Military Families Battle Against Autism

Why do military families deserve autism covered under their health insurance and the rest of us don't?

Military Families Battle Against Autism
By TISHA THOMPSON/myfoxdc

WASHINGTON, D.C. - At first glance, the Driscolls look like any other family at the park. But then, with very little warning, 11-year-old Paul starts to break down.

“Oh Daddy! Where are you?” he exclaims.

Paul is autistic. His father is a colonel is in the Marines flying injured soldiers out of combat. But it is Paul’s mom, Karen Driscoll, who is waging a new type of battle.

"As a senior Marine Corps spouse, I finally said, ‘You know what? I have a responsibility to my son, but I also have a responsibility to other Marine Corps families to speak out,’" Karen told FOX 5.

Curious to know how many other military families struggle with autism, Karen Driscoll filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Defense. The military sent her a list of statistics, which boiled down to an alarming number. At least one out of 88 military kids has autism.

“The numbers are pretty consistent with what we’ve seen in other countries,” says National Autism Center Director Susan Wilczynski. “In the United Kingdom, in Canada, where the numbers have been one in 100 or lower.”

Wilczynski says the military’s numbers represent a more realistic picture of what’s happening across the country. Recent studies released in October show as many as one out of 91 kids nationwide now has autism.

“For someone to go overseas feeling uncertain how well cared for their family is an unbelievable burden for the parent that’s leaving,” says Wilczynski. “But it’s also a huge burden for the family member who stays.”

Major Andy Hilmes says his son Drew was diagnosed with autism six months before his second deployment in Iraq. To help Drew learn basic skills like speaking and interacting with other children, Major Hilmes put Drew in a special clinic near Ft. Hood, Texas that offers intensive treatment called Applied Behavioral Analysis, better known as ABA therapy. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends autistic kids get at least 25 hours a week of ABA therapy.

“Without those services, they’re not likely to develop the skills to reach their potential,” says Wilczynski.

But Drew’s mother, Nikki Hilmes, says that’s hard for military families because the military caps how much therapy it covers.

"The military now, with the funding that we get, we are able to provide between 10 and 14 hours," she says.

Military families get their medical benefits through a government-run program called TRICARE. TRICARE refused FOX 5’s request for an on-camera interview, but says its coverage is competitive with other commercial insurance providers.

Karen Driscoll says TRICARE isn’t telling the truth. She says she and her husband paid for their son’s treatment by emptying out their savings, mortgaging their house and finally borrowing money from their parents.

"My husband is a colonel in the Marine Corps,” Driscoll says. “If this is hard for us, if this is breaking our bank, I am very concerned for our younger Marines and our enlisted personnel."


But Driscoll and other military moms have discovered increasing coverage literally requires an act of Congress.

Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA) is a retired Vice-Admiral with the Navy. This summer, he introduced a bill forcing TRICARE to provide more coverage. The price tag? About $50 million, which Sestak’s staff says is little more than the price of one Trident II missile.

“This is taking care of the troops,” says Sestak. "This is just one necessary step to say, ‘Look, we're going to take care of this with minimal cost. You, warrior, keep your mind on your mission because when you come home it’s as good as it possibly could be.’ That is what it’s about."

When Congress voted on the Defense Authorization Bill in October, Sestak’s bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but it died in the U.S. Senate. Meaning for at least another year, the Driscolls and thousands of other military families say they have to come up with another way to pay for therapy if their kids have any hope of winning the war here on the home front.