For a few months now, I have been following the Virginia statewide races. I have always been a civic minded voter, but having Jimmy has really narrowed my focus into demanding answers from these candidates about autism. I am tired of the influence of lobbyists in Richmond whose money is more important that our voices and the needs of these children. Autism is a medical condition. Medical conditions and their treatments, both medicinal and therapeutic, should be covered by insurance. I know Jody Wagner supports insurance mandates (per conversation with her staff in Virginia Beach.) I know Creigh Deeds thinks the market (read: insurance companies) will adjust to meet the needs of these kids, a fallacy likely perpetuated by those lovely Richmond lobbyists. I did talked to staff of Bob McDonnell and while I got a lot of sympathy, I heard nothing that resembled a firm policy statement. I have no idea about Bill Bolling.
I would like to encourage voters in Virginia who care about these unmet needs of families dealing with autism to put this out to the forefront using the latest social media technology... Twitter. Set up an account and following @creighdeeds, @lgbillbolling, @jodywagner, and @bobmcdonnell. Send them notes... you can do a lot in 140 characters. Include (and if you are new, it will make sense after a while) the hashtags #VAGOV and #autism to get this trending. Several of the candidates personally follow the feeds some or all of the time, with staff picking up the slack. I am one person, but if we can get more voices out there, we can see our needs discussed in the campaigns and the debates - insurance, education, services. The needs of our kids have been ignored and marginalized far too long. Let's make change happen.
Feel free to post this to other lists and forward via e-mail. I would love to see this happen for my son Jimmy, his classmates, and all of the other beautiful kids I have met with autism.
Thanks,
Rachel
Realityblah.com
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