NORTH HILLS, Calif. (KTLA) -- A series of Southern California treatment centers for children with autism closed Friday without warning, leaving the parents of the young patients wondering what happened. Wellspring Health Care and Home Care provided treatment for thousands of children with autism across Southern California until Friday, when its locations shut their doors, apparently for good. Some employees told KTLA they haven't been paid for a month. Others said they received an email last week informing them they wouldn't be paid Friday. Caroline Simha -- the mother of a child with autism -- wonders what she will do now that Wellspring is no longer open. "When the services are cut, it's like you don't know where to go," she told KTLA. Wellspring founder and CEO Leo Landeverde issued the email to his employees last week saying they wouldn't be paid due to "cash flow problems." That same day, Landeverde tweeted, "Can you start over after losing it all? A man of God can." His Twitter bio changed from Wellspring CEO to Passionate Christ Follower, Entrepreneur, Missionary Coaching. Financial Freedom Fighter, Inspiring People to overcome. All Odds God's Way." "There's obviously something wrong when somebody shuts their doors so … Continue reading →

Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 2:18 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 2:18 a.m. LAKELAND | Florida's Medicaid program must cover applied behavioral analysis for children who are diagnosed with autism and related disorders, a federal judge in Miami ruled Monday morning. An estimated 8,500 Florida children on Medicaid are identified now as having full-blown autism or related conditions falling under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder. The decision will benefit them, along with other children diagnosed with those disorders in the future who need behavioral health therapy. U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard called the state's decision not to cover ABA therapy "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable, both in its process and in its conclusion." The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration didn't follow its standard process for determining whether a treatment or service should be covered when it ruled against applied behavioral analysis. It didn't apply the state's definition of experimental and failed to use "reliable evidence" as defined by Florida law, Lenard said in the permanent injunction order against the state agency. The agency has a month in which to appeal the injunction if it chooses to do so. "We're so excited about the decision," … Continue reading →

By Lucy Elkins PUBLISHED: 17:56 EST, 26 March 2012 UPDATED: 23:39 EST, 26 March 2012 Like all children, five-year-old Evie Read likes to talk about what shes going to do when she grows up, specifically what she will do when I am a mummy and when I can drive a car. Its the sort of thing that would provoke a smile in most parents, but for Emily and Toby Read it is simply heartbreaking for they know that without a medical miracle, their beautiful daughter will not get to experience any of these things. Watching Evie bouncing off the sofa during a boisterous game of doctors and nurses with her three-year-old brother Wilf, its hard to envisage her as anything other than a healthy, active little girl. Toby and Emily Read with (from left) Evie, Wilf and Albie. Evie has ataxia-telangiectasia, a genetic disorder. How long she has before she loses her physical abilities, no one knows Indeed, until very recently there were no obvious warning signs that anything was wrong. Evie achieved the usual development targets and was advanced in her talking. She said her first word duck at ten months. She didnt even have much in the way … Continue reading →

Columbia, SC (WLTX) --What if your pet couldn't walk anymore? One Midlands vet is using stem cell therapy to help. For Beth Phibbs it's almost like a turning back of the hands of time. "I call her my little miracle dog, because she's doing things she used to do," said Phibbs. "Now she's not on any medication, and she can go up and down the steps and she runs and jumps and things that she used to do when she was five." Phibbs has spent the last 13 years loving and looking after her pet dog Maggie, and when she pet began to develop arthritis and a limp she had to take action. But when the first treatments stopped working, Phibbs and Maggie had to look to another options, dog stem cell therapy. "I had no idea that animals were able to have they type of procedures," she said. Dr. Kenneth Banks a veterinarian with the Bank Animal Hospital, performed the surgery for Maggie using her own stem cells in the one day procedure. Banks said the stem cell therapy not only cost less than some other options, but was less invasive and had a quicker recovery time as well. … Continue reading →