TJC 2010 Mother of the Year - Maria Vasquez

Eleven-year-old Henry Vasquez has severe Asperger’s Syndrome, a development disorder on the Autism spectrum. His anxiety and self-harming behaviors prompted Henry’s doctor to order Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, a treatment for children with Asperger’s which involves family members. Asperger’s affects Henry’s emotions and his speech – he stutters and can't get words out.

Henry’s mother, Maria, speaks only Spanish, and requires an interpreter to participate in her son’s hands-on ABA treatment. But a TennCare HMO told the family that it would only cover interpretation services over the phone, not hands-on. TennCare’s offer was not only ineffective for the Vasquezes, but a violation of their rights. Ms. Vasquez contacted the Tennessee Justice Center and we filed a TennCare appeal and a Title VI complaint with Office of Non-discrimination Compliance/Health Care Disparities in late December 2009. Shortly thereafter, on January 14, 2010, Henry received an assessment to determine how many hours of ABA therapy were recommended. A Spanish-speaking interpreter was present.

Through Maria’s persistence and TJC’s advocacy, both Henry and his mom could participate fully in getting the care he so desperately needs. Ms. Vasquez’s experience highlights the irrationality of a system in which TennCare funnels public money to contractors to manage care, but then allows them to operate without oversight. The contractors then create arbitrary rules which result in children like Henry waiting months for needed care. No medical professional would approve a partial heart surgery or a partial tooth filling – ABA therapy without interpretation is equally illogical.

Ms. Vasquez said, “Thanks to all the hard work of the people at the Tennessee Justice Center it seems like everything is easier and going faster.”