Support Families Living with Autism
Give Today to Help Children and Adults with ASD Succeed!
The Washington Autism Alliance & Advocacy is on a mission to ensure that all children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD’s) & other developmental disabilities(DD’s) have every opportunity to thrive and become productive members of society. We do this by helping families access ASD & DD health insurance benefits, effective services in schools, and supportive community-based services, regardless of their personal financial situation.
WAAA started in 2007 with only four members who had children with autism and wanted to fight for their right to autism health benefits. Three years and 800 members later, we successfully achieved health care coverage for all of them through Washington state insurance. We also had several other wins for individuals covered by private insurers.
Our efforts have helped more than 12,000 Washington residents secure autism coverage to pay for vital therapies that would otherwise cost a family $25,000 to $50,000 per year.
Today we provide health law advocacy to an average of 2,500 member families a year, in every ZIP code in Washington. We continue to lobby for social change and legislation on behalf of children and adults with autism. We are also expanding our education support, which is available now only on a limited and all-volunteer basis, into full education advocacy program that can effect measurable change in a child’s experience and success in school.
Help fund the thousands of WAAA Families & Individual Advocacy insurance appeals, and IEP Supports WAAA provides
Thanks to the generosity of people like you, WAAA has been able to accomplish so much in the past year. We empowered 2,455 families through counseling, trainings and resources to secure treatment funding through private insurance and to secure effective services in public schools throughout the state. We made headway with the Office of Insurance Commissioner to issue regualtions on how insurance companies should cover autism spectrum disorders. We advocated for better training and a career path for para-educators as well as 1.256 million dollars in funding developmental and autism screening for toddlers suspected of having autism.
See more at http://www.washingtonautismadvocacy.org/updates/get-involved/.
WAAA is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax deductible. Tax ID 35-2440624.
About Washington Autism Alliance & Advocacy
Washington Autism Alliance and Advocacy (WAAA) is fortunate to be a part of a community of organizations in Washington supporting families in unique ways. What differentiates WAAA is that we ensure all the services families depend on are funded in a meaningful way.
At WAAA, we provide crucial resources while enhancing our community and advocate for implementation of key legislation to benefit the community. WAAA provides the largest collection of resources available in the state to children and their families living with ASD.
We educate families on critical services and benefits for their children and provide access to a statewide resource directory. WAAA hosts specific training workshops, private counseling, and assessments. We review and evaluate Individualized Education Plans, school performances, analyze insurance plans and prescribed treatments, and assist with challenging and unlawful denials of insurance coverage. We pair families with an Advocacy and Resource Coordinator, who helps each family or individual to access the benefits and services they need and deserve which also includes assistance for Autistic adults and self-advocacy.
WAAA has worked since 2007 to remove barriers to insurance coverage of effective treatment for ASD in Washington State, and with the incoming Affordable Care Act transition and the critical support from the WA State Legislature, 2015 will be our most significant year yet.
Read more about WAAA and the Families we have helped here: http://www.washingtonautismadvocacy.org/updates/stories-hope/
WAAA is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax deductible. Tax ID 35-2440624.