South Windsor Mom’s Push For ‘Lexi’s Law’ Leads To Community Day

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — A South Windsor mother’s push to prevent other families from encountering gaps in Connecticut’s disability and mental health services will come home later this month with the first Lexi’s Law Community Day.

The free event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Wapping Community Church, 1790 Ellington Road.

It will focus on disability and mental health awareness, advocacy, family resources and connections among families facing similar challenges.

Brie Abate created Lexi’s Law Family Advocacy Network Corporation after struggling to secure services for her daughter, Lexi, a 21-year-old with autism, an intellectual disability and significant mental health needs.

“As her needs became increasingly urgent, our family experienced firsthand the gaps that can occur between disability services, mental health care and the transition into adult supports,” Abate told Patch.

Students with disabilities can receive school-based transition services into young adulthood, but families must then move into a separate system of state agencies, Medicaid programs and community providers.

Connecticut law calls for transition services for people with autism between the ages of 3 and 22, as well as services for adults older than 22. It also directs the Office of Policy and Management to coordinate among the state agencies responsible for those programs and recommend ways to address gaps.

Abate said her family’s experience showed how difficult that transition can become when a person also has urgent mental health needs.

What began as an effort to help Lexi has since grown into a broader advocacy campaign. Abate has prepared a proposed legislative framework, contacted lawmakers and state officials and worked to connect with disability and mental health advocates. An online petition supporting the proposal had collected more than 220 signatures by August.

The proposal, which Abate calls “Lexi’s Law,” is intended to prevent young adults with developmental disabilities from losing critical support while they wait for adult services to begin.

No legislation bearing the Lexi’s Law name had been filed in the Connecticut General Assembly’s online bill system as of Thursday. Abate said she is continuing to speak with legislators, state agencies, advocates and other families in hopes of moving the proposal forward.

She also formed Lexi’s Law Family Advocacy Network Corporation to give families a place to share their experiences and find information while the legislative effort continues.

“Because Lexi’s story and this organization began here in South Windsor,” Abate said, she hopes the Community Day will bring families, advocates and residents together in the town where the effort started.

Additional information is available through the organization’s Instagram page.

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