyForAll
Find a Disability Empowerment group in your state and if there isn’t one reach out to MoDE or any of the other disability empowerment groups! Our hope is to have all states working on this legislation.