09/19/2025
The bottleneck no grant can fix
HHS just announced $50 million for autism research over the next 2-3 years. Families calling me today need services now, not research results in three years.
I've been watching this exact pattern since 2004 when my daughter was first diagnosed. Policy announcements generate headlines while parents hit the same walls: insurance delays, waiting lists, and finding qualified providers who actually understand what they're doing.
The math here is brutal.
$50 million sounds impressive until you break it down - that's roughly $25 million per year spread across over 2 million children with autism nationwide. About $12.50 per child annually for research while families pay thousands out of pocket because they can't wait for insurance approvals.
Meanwhile, the phone calls I get every week tell a different story. Parents describing 6-month waiting lists for ABA providers, insurance companies requiring multiple authorizations, and BCBAs who are so overbooked they can barely return calls.
New dollars will not create seasoned BCBAs and RBTs this month. The choke point isn't understanding autism better - research already demonstrates that 50-75% of children receiving intensive ABA therapy show significant improvements.
The choke point is access and navigation.
At ABA Home Therapy, we eliminated waiting lists entirely because we focused on what families actually face: insurance systems that feel designed to confuse, provider networks that don't communicate, and authorization processes that drag on while children miss critical intervention windows.
Since helping thousands of families navigate these systems, I can tell you every barrier has a workaround. Every insurance denial has an appeal process. Every "no" from a provider usually means they're not the right fit anyway.
Government funding represents important recognition, but recognition doesn't help the parent whose 4-year-old needs intervention today.
Your child's development doesn't wait for policy solutions.
Comment "ACCESS" if you think funding should target immediate solutions for families instead of future research. Like this if you've experienced these barriers firsthand.
