how we fought for change

In 2005, Dan and Lorri worked with a legislator to introduce a bill to force insurers to cover evidence-based autism treatment prescribed by doctors so children with autism could receive the medical care they needed just as children with any other medical condition.

At this point, it wasn’t about Dan, Lorri, or even Ryan anymore; their son wouldn’t even benefit from the proposed law. It was about doing the right thing for every child and every family with a child with autism.

RYAN’S LAW

Rallying other parents to help lobby state legislators, they formed Ryan’s Law Grassroots Gang, and their fight began. Over the course of the next two years, what would become known as Ryan’s Law would go through multiple iterations, gather the support of thousands of South Carolina residents and ultimately end up passing on May 25, 2007, only to be vetoed by the Governor “on philosophical grounds” late on June 6, the day before the end of the 2007 legislative session.

After a long night getting the word out, in the morning of June 7, the Ryan’s Law Grassroots Gang, many with kids, grandparents and friends in tow, converged on the capital. By the end of the day, the Senate and House voted unanimously to override the veto. Ryan’s Bill became Ryan’s Law, providing thousands of families across the state with the care they deserved and so desperately needed.