“Your kid’s dead and they brought him back to life,” a parent says of MS-covered autism treatments. April is Autism Awareness Month.

By Aaron Halabe

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that one in every 150 children in the United States has an autism disorder. This neurological condition puts many children into the shadows of life by limiting their ability to speak or form relationships.

Microsoft U.S. employees’ children affected by autism disorders can receive life-impacting treatments. Providers include the University of Washington’s Autism Center, which specializes in a behavior-modification treatment called Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).

The disorder once debilitated Eric Brechner’s son, Peter. Now 11, Peter is one of many who have dramatically improved after years of ABA treatments.

'He Disappeared Right in Front of Us'

A vibrant and happy baby until he was one and a half, “[Peter] then disappeared right in front of us,” said Brechner, a director in Engineering Excellence. Before treatments began, Peter did not speak or recognize anyone around him.

“He became an inanimate object and we lost him.” Brechner choked up as he characterized the impact of five years of treatments. “I mean your kid dies, right? Your kid dies. How else do you describe it? Your kid’s dead, and they brought him back to life. I don’t know what else to say.”

Brechner and a handful of other Microsoft parents composed a group who wrote letters to company executives years ago, seeking coverage to help underwrite the cost of ABA treatment, which can run $25,000 a year. After years of research and program evaluation, the Benefits team in January 2001 made Microsoft one of the first U.S. firms to provide related coverage. The benefit is available in the U.S. only.

“It was a case of us really becoming educated about autism, determining the most effective treatment … and researching how to incorporate this into the Benefits program,” said program manager Mark Stoppler.

‘It’s Arduous, but It Works’

The treatment transformed Peter from a child whom Brechner described as “an ornament in the living room” to a highly functional boy who speaks, plays with friends and attends regular public school without an aide. “Most people don’t know he has autism. It’s amazing. He’s a real success story.”

The ABA approach focuses a child’s attention in a structured, intensive, one-on-one process. Brechner offered the example of teaching a child to say “thank you.” “You give them a prompt – ‘What do you say?’ The kid says ‘thank you’ and you reinforce it by saying ‘Good job. You’re welcome.’ It’s a very structured approach: situation, prompt, response, reinforcement. That’s ABA.”

The approach is applied to other behaviors such as conscious looking, imitation, and speech. “It’s arduous, but it works,” Brechner said.

It also worked for Kris Tibbetts’ second child, Noah, now five and a half. Diagnosed at age two, “[Noah] never developed any speech on his own,” Tibbetts said. He acted out violently and regularly injured himself and others.

“He couldn’t cope with the frustration of not being able to communicate with us,” said Tibbetts, a lead Office product planner.

‘A Poster Child for Early Intervention’

The family pursued speech and occupational therapies, but once Noah began ABA therapy, “we saw dramatic improvement” – less aggression and dangerous behaviors, Tibbetts said. Therapy taught Noah to speak; helps him deal with emotional responses; and enhances his social skills, including initiating and sustaining conversations and play with peers. The boy, now considered on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, is poised to be in a mainstream kindergarten class in the fall.

“At this point, I consider Noah a poster child [for] early intervention. The earlier you start, [and] the better and the more intensively you implement the ABA therapy, the better.”

Although Microsoft does not mandate a bottom- or top-end age limit for its autism coverage, the number of patient visits does have a limit. Stoppler said ABA, when designed as an intensive treatment program, is “most effective” when children start at as early an age as possible. Tibbetts pointed out, though, that children with more severe autism may continue with ABA well into their teens or beyond.

Meanwhile, Microsoft remains among the few firms to offer the benefit. “We’re proud to be a leader in this area, and we … encourage other companies to see the value in providing a benefit like this,” Stoppler said.