Political Policy On Autism

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”
Dr. Stephen Shore (The Art of Autism, n.d.)
Employees on the autism spectrum are a microculture in the United States who are often misunderstood, falling prey to harmful biases and prejudices. Moreover, due to the lack of suitable political policy on autism in the workplace, many employers themselves do not have guidelines in place, which often creates a hostile work environment rife with conflict for both the autistic employee and their employers.
With appropriate communication and accommodation, employees with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) can, not only can be gainfully employed but improve relations with employers; thus, eliminating conflict and hostile work environments.

In addition, insurance policies are often confusing and difficult to determine the level of coverage that can be expected. For instance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBS) asserts that “employers can customize the plans they offer. They may change which autism benefits are included, what you need to do to get them, or choose to omit them” (Blue Cross, Blue Shield: Blue Cross Network of Michigan, n.d.). Health Alliance Plan (HAP) does not cover diagnosis or treatment of ASD for anyone over the age of nineteen (Health Alliance Plan,

J. Pitney in The Politics of Autism, existing state mandates for the insurance companies to cover autism do not apply to self-funded plans and that the majority of large employers are self-funded (Pitney, 2015, p. 98). He goes on to state that the insurance companies refer to autism as an educational rather than a medical condition and that since treatment is mainly through a behavioral therapist as opposed to a medical doctor, it should not fall under the umbrella of insurance (Pitney, 2015, p. 99). Finally, Pitney asserts “In a 2014 survey, 55 percent of ABA service providers said that insurance companies’ operating restrictions and guidelines implemented by insurance companies were challenging, and thirty-one percent reported that insurance companies were denying services from board-certified behavior analysts” (Pitney, 2015, p. 100).
As stated, due to the elevated expense associated with an ASD diagnosis and the lack of coverage from insurance companies, many on the spectrum go undiagnosed. This subsequently initiates a predicament in which employees cannot choose whether or not to disclose that they are autistic in view of the fact that, without the diagnosis, they may not know they are autistic or do not have substantiated proof. In effect, they will experience the symptoms and challenges of someone with ASD without grounds for