[VerbalBehavior] In Pa.- off topic up date

[Guest guest]

Thought that some might be interested in the below

Joe

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Letter from “Brother to Brother†on Thursday, February 24,

2005

Dear Representative Pallone:

It is budget time again and it appears that the leadership of

this Great Commonwealth is once again attempting to solve

their budget woes on the backs of thousands of Handicapped

Pennsylvanians that do not have the ability to speak out and

defend themselves. Why do we consistently wage our budget

attacks on the neediest and most helpless residents of this

great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ?

As the parent of an twelve year old Autistic Child, and as

your brother, I am writing to ask you to strenuously oppose

Governor Rendell's proposed budget which seeks to: " Implement

a plan of cost sharing under which higher income families

with disabled children eligible for Medical Assistance would

be required to pay a monthly premium, based on a sliding

scale; " this cost sharing plan will effect thousands of

Pennsylvanian's and include your nephew and my son. My hope

is that you won't stop with a strenuous opposition, but you

will become a VERY VOCAL Leader, ADVOCATE and representatives

of our children and our families in this Commonwealth.

The Governor's Budget proposes placing a sliding scale,

income based Co-Pay on the eligibility for MA - Specifically,

the proposal would begin to require co-pays for families

above $50,000 of income. Presumably, the co-pay scale would

be less for large families, and lower forsmaller families

and the proposal will go into effect with the 2005/2006

budget.

Services currently paid for under MA include, but are not

limited to:

1. Behavioral Therapies (wraparound)

2. Medical Therapies (speech therapy, occupational therapy,

physical therapy)

3. Essential medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, chair

lifts, hearing aids, etc.

4. Prescriptions

5. Nutritional supplements

Our family has determined that the cost of privately

purchasing theservices, which Bobby desperately requires,

will be a minimum of $90,000 per year, every year (costs most

probably will go over the $100,000 mark - my estimate is

conservative). The cost of the co-pay along with MANY other

out of pocket costs associated with a disabled child would

clearly have a catastrophic impact upon our family's ability

to care for Bobby as well as the basic needs of the family.

Not only would there be loss of services for the children,

but it would also effect the employment of thousands of

Pennsylvanians that are employed as therapists, aids and

administrators of the programs. Either of the effects are

not positive for Pennsylvanians.

As you are very aware, Bobby was diagnosed as Autistic at the

early age of 2. Autism is a neurobiological disorder of the

brain that affects as many as one in every 150 children born

every day. The cause of Autism has not been determined and

there is no cure. Although there is not a cure, it should be

noted that the science and research shows that the programs

that are paid for and funded by MA are the " State of the

Art " treatment and the most promising methodology for a cure

and/or positive outcome. The behavioral and therapeutic

interventions have proven ENORMOUSLY effective in enabling

our children to speak, interact with others and participate

meaningfully in school and as citizens. You, of all people,

have seen the DRAMATIC and LASTING effects that Therapy and

intervention has had for Bobby.

I ask you to think back on how your nephew, Bobby, started as

an avoidance little boy who was hard to engage and had little

family interaction – all symptoms of Autism. Now, fast

forward to today and think about and reflect on how his

extraordinary effort and the hard work of his family and

therapy team has helped him progress into a child who can

communicate his needs and enjoy the company of family

members, friends and classmates. Truly, he has blossomed into

a delightful little boy that loves the attention of friends

and family as he shows off his new skills for us. His

progress has been somewhat miraculous and very promising for

all of us. Everyday we pray for more progress and wish for a

miracle to cure him of this hideous condition. At the very

least, we wish and hope for Bobby to have the power of a more

meaningful vocabulary and speech along with the ability to

have loving and reciprocal relations. We have seen a great

deal of progress towards our goals and you can raise

testimony to his progress in reading, counting, math and

other important and necessary subjects of study in the school

curriculum and the home and natural environment.

If the Governor's budget is passed, we will be faced with two

options:

1. Family Bankruptcy as a result of privately attempting to

pay for Bobby's medical and therapeutic needs, Or

2. Abandoning the treatment that has brought him so far and

NOTHING for him in the public School Environment -- In a very

real sense we will be abandoning a child that has a ton of

hope and potential as a SON, Nephew, grandson and brother.

The options are truly unacceptable and honestly despicable.

They are options that NO Pennsylvania family should be forced

to face, regardless of income. By way of this e-mail, I am

asking you and urging you to forward this information to

EVERY HOUSE member (both sides of the aisle) on your e-mail

list and copy the Governor and his budget Secretary. I have

taken the liberty of copying Senator Logan, Senator

Orie, Senator White, Representative/Minority Leader DeWeese,

Representative DeLuca, Bob Kline from Senator Mellow's

office, Bob Billstone from Senator Costa's office and

Fulton from Representative Lescovitz's office on this e-mail

and I also will ask them to send this to EVERY SENATOR (both

sides of the aisle)on your internal e-mail mailbox along with

the Governor and his budget Secretary.

Please don't take this note lightly, and I would appreciate

if you copied me on your forwarded note to your colleagues. I

am asking and pleading that the Governor of this Great

Commonwealth and the members of the House and Senate not

allow a budget that will HANDICAP BOBBY and Handicap

thousands of Pennsylvania's children ALL OVER AGAIN !

I look forward to being copied on your forwarded note to your

colleagues and we all thank you for your support on this very

important matter.

Your brother,

M. Pallone, Sr.+