Autism Therapy Cuts in Medicaid May Affect Schools

Indiana Medicaid cuts could place new pressure on public schools as the state moves forward with plans to limit access to applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. The changes are set to take effect in April, forcing many children with autism back into public schools.

"The schools aren’t ready," said Kristin Crabb, of Sullivan, Indiana.

Crabb’s son, Eli, has autism and struggles with aggression. He spends 40 hours a week in ABA therapy. "In an ideal world, he could just go to public school, but we tried public school and they couldn’t handle his behavior," Crabb said.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) proposed capping ABA coverage to 30 hours a week, and limiting coverage to three years total. The three-year cap is expected to be retroactive, meaning people like Eli would immediately lose coverage when the changes take effect April 1.

"We have no intention of phasing out ABA because if we sent [ABA clients] to the schools, they would all be paid for by the state general fund money," said FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob.

Roob did not elaborate on what the long-term goal is. The Autism Society of Indiana has criticized the new policy, calling for protesters to rally at the statehouse on Feb. 17.

According to a report from the Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana, Indiana is already well behind recommended student-to-staff ratios for counselors, social workers, and school psychologists. This could lead to an influx of special needs students in public schools.

Kristin Crabb launched a Change.org petition asking state leaders to protect access to ABA. As of Friday afternoon, it has nearly 2,000 signatures. Another petition launched for the same cause has more than 8,000.