This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The magical experience of becoming a parent, as Dave Wilbur describes it, is beautiful.

"You don't know this person," he said. "You never met. But they come into the world and instantly, you'd do anything for them. I mean literally anything."

But Dave's experience also has a sad twist, since he's not describing becoming the parent of any child, but the parent of a child with autism.

"Now imagine this person you love so much just withdrawing from you," he said. "It's agonizing."

11-year-old Charlie has severe autism. Dave never says his son IS autistic. Instead he says Charlie HAS autism, because he doesn't like to think of it being a permanent state.

"We want it to be something he can hopefully overcome," he said.

It's a hope shared by many parents of children with autism. In Utah, that's a staggering one in 54 children, a statistic that places the state second only to New Jersey nationally.

Up until now, the disorder was not covered by health insurance, leaving parents to basically fend for themselves. However, a 2014 bill means this will no longer be the case. It states that Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - a treatment for autism - is medically necessary. As such, beginning in 2016, insurance companies mandated by the state of Utah will cover ABA treatment. Medicaid will also cover ABA.

It's great news, not only for Dave and his family, but also for the the organization he credits with "pulling Charlie out of the darkness", helping him to be more responsive, more interactive and more developmentally advanced.

Clear Horizons Academy (CHA) has for the past 10 years been a beacon of hope for children in Utah with autism. The hard work and dedication of the Academy's staff has produced such outstanding results that parents have moved from all over the state, and even from other states to be closer to CHA's Orem operation so that their children can benefit from it.

Until now, the Academy has kept its doors open through private donations, grants, scholarships, and pay from the families they help. But financial constraints meant they had to cap enrollment at 45. However, a new partnership with the Utah Autism Academy (UAA), scheduled to take effect on June 1st, means Clear Horizons will be able to more than triple enrollment. That's because the partnership will provide them with a more financially sustainable way to run their program, since they will be operating under UAA's billable insurance model. The model CHA currently uses is not insurable.

"Utah Autism Academy will be taking over management of Clear Horizons Academy" and using the ABA model," UAA's Executive Director Tricia Nelson said. "Beginning June 1st Clear Horizons Academy will officially be 'Utah Autism Academy at Clear Horizons', and all of the staff will go through intensive training to be certified in ABA," she said.

The Hurst Wood Education Foundation, of which Clear Horizons Academy is a DBA has always been committed to helping as many children as possible. The new UAA/CHA partnership will do exactly that.

Research has shown that ABA treatment has the highest success rate in terms of individuals with autism being able to mainstream with their peers. Since the program Utah Autism Academy at Clear Horizons offers is not just center-based, but also focused on community interaction, parents like Dave say it is invaluable.

"As far as Charlie has come, it's such a gift," Dave said. "The word miracle gets thrown around a lot, but we cannot discount the hard work and dedication of the Clear Horizons staff. It has been so magnificent, so beneficial to us," he said.

And with the new UAA/CHA partnership opening doors for so many other kids with autism in Utah to receive help, Dave says he can't begin to express how excited he is for the parents who will experience what he and his family has with Clear Horizons' help.

"Because of them, we have our little boy back," he said.

To find out more about this partnership and how it can benefit your child and your family please visit: http://www.utahautismacademy.com or call 801-437-0490.