ARLINGTON -- People with autism in Texas and their families are frustrated. Massoud Monshizadeh is one of them.
"I have to fight for everything," Monshizadeh said.
He's the father of a 29-year-old woman with autism. Her name is Ghazal.
"She is kind. She is loving. She doesn't play the politics most people do," Monshizadeh said.
The Arlington father says his daughter's social behavior had improved drastically over the last three months. He says it's all because of a therapy called Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).
"She shakes hands now, looks people in the eye. She can even go to the store on her own and use a credit card," Monshizadeh said.
Monshizadeh says his daughter's treatment was paid for through a waiver program through the Department of Disability and Aging Services (DADS). But last week, he was told ABA was no longer covered.
"The nurse just called to say she wouldn't be back. Nobody could tell me why," Monshizadeh said.
He isn't alone. Other parents of adults with autism say they got similar calls, and they're frustrated because they can't get an answer as to why the funding was cut or changed.
"I call everyone I know to call. They all say call someone else," Monshizadeh said.
News 8 called the Department of Disability and Aging Services, where a staff member said the change was not made within DADS. DADS referred us to the Health and Human Services Commission, which, in turn, referred us back to DADS.
We will continue to pursue this story and the changes to medical care for people with autism in Texas.
Monshizadeh says he will, too, because his daughter's health and happiness is his main concern.
"I love her so much," he told us. "She is the reason I breathe."