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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Six-year-old Timothy has autism and is nonverbal. His grandma says sleep is especially hard for him and he often wakes up and tries to leave the house.

“My grandson’s gone to the hospital three times with injuries that have happened where he is either fallen off of a bed or fallen while climbing on something when he was supposed to be asleep,” Maribeth Lewis-Baker said.

So when she heard a nonverbal seven-year-old with autism had drowned in Tennessee after leaving the house in the night on Thursday - it struck a nerve.

“Not only is it sad that a little girl with autism died. It’s the reality of knowing that that’s going to be my grandson,” Lewis-Baker said.

She says the solution is a cubby bed, designed for kids with special needs to stay safe and secure.

“It’s not cheap. But how do you put a price on someone’s life?” Lewis-Baker said.

It’s something TennCare has denied them now twice.

“It’s not just my family. There are other families that have gone through and applied for these beds and had their appeals denied. And our state is not doing the right thing,” Lewis-Baker said.

TennCare says the reason is the family must prove that other methods to help with sleep don’t work for Timothy. The family says they’ve tried everything and this is their last hope.

“If my grandson doesn’t get one of these beds, the odds are that my grandson is going to get out of my home and either get hit by a car or drown or have something else horrible happen to him,” Lewis-Baker said.

Drowning is the number one cause of death for children with autism.

Lewis-Baker says the next step is to request a hearing with Tenncare. She says if that fails they would have to start a GoFundMe.