Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 > > Hello all, > > My name is and I have a son who is 7 years old. He is PDD > NOS and highly functioning. We have been aware of his Autism since he > was 4 years old and have been getting additional OT, PT, and speech > therapy since that time. He has come a long way in these past 3 years > from the services he has had and will surely benefit from additional > services in the future. Many of the services receives are > through the Bedford City School systems and funding is provided through > the school. We have also been turning to outside sources for additional > therapy and these costs are subsidized by my insurance and or are wholly > covered by me out of pocket. > > So, here is my question are there any sources for funding out there that > would cover or help cover the additional services the Nick gets. I was > wondering what other people are doing to help pay for the services that > their children are getting. We have approached Cuyahoga County Board of > MRDD and they have been able to help a little but I still need > additional funds to cover the costs. > > Any help would be appreciated. > > Regards, > > > Hi , I attended the meeting lst night , Sondra the guest speaker was amazing, saw alot of similar things in her as i do my son Jake who is three . you might want to try the ohio scholorship - it funds money for therapy and things - i think . i have to check it out myself to cover these costs for my son .. hope this will help you out . good luck to you .. kelly burton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Hi and Welcome! The funding issue is a big one for most of us here, I believe. We have a 4.5 year old boy on the spectrum and we are paying for some services through our insurance. There is a deductible and a co-pay normally. So that's out of pocket. What do we do for funding? There's not much we are doing, really. We have used the Family resources funds at CCBMRDD, but that's not a whole lot. We have written a very compelling letter to our insurance company and they are covering home therapy costs, with some co-pay. We don't know how long they are going to do this, so we are trying to prepare for the worse. Myself and my husband Don are working with a group of people on establishing a foundation to cover therapy costs, respite, and medical expenses to begin with. We could do a fundraiser and then have families apply for a grant and use the money as they see fit. We could probably only give out small grants first, but down the road, we could get BIG! If you are interested, let me know. We could put you on our email list for the foundation or meet some time to tallk about other ideas. Unfortunately, there is nothing out there YET, but in as little as 4-6 month, we could get a fundraiser going and distribute some monies to our families.... I don't know if this helped you at all, but I wanted to help through sharing what has worked for us. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers here..... Good luck with Nick and all, and stay in touch with us as we may have some announcements about funding later on! Hello all, My name is and I have a son who is 7 years old. He is PDD NOS and highly functioning. We have been aware of his Autism since he was 4 years old and have been getting additional OT, PT, and speech therapy since that time. He has come a long way in these past 3 years from the services he has had and will surely benefit from additional services in the future. Many of the services receives are through the Bedford City School systems and funding is provided through the school. We have also been turning to outside sources for additional therapy and these costs are subsidized by my insurance and or are wholly covered by me out of pocket. So, here is my question are there any sources for funding out there that would cover or help cover the additional services the Nick gets. I was wondering what other people are doing to help pay for the services that their children are getting. We have approached Cuyahoga County Board of MRDD and they have been able to help a little but I still need additional funds to cover the costs. Any help would be appreciated. Regards, Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 The other thing you can do is call the county and ask for a support administrator - they can help you, I think, with some costs - i wasn't sure if you have already pursued these funds or family resources only (FR will pay for some therapies and respite, some equipment)... Also, make sure you are on the waiting list for a medicaid waiver - there is a huge waiting list but one day your son will be next in line and qualify for lot and lots of supports, incl. medical, home therapy, speech and OT, assistive technology, anything and everything. They are trying to reform the waiver system right now so there may be changes to the wayswaivers would work, but this waiver I am talking about does have an income cap - everyone with a disability qualifies (OK, I am not sure if everyone does, but individiuals with autism DO) - it's just the waiting,...... They are also working on the autism waiver now on the state level, which may start soon as a pilot program in selected counties - anyone has more information on this? Thanks, Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Hi , YOu can most likely write off the expenses and mileage to take your son to thses classes ($.22cents per mile, ask a professional about this) on your tax return. You'll be amazed how these things can add up so quickly. Ann Salisbury ----- Original Message ----- From: " kellyb1679 " <kellyb1679@...> < > Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 8:19 PM Subject: [ ] Re: Intro and Funding > > > > > Hello all, > > > > My name is and I have a son who is 7 years old. He > is PDD > > NOS and highly functioning. We have been aware of his Autism > since he > > was 4 years old and have been getting additional OT, PT, and speech > > therapy since that time. He has come a long way in these past 3 > years > > from the services he has had and will surely benefit from > additional > > services in the future. Many of the services receives are > > through the Bedford City School systems and funding is provided > through > > the school. We have also been turning to outside sources for > additional > > therapy and these costs are subsidized by my insurance and or are > wholly > > covered by me out of pocket. > > > > So, here is my question are there any sources for funding out > there that > > would cover or help cover the additional services the Nick gets. I > was > > wondering what other people are doing to help pay for the services > that > > their children are getting. We have approached Cuyahoga County > Board of > > MRDD and they have been able to help a little but I still need > > additional funds to cover the costs. > > > > Any help would be appreciated. > > > > Regards, > > > > > > > Hi , > > I attended the meeting lst night , Sondra the guest speaker was > amazing, saw alot of similar things in her as i do my son Jake who > is three . you might want to try the ohio scholorship - it funds > money for therapy and things - i think . i have to check it out > myself to cover these costs for my son .. hope this will help you > out . good luck to you .. > > kelly burton > > > > > > > *Just Some Group Notes: > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > > We can help raise money for ASO (Autism Society of Ohio). Just by using a charity based search engine. Search for anything you need info on. 2 steps: Just click on the link then type in Autism Society of Ohio and hit verify. Then type in your search word. heres the link: http://www.goodsearch.com > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > > When Adding to your email address book, don't forget to include the s in groups. Here is the complete address: > > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > > Our Parent Contact list - see a printable list or add your contact info: > > See the printable list: /database?method=reportRows & tbl =2 & sortBy=1 & sortDir=down & startAt= & prntRpt=1 > > Add your contact info here: /database?method=addRecord & tbl= 2 > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > > Would you like to invite a friend to our group? > Would you like to handout information about our group to your area meeting? > Just print out some handouts from this link: > http://f4.grp.fs.com/v1/AIN0RLAa_M73oRrFIxpAYAoyKhpUQjhAQwLZyn-aHudv5wB Io5CIDOYwMaYSuKIwsAQHkU2a2WBN2D3h6hU6ig/ -Handout.doc > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > > See our group photo albums or Add your family photo album here: > http://health.ph./group/ /photos > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > > is a networking and support group > of " Parent to Parent for Autism " . > Website: http://hometown.aol.com/parentschat/homepage.html > > ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 >This means, you can not send your kid to public schools AND receive the >scholarship too. It's >either, or. But it's an option for some parents who >do not wish to send their children to public >schools (if the district's >program really really sucks or if they want a certain educational >metodology >to be followed). And you cannot be involved in due process, which I would hope you would be if your public school sucks. Forgive me for asking this naive (or stupid) question, but if your school district sucks and they are not serving your child (due to lack of understanding of autism or due to lack of expertise or due to just plain laziness or for whatever reason), why would you sign away your child's rights to due process? Why would you limit your child's education to what the Ohio Autism Scholarship can provide? Federal law puts no limits on how much the local school district must pay for a child's education. They MUST provide a free and appropriate education using research proven methods when possible. And there is lots of research out there that shows what works for children with autism. Let me give you an example. The Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism hospital based program costs in the ballpark of $60,000/year, if I remember correctly. The Ohio Autism Scholarship covers only a fraction of that tuition. Yet there is plenty of research out there that shows that ABA is effective when teaching children with autism. The National Academy of Sciences has published a book that verifies that the research shows that the use of one-on-one intensive behavior analysis is effective in educating children with autism. Does your local school teach using ABA? If not, you have an excellent case to have the LSD to pay for ALL of the tuition at the CCCA (or some other ABA school), not just a fraction. And if a due process judge agrees with you (I doubt a school will pay for the CCCA without a fight), then the school has to pay your lawyer fees as well. If I felt that my son needed to go to a private ABA school, then I would try due process first before the scholarship. Of course, it is easy for me to be a armchair quarterback - I mean an armchair educational advisor. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Yes, I agree with but I also know families who knew that the schools will just drad the fight out as long as they can while their child stays in limbo, without services or with the unsatisfactory level of services the schools provide. Or, if you can advance the kind of money the CCCA needs to be paid, you can do that, and if you win your case, the school district will reimburse you for that. If you win.... According to IDEA, the methodology used to educate children is up to the school district to chose. You can not just tell them you want ABA. I guess, you can argue that that is the ONLY approach empirically shown to "work" with the ASD population, but they do not have to provide the BEST thing out there for your kid. What works best, IMO, is to show data that the approach/intensity of the educational program provided for your child is ineffective/there is only limited/no progress. THEN you can ask for more hours of speech, OT, after school tutoring, extra ABA, or ABA in a pull out setting, or whatever. If that wouldn't work well enough for your child, then you can argue that the child needs to go to CCCA b/c they are professionally trained, intensive, 1:1, etc. You can also try to show that the school staff is not trained in ABA, for example, and that would be another thing to help your case. The more issues you can find with what they are providing, the better. Look out for procedural issues as well - did they have an administrator present at your child's IEP? or did they give you enough notice? or did they notify you about a certain testing to be done? basically, you would be looking for mistakes they have done, document it, write it all up, and build a strong case so that they settle with you before you go to due process. Due process is lengthy, very costly, stressful, and likely, your child will stay in limbo while you are fighting for more services. Most districts and parents like to avoid it. But is right, the law is to provide for the child with a disability a free and appropriate public education. Re the scholarship, I think some parents chose it because they have been advised/counseled not to fight the district for reasons that are confidential or individual to their case. I also think that some parents do not want an intensive and expensive program like the CCCA (they all run about the same, btw, if not more than the $60,000). The scholarship money would pay for a home program almost fully, or for additional OT and Speech if you were to do it with a participating provider. You could be taking your child to speech and OT every day for that money, one on one, if that's the way you want to do things, and if you are a stay-at-home anyways. But I agree, the scholarship does not give parents a full choice, and it is limited. They are supposed to increase the amount this year though, to like $28,000 I think! The Marotta Family <marottafamily@...> wrote: >This means, you can not send your kid to public schools AND receive the >scholarship too. It's >either, or. But it's an option for some parents who >do not wish to send their children to public >schools (if the district's >program really really sucks or if they want a certain educational >metodology >to be followed).And you cannot be involved in due process, which I would hope you would be if your public school sucks. Forgive me for asking this naive (or stupid) question, but if your school district sucks and they are not serving your child (due to lack of understanding of autism or due to lack of expertise or due to just plain laziness or for whatever reason), why would you sign away your child's rights to due process? Why would you limit your child's education to what the Ohio Autism Scholarship can provide? Federal law puts no limits on how much the local school district must pay for a child's education. They MUST provide a free and appropriate education using research proven methods when possible. And there is lots of research out there that shows what works for children with autism.Let me give you an example. The Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism hospital based program costs in the ballpark of $60,000/year, if I remember correctly. The Ohio Autism Scholarship covers only a fraction of that tuition. Yet there is plenty of research out there that shows that ABA is effective when teaching children with autism. The National Academy of Sciences has published a book that verifies that the research shows that the use of one-on-one intensive behavior analysis is effective in educating children with autism. Does your local school teach using ABA? If not, you have an excellent case to have the LSD to pay for ALL of the tuition at the CCCA (or some other ABA school), not just a fraction. And if a due process judge agrees with you (I doubt a school will pay for the CCCA without a fight), then the school has to pay your lawyer fees as well. If I felt that my son needed to go to a private ABA school, then I would try due process first before the scholarship.Of course, it is easy for me to be a armchair quarterback - I mean an armchair educational advisor. Chris How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 >Due process is lengthy, very costly, stressful, and likely, your >child will stay in limbo while you are fighting for more services. >Most districts and parents like to avoid it. - I agree 100% - Avoid due process if at all possible!! But the best way to avoid due process is to know your child's legal rights, let the school know you know those rights, and be prepare at any moment to go to due process. I hear stories from other parents about our school district, and I always ask them to repeat themselves, and to give me names (usually, I say, " Did Mr. actually say that?!? " ), because I find it hard to believe those stories! The school personnel seem to mislead parents in order to reduce their workload or keep costs down or some other school-related reason. > But I agree, the scholarship does not give parents a full choice, >and it is limited. They are supposed to increase the amount this >year though, to like $28,000 I think! $28,000?? Don't tell my mom that! She's already on me to go the scholarship route. If I think it will benefit my son more than the local school, then I will use it - maybe. I'm thinking once he's in junior high, I might want him to go to Summit Academy or other school that has a mission to serve kids on the spectrum. He seems to get along better with other kids who are more like him. But would I have to go the scholarship route for an alternative placement? It still seems that the school should place him there. {I do know that Summit Academy is a charter school and I wouldn't have to pay anything to send him there.} Chris > > Yes, I agree with but I also know families who knew that the schools will just drad the fight out as long as they can while their child stays in limbo, without services or with the unsatisfactory level of services the schools provide. Or, if you can advance the kind of money the CCCA needs to be paid, you can do that, and if you win your case, the school district will reimburse you for that. If you win.... > > According to IDEA, the methodology used to educate children is up to the school district to chose. You can not just tell them you want ABA. I guess, you can argue that that is the ONLY approach empirically shown to " work " with the ASD population, but they do not have to provide the BEST thing out there for your kid. What works best, IMO, is to show data that the approach/intensity of the educational program provided for your child is ineffective/there is only limited/no progress. THEN you can ask for more hours of speech, OT, after school tutoring, extra ABA, or ABA in a pull out setting, or whatever. If that wouldn't work well enough for your child, then you can argue that the child needs to go to CCCA b/c they are professionally trained, intensive, 1:1, etc. You can also try to show that the school staff is not trained in ABA, for example, and that would be another thing to help your case. The more issues you can find with what they are providing, the better. Look out > for procedural issues as well - did they have an administrator present at your child's IEP? or did they give you enough notice? or did they notify you about a certain testing to be done? basically, you would be looking for mistakes they have done, document it, write it all up, and build a strong case so that they settle with you before you go to due process. Due process is lengthy, very costly, stressful, and likely, your child will stay in limbo while you are fighting for more services. Most districts and parents like to avoid it. > > But is right, the law is to provide for the child with a disability a free and appropriate public education. > > Re the scholarship, I think some parents chose it because they have been advised/counseled not to fight the district for reasons that are confidential or individual to their case. I also think that some parents do not want an intensive and expensive program like the CCCA (they all run about the same, btw, if not more than the $60,000). The scholarship money would pay for a home program almost fully, or for additional OT and Speech if you were to do it with a participating provider. You could be taking your child to speech and OT every day for that money, one on one, if that's the way you want to do things, and if you are a stay-at-home anyways. > > But I agree, the scholarship does not give parents a full choice, and it is limited. They are supposed to increase the amount this year though, to like $28,000 I think! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Suzanne - Thank you for this good information! I remember hearing the court's ruling on expert testimony and thinking, that doesn't make sense! I'm afraid I'll be thinking the same thing in future rulings, now that the Supreme Court is extremely conservative. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 You're welcome! Yes, some of the things in IDEA were purposely drafted loosely by Congress for two reasons, near as I can figure: 1) If they were too specific, they were afraid they would take things away from parents that shouldn't be; and 2) the things that are too broad could be litigated in court. While I appreciate the first one, the second one is kind of a pain, to put it mildly! --Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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