Sorry I haven't been out here much.  Been going crazy.  My daughter will be 5 next month.  She has grown so much and has learned a lot.  I'm wondering if I should have her tested again for PDD-NOS with autism?  I curious because when we went to sign up for life insurance, she was denied any kind because of her autism.  I was outragged about it, but I don't know what to do.  Any suggestions?

Hi,

I am a Father of a child that was suggested to be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  which may be an appropriate diagnosis in some cases, but can also be a "catch all" diagnosis, If we arent sure what else could cause these "symptoms".

In any case I am curious about your insurance woes...

Where is it that you live? Canada or U.S.?

I was shocked to hear you could be denied coverage.

Thanx ,

David

I live in the US.  IT's just Life Insurance, but they told me that because of her medical history, she is inelligable for coverage.  I plan on having her retested to see if there is a more clear diagnosis.  At the age of 2 she was diagnosed in the military with PDD-NOS with mild autism.  She will be 5 next month and has learned a lot in the past 3 years.  I will be talking the the company that we are supposed to be getting life insurance through and asking them for a detailed reason why my daughter would be denied.  It is unacceptable and unreasonable unless she was denied for another reason. 

I don't know much about this, but I put the wonderful internet to work for me and googled it: "denied life insurance because of autism".  I came up with a lot of blogs and some helpful information.  Here is the first page of my search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS332&q=denied+life+insurance+because+of+autism&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Checkout a couple of these links/articles:

http://www.autism-pdd.net/testdump/test17758.htm

http://blog.unfairdenial.com/2008/boy-with-autism-is-denied-insurance-claim/

http://www.iconocast.com/00002/Y2/News7.htm

http://www.a-champ.org/insurance_coverage.html

Hope this helps.  Do the google search that I did, there were more links and articles.  Apparently it is common, but there may be ways around it with a little digging.  One of the articles mentioned Thrivent Insurance.  We have a life policy through them that my husband has had since he was a child.  We still pay for it and it's very reasonable.  I may look to them for insurance on my son.  We have all family covered, but couldn't afford my last child since rates have gone so high... but Thrivent is very reputable and cost is low.  I don't think it matters where you live, but it can be a factor.

Best of luck!  Do some more research, and don't give up!

Thank you Annette for the info.  I'll have to do some research.  Tricia's health insurance has always been helpful in covering her every need.  It's all in the wording I guess.  LIFE insurance on the other hand has been a pain.  I'll keep searching though.

UPDATE: I talked to our Life Insurance company and Tricia has not been denied completely.  There was a missunderstanding in that I was not given all information.  She has not been denied because of autism.  They want to wait till she is 8 years of age to see if her autism gets worse or how well it is being managed.  By the age of 8 is when most any other developments would occur and the company wants to make sure she is developing like she should.  I find this answer a whole lot more reassuring than just flat out denial.  Tricia has been developing well and will be retested when she turns 6 years old.  Thank you all for your suggestions and support.

You have to be 25% delayed in PA in order them to consider that you have a delay. They also go by what you make. I got Access autimally because she was so premature so they cannot denie you due to your income. I don't know how other states work.