GAINESVILLE - After two weeks spent solely on budget writing, the state legislature gets down to other business starting Monday. One piece of legislation that autism advocates want pushed to the forefront is Ava's Law.
Leigh Stallings-Jarrell, a 911 operator with Hall County, has a 6-year-old son who recently was diagnosed with autism. She points out that eight other states currently have laws on the books similar to Ava's Law, with the goal of classifying autism as a medical disability as opposed to a mental ailment.
"If your child is diagnosed with autism, if you have private insurance, then your private insurance company cannot drop you [under Ava's Law]," said Stallings-Jarrell.
Stallings-Jarrell, who has written to her legislators in her home county of Habersham, points out that many families are in the same situation she is in.
"One in 110 children will be diagnosed with autism [this year], one in 70 boys," she said.
The bill was introduced in 2009 to Georgia's lawmakers, and actually made it to the House floor for a vote, but House members recommended further study on autism and did not approve the law.
Monday
November 25th, 2024
2:50AM
