YAKIMA, Wash. -- Parents of older autistic children susceptible to violent, disruptive or destructive behavior will soon get the support and services they need because of Senate Bill 5117 and a separate ruling by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The bill signed this week by Gov. Chris Gregoire, acknowledges that as these children age, they become difficult for parents to handle physically. Because they are a threat to others, more than 20 children have been removed from their homes in recent years and sent to the Fircrest residential facility for the developmentally disabled in Shoreline, according to the state Department of Social and Health Services.

The bill authorizes DSHS to provide services so the children can stay at home. The services are part of an “intensive behavior support program."

The Medicaid/Medicare angle is that the government has agreed that these services can be reimbursed.