Re: Paying for Hearing Aids

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

In reading the posts of how to pay for the overwhelming costs of hearing aids,

I've been concerned by the number of suggestions to have the school system pay

for the hearing aids. While I'm sure this has been successful for some

families, there are many reasons why this is a shortsighted solution for us as

a group of concerned parents. First and foremost, there are many initiatives

throughout the country to push legislation through that will put the onus on

insurance companies to cover hearing aids, partially or fully. The more cases

presented that show other sources paying for hearing aids will only hurt the

case: hearing aids are a medical necessity for our kids all the time, not just

while they are in school (an educational accommodation). Secondly, the schools

are completely within their rights to limit the audiologists who will work with

your children, if their aids are covered by the school, creating the good

possibility that your child will be seen by someone with!

limited or no knowledge of fitting children (we all know the importance of

using an audiologist who is practiced with kids, especially when getting a

great earmold fit). Thirdly, the schools can limit the choices you have for

hearing aids, based on brand or cost. You run the risk of trading one problem

(finding the money yourself for these aids) for another (being forced to choose

an aid that is not the best for your child's loss or needs).

--- end of quote ---

Hi Kerry - I agree with what you said - also the fact that the school then

would technically own the hearing aid and has say-so about maintenance, etc. -

I wouldn't be comfortable with this unless it's a last resort.

Our insurance company pays for the boys' hearing aids. We initially requested

a special exception that ultimately was granted (our letter is on Kay's site);

our insurance now covers children's hearing aids as part of our benefit. They

also cover earmolds which is excellent.

Barbara

*******************************

Barbara Mellert

Manager, Social Science Computing

Kiewit Computing Services

Dartmouth College

13A Silsby Hall; HB 6121

Hanover NH 03755

Telephone: 603/646-2877

URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ssc

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

In reading the posts of how to pay for the overwhelming costs of hearing aids,

I've been concerned by the number of suggestions to have the school system pay

for the hearing aids. While I'm sure this has been successful for some

families, there are many reasons why this is a shortsighted solution for us as

a group of concerned parents. First and foremost, there are many initiatives

throughout the country to push legislation through that will put the onus on

insurance companies to cover hearing aids, partially or fully. The more cases

presented that show other sources paying for hearing aids will only hurt the

case: hearing aids are a medical necessity for our kids all the time, not just

while they are in school (an educational accommodation). Secondly, the schools

are completely within their rights to limit the audiologists who will work with

your children, if their aids are covered by the school, creating the good

possibility that your child will be seen by someone with!

limited or no knowledge of fitting children (we all know the importance of

using an audiologist who is practiced with kids, especially when getting a

great earmold fit). Thirdly, the schools can limit the choices you have for

hearing aids, based on brand or cost. You run the risk of trading one problem

(finding the money yourself for these aids) for another (being forced to choose

an aid that is not the best for your child's loss or needs).

--- end of quote ---

Hi Kerry - I agree with what you said - also the fact that the school then

would technically own the hearing aid and has say-so about maintenance, etc. -

I wouldn't be comfortable with this unless it's a last resort.

Our insurance company pays for the boys' hearing aids. We initially requested

a special exception that ultimately was granted (our letter is on Kay's site);

our insurance now covers children's hearing aids as part of our benefit. They

also cover earmolds which is excellent.

Barbara

*******************************

Barbara Mellert

Manager, Social Science Computing

Kiewit Computing Services

Dartmouth College

13A Silsby Hall; HB 6121

Hanover NH 03755

Telephone: 603/646-2877

URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ssc

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

In reading the posts of how to pay for the overwhelming costs of hearing aids,

I've been concerned by the number of suggestions to have the school system pay

for the hearing aids. While I'm sure this has been successful for some

families, there are many reasons why this is a shortsighted solution for us as

a group of concerned parents. First and foremost, there are many initiatives

throughout the country to push legislation through that will put the onus on

insurance companies to cover hearing aids, partially or fully. The more cases

presented that show other sources paying for hearing aids will only hurt the

case: hearing aids are a medical necessity for our kids all the time, not just

while they are in school (an educational accommodation). Secondly, the schools

are completely within their rights to limit the audiologists who will work with

your children, if their aids are covered by the school, creating the good

possibility that your child will be seen by someone with!

limited or no knowledge of fitting children (we all know the importance of

using an audiologist who is practiced with kids, especially when getting a

great earmold fit). Thirdly, the schools can limit the choices you have for

hearing aids, based on brand or cost. You run the risk of trading one problem

(finding the money yourself for these aids) for another (being forced to choose

an aid that is not the best for your child's loss or needs).

--- end of quote ---

Hi Kerry - I agree with what you said - also the fact that the school then

would technically own the hearing aid and has say-so about maintenance, etc. -

I wouldn't be comfortable with this unless it's a last resort.

Our insurance company pays for the boys' hearing aids. We initially requested

a special exception that ultimately was granted (our letter is on Kay's site);

our insurance now covers children's hearing aids as part of our benefit. They

also cover earmolds which is excellent.

Barbara

*******************************

Barbara Mellert

Manager, Social Science Computing

Kiewit Computing Services

Dartmouth College

13A Silsby Hall; HB 6121

Hanover NH 03755

Telephone: 603/646-2877

URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ssc

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you, a wonderful post. And I agree with you that there is State and

Federal funding to provide our kids with what they need, if only we knew how to

get to it. But as parents newly thrust into the world of D/HOH issues, we had

no clue how to get anything. Our son was already school age, there was no nice

cooperative Early Intervention program for us. There wasn't an agency locally

to help with advocacy because he was not multiply handicapped. The deaf

community was incredibly rude and unwelcoming -- one man told me that my son was

" not really deaf " and did not deserve services ... I don't know if ours was a

classic experience or one of the few horror stories. It was tough but we learned

as we went. Slowly.

I think that parents whose children are as identified with the infant

screening are so much better off than we were. Early Intervention services seem

to be

much easier to fall into step with than starting from scratch with a school

age kid.

We are, obviously, a family who purchased our own aides. For us, at that time

there was no other choice. Our first priority was to get our son aided, then

we looked to the school for services and support. The district was blocking us

at every point, lying about available services, even tried to get us to sign

illegal documents to cover their butts. Even if I knew then what I do now, it

would have been an incredibly drawn-out fight with the district. Ian could not

wait another 6 months let alone 2 years to be aided. Perhaps we could have

fought to be re-imbursed, but we didn't realize we could and chose instead to

fight for services.

So, my question for you is ... how did you swing the aides? Did you get

reimbursed for the first set, buying them yourself first so that your child had

use

of them asap. Certainly the school didn't just agree the first time you

asked, did they? And are the aides considered the school's property? Is there

any

argument about him taking them everywhere he goes? Our school's argument about

funding aides is that they would not provide prosthetic limbs, and aides fall

into that category. Ian will be needing new (and more expensive) aides in

about a year. I'd love to have them pay for them. But based on the resistance

I've

gotten so far, it does not seem possible. I think we'd end up in court (not

just an appeal at the State level) before our district agreed to fund Ian's

aides. I have yet to find a NY State funded agency like the one mentioned

(Dept of Rehabilitation).

As for accepting sub-standard care. I agree with you 100%. We should not

accept it and need to demand it be improved. That said, the only way we were

able

to force the district to improve that care so that it met acceptable standards

was to go to our own choice of professionals (using our private insurance)

and bringing those results to the district and demanding they address the

shortcomings. We should not have to do that, but that is what it took. Now the

district uses some " better " professionals and any D/HOH kids who follow my son

through the district will receive the benefit of our struggles.

And I will continue to have evaluations duplicated using our private doctors

because I don't trust the district's proessionals. As I'd said in a previous

post, our district's audi's will still respond with minimal recommendations and

they have back-pedalled when they've made more expensive recommendations.

Money is one of their considerations when making recommendations. Our choice of

professionals consider only our son's needs, not the district's budgets and

then I go into those meetings to fight for what we want.

I have a friend, the mother of the only other HOH kid in the school, who

always schedules her IEP meeting for right after mine. After they've met with

me,

she says they agree to anything she requests. Her son needs fewer services. We

always meet before our meetings to go over what we're asking for, so that

we're both ready with whatever documentation or legal citations that we need.

Then I stick around to see if she wants to bring me into her meeting -- they

hate

the idea that I'm sitting outside and they are so-o-o-o much nicer to her in

hopes that I'll stay out there. (LOL)

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you, a wonderful post. And I agree with you that there is State and

Federal funding to provide our kids with what they need, if only we knew how to

get to it. But as parents newly thrust into the world of D/HOH issues, we had

no clue how to get anything. Our son was already school age, there was no nice

cooperative Early Intervention program for us. There wasn't an agency locally

to help with advocacy because he was not multiply handicapped. The deaf

community was incredibly rude and unwelcoming -- one man told me that my son was

" not really deaf " and did not deserve services ... I don't know if ours was a

classic experience or one of the few horror stories. It was tough but we learned

as we went. Slowly.

I think that parents whose children are as identified with the infant

screening are so much better off than we were. Early Intervention services seem

to be

much easier to fall into step with than starting from scratch with a school

age kid.

We are, obviously, a family who purchased our own aides. For us, at that time

there was no other choice. Our first priority was to get our son aided, then

we looked to the school for services and support. The district was blocking us

at every point, lying about available services, even tried to get us to sign

illegal documents to cover their butts. Even if I knew then what I do now, it

would have been an incredibly drawn-out fight with the district. Ian could not

wait another 6 months let alone 2 years to be aided. Perhaps we could have

fought to be re-imbursed, but we didn't realize we could and chose instead to

fight for services.

So, my question for you is ... how did you swing the aides? Did you get

reimbursed for the first set, buying them yourself first so that your child had

use

of them asap. Certainly the school didn't just agree the first time you

asked, did they? And are the aides considered the school's property? Is there

any

argument about him taking them everywhere he goes? Our school's argument about

funding aides is that they would not provide prosthetic limbs, and aides fall

into that category. Ian will be needing new (and more expensive) aides in

about a year. I'd love to have them pay for them. But based on the resistance

I've

gotten so far, it does not seem possible. I think we'd end up in court (not

just an appeal at the State level) before our district agreed to fund Ian's

aides. I have yet to find a NY State funded agency like the one mentioned

(Dept of Rehabilitation).

As for accepting sub-standard care. I agree with you 100%. We should not

accept it and need to demand it be improved. That said, the only way we were

able

to force the district to improve that care so that it met acceptable standards

was to go to our own choice of professionals (using our private insurance)

and bringing those results to the district and demanding they address the

shortcomings. We should not have to do that, but that is what it took. Now the

district uses some " better " professionals and any D/HOH kids who follow my son

through the district will receive the benefit of our struggles.

And I will continue to have evaluations duplicated using our private doctors

because I don't trust the district's proessionals. As I'd said in a previous

post, our district's audi's will still respond with minimal recommendations and

they have back-pedalled when they've made more expensive recommendations.

Money is one of their considerations when making recommendations. Our choice of

professionals consider only our son's needs, not the district's budgets and

then I go into those meetings to fight for what we want.

I have a friend, the mother of the only other HOH kid in the school, who

always schedules her IEP meeting for right after mine. After they've met with

me,

she says they agree to anything she requests. Her son needs fewer services. We

always meet before our meetings to go over what we're asking for, so that

we're both ready with whatever documentation or legal citations that we need.

Then I stick around to see if she wants to bring me into her meeting -- they

hate

the idea that I'm sitting outside and they are so-o-o-o much nicer to her in

hopes that I'll stay out there. (LOL)

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you, a wonderful post. And I agree with you that there is State and

Federal funding to provide our kids with what they need, if only we knew how to

get to it. But as parents newly thrust into the world of D/HOH issues, we had

no clue how to get anything. Our son was already school age, there was no nice

cooperative Early Intervention program for us. There wasn't an agency locally

to help with advocacy because he was not multiply handicapped. The deaf

community was incredibly rude and unwelcoming -- one man told me that my son was

" not really deaf " and did not deserve services ... I don't know if ours was a

classic experience or one of the few horror stories. It was tough but we learned

as we went. Slowly.

I think that parents whose children are as identified with the infant

screening are so much better off than we were. Early Intervention services seem

to be

much easier to fall into step with than starting from scratch with a school

age kid.

We are, obviously, a family who purchased our own aides. For us, at that time

there was no other choice. Our first priority was to get our son aided, then

we looked to the school for services and support. The district was blocking us

at every point, lying about available services, even tried to get us to sign

illegal documents to cover their butts. Even if I knew then what I do now, it

would have been an incredibly drawn-out fight with the district. Ian could not

wait another 6 months let alone 2 years to be aided. Perhaps we could have

fought to be re-imbursed, but we didn't realize we could and chose instead to

fight for services.

So, my question for you is ... how did you swing the aides? Did you get

reimbursed for the first set, buying them yourself first so that your child had

use

of them asap. Certainly the school didn't just agree the first time you

asked, did they? And are the aides considered the school's property? Is there

any

argument about him taking them everywhere he goes? Our school's argument about

funding aides is that they would not provide prosthetic limbs, and aides fall

into that category. Ian will be needing new (and more expensive) aides in

about a year. I'd love to have them pay for them. But based on the resistance

I've

gotten so far, it does not seem possible. I think we'd end up in court (not

just an appeal at the State level) before our district agreed to fund Ian's

aides. I have yet to find a NY State funded agency like the one mentioned

(Dept of Rehabilitation).

As for accepting sub-standard care. I agree with you 100%. We should not

accept it and need to demand it be improved. That said, the only way we were

able

to force the district to improve that care so that it met acceptable standards

was to go to our own choice of professionals (using our private insurance)

and bringing those results to the district and demanding they address the

shortcomings. We should not have to do that, but that is what it took. Now the

district uses some " better " professionals and any D/HOH kids who follow my son

through the district will receive the benefit of our struggles.

And I will continue to have evaluations duplicated using our private doctors

because I don't trust the district's proessionals. As I'd said in a previous

post, our district's audi's will still respond with minimal recommendations and

they have back-pedalled when they've made more expensive recommendations.

Money is one of their considerations when making recommendations. Our choice of

professionals consider only our son's needs, not the district's budgets and

then I go into those meetings to fight for what we want.

I have a friend, the mother of the only other HOH kid in the school, who

always schedules her IEP meeting for right after mine. After they've met with

me,

she says they agree to anything she requests. Her son needs fewer services. We

always meet before our meetings to go over what we're asking for, so that

we're both ready with whatever documentation or legal citations that we need.

Then I stick around to see if she wants to bring me into her meeting -- they

hate

the idea that I'm sitting outside and they are so-o-o-o much nicer to her in

hopes that I'll stay out there. (LOL)

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

Kerry,

I think you are right, and your clarification is very important to make to

new families who might be at the beginning of their " journey " . There should

be a distinction made between how the law reads and what is practical and

wise. While hearing aids are assistive technology and technically one could

fight for a school to buy them, it is not a good battle to pick for exactly

the reasons you mention.

Thanks for pointing this out.

Daphne

> Paying for Hearing Aids

>

>

> Hi everyone,

> In reading the posts of how to pay for the overwhelming costs of

> hearing aids, I've been concerned by the number of suggestions to

> have the school system pay for the hearing aids. While I'm sure

> this has been successful for some families, there are many

> reasons why this is a shortsighted solution for us as a group of

> concerned parents. First and foremost, there are many

> initiatives throughout the country to push legislation through

> that will put the onus on insurance companies to cover hearing

> aids, partially or fully. The more cases presented that show

> other sources paying for hearing aids will only hurt the case:

> hearing aids are a medical necessity for our kids all the time,

> not just while they are in school (an educational accommodation).

> Secondly, the schools are completely within their rights to

> limit the audiologists who will work with your children, if their

> aids are covered by the school, creating the good possibility

> that your child will be seen by someone with l!

> imited or no knowledge of fitting children (we all know the

> importance of using an audiologist who is practiced with kids,

> especially when getting a great earmold fit). Thirdly, the

> schools can limit the choices you have for hearing aids, based on

> brand or cost. You run the risk of trading one problem (finding

> the money yourself for these aids) for another (being forced to

> choose an aid that is not the best for your child's loss or needs).

>

> Finding financial sources for the cost of hearing aids is tough

> for everyone. However, when you place the purchasing power in

> the hands of someone else, you run the risk of an even greater problems.

>

> For more information about what your state is doing to provide

> insurance coverage for hearing aids, simply contact your state

> department of public health; their sites typically have the links

> to all pending legislation around healthcare. Write or call your

> state senators and representatives to let them know the

> importance of having insurance companies provide these devices

> that are necessary for our kids to function independently in the

> full world.

>

> Kerry

>

>

[Guest guest]

Kerry,

I think you are right, and your clarification is very important to make to

new families who might be at the beginning of their " journey " . There should

be a distinction made between how the law reads and what is practical and

wise. While hearing aids are assistive technology and technically one could

fight for a school to buy them, it is not a good battle to pick for exactly

the reasons you mention.

Thanks for pointing this out.

Daphne

> Paying for Hearing Aids

>

>

> Hi everyone,

> In reading the posts of how to pay for the overwhelming costs of

> hearing aids, I've been concerned by the number of suggestions to

> have the school system pay for the hearing aids. While I'm sure

> this has been successful for some families, there are many

> reasons why this is a shortsighted solution for us as a group of

> concerned parents. First and foremost, there are many

> initiatives throughout the country to push legislation through

> that will put the onus on insurance companies to cover hearing

> aids, partially or fully. The more cases presented that show

> other sources paying for hearing aids will only hurt the case:

> hearing aids are a medical necessity for our kids all the time,

> not just while they are in school (an educational accommodation).

> Secondly, the schools are completely within their rights to

> limit the audiologists who will work with your children, if their

> aids are covered by the school, creating the good possibility

> that your child will be seen by someone with l!

> imited or no knowledge of fitting children (we all know the

> importance of using an audiologist who is practiced with kids,

> especially when getting a great earmold fit). Thirdly, the

> schools can limit the choices you have for hearing aids, based on

> brand or cost. You run the risk of trading one problem (finding

> the money yourself for these aids) for another (being forced to

> choose an aid that is not the best for your child's loss or needs).

>

> Finding financial sources for the cost of hearing aids is tough

> for everyone. However, when you place the purchasing power in

> the hands of someone else, you run the risk of an even greater problems.

>

> For more information about what your state is doing to provide

> insurance coverage for hearing aids, simply contact your state

> department of public health; their sites typically have the links

> to all pending legislation around healthcare. Write or call your

> state senators and representatives to let them know the

> importance of having insurance companies provide these devices

> that are necessary for our kids to function independently in the

> full world.

>

> Kerry

>

>

[Guest guest]

Kerry,

I think you are right, and your clarification is very important to make to

new families who might be at the beginning of their " journey " . There should

be a distinction made between how the law reads and what is practical and

wise. While hearing aids are assistive technology and technically one could

fight for a school to buy them, it is not a good battle to pick for exactly

the reasons you mention.

Thanks for pointing this out.

Daphne

> Paying for Hearing Aids

>

>

> Hi everyone,

> In reading the posts of how to pay for the overwhelming costs of

> hearing aids, I've been concerned by the number of suggestions to

> have the school system pay for the hearing aids. While I'm sure

> this has been successful for some families, there are many

> reasons why this is a shortsighted solution for us as a group of

> concerned parents. First and foremost, there are many

> initiatives throughout the country to push legislation through

> that will put the onus on insurance companies to cover hearing

> aids, partially or fully. The more cases presented that show

> other sources paying for hearing aids will only hurt the case:

> hearing aids are a medical necessity for our kids all the time,

> not just while they are in school (an educational accommodation).

> Secondly, the schools are completely within their rights to

> limit the audiologists who will work with your children, if their

> aids are covered by the school, creating the good possibility

> that your child will be seen by someone with l!

> imited or no knowledge of fitting children (we all know the

> importance of using an audiologist who is practiced with kids,

> especially when getting a great earmold fit). Thirdly, the

> schools can limit the choices you have for hearing aids, based on

> brand or cost. You run the risk of trading one problem (finding

> the money yourself for these aids) for another (being forced to

> choose an aid that is not the best for your child's loss or needs).

>

> Finding financial sources for the cost of hearing aids is tough

> for everyone. However, when you place the purchasing power in

> the hands of someone else, you run the risk of an even greater problems.

>

> For more information about what your state is doing to provide

> insurance coverage for hearing aids, simply contact your state

> department of public health; their sites typically have the links

> to all pending legislation around healthcare. Write or call your

> state senators and representatives to let them know the

> importance of having insurance companies provide these devices

> that are necessary for our kids to function independently in the

> full world.

>

> Kerry

>

>

[Guest guest]

It's all well and good to talk about the insurance companies paying for

hearing aids. Yes, I'm in land, and we have a law that requires

insurance companies to pay for hearing aids....not even half the price of

one hearing aid. Further, this does not apply to companies that self insure

themselves. So, my husband, who worked for Lockheed , with over

100,000 employees did not have any insurance for hearing aids though we are

in land. That goes for hundreds of thousands of individuals. Further,

there are many individuals with minimal or no insurance. I think it is very

easy to say, " Gee lets pay for our own hearing aids " when you've got a

decent disposable income. Very different for those who have to chose

between electric bills and hearing aids. Take an income of $25,000 and tell

the parent to fork out $5,000 or even $8,000. What does that leave them to

survive on? Now, take the family with disposable income of $100,000 and,

gee, they're giving up that extra movie, that dream vacation, etc.

Further, if we follow the argument about the possibility of having poor

audiologists fit them, then it follows we should also be paying for all of

our own speech pathologists because they may not be good. Why not extend

that to paying for private school since the teachers may not know how to

acommodate children with hearing loss.

The bottom line is to get resources for your child. The law says that the

schools must provide them. If there's a funding issue, let them battle for

funding from the Feds, they're bigger than we are. Further, I sit here and

watch the local school system whine while I see administrators driving

Lexuses, with Cherry wood office furniture, new laptops, jetting to

conferences right and left, and magnet schools with their own weather

stations, tv's in every classroom with central transmitters in the office

for distributed morning announcements, tv shows, etc. I see abhorrent waste

of funds. I see teachers and principals paid to take early retirement and

then being brought back at sometimes double their salaries. Does it bother

me that we are fighting for services for our children which we're entitled

to under the law...NO! And, I recommend that parents fight to get what they

need. If the law is there, it should be used to benefit our children. I

will battle for every rightful benefit that we are entitled to ensure that

we have adequate funds necessary to provide additional supports that my

children require. While I make EVERY effort to minimize expenses to the

school, I fight for services and support. The law is there for a reason,

and I utilize it to ensure that my child benefits from it.

Further, regarding fitting by incompetent audiologists? It's a travesty that

it is considered appropriate to support the needs of children with

incompetency. The answer is to not tolerate the incompetency, not to pay

for it yourself because the services aren't any good. Our school system

pays for us to take our child to a private audiologist because their

audiologists couldn't handle the programming of programmable hearing aids!

Imagine that...to not know how to program a hearing aid with today's

technology! We seriously considered filing a malpractice complaint,

however, since we were allowed to go elsewhere, it became a moot point.

However, the point is, we did not tolerate the incompetency and say, " Gee,

they're so horrible, we'll need to pay for this ourselves! " Don't you think

they're counting on this. Why do you think they tolerate this AND the

incompetency about hearing loss in general. Parents end up going elsewhere

and paying for their own services which saves the school system money.

Further, the schools can NOT limit the hearing aids based on brand or cost.

They must fit an appropriate hearing aid. They'll try, but once again, that

is not their right.

Insurance companies are one of the most powerful industries in the country.

Don't count on getting full coverage for hearing aids in the near future.

Sure, I fought and testified at multiple state Senate hearings...so did

, even though he was only seven at the time. When they passed the bill,

we were ecstatic...only to find out that rules don't apply to the self

insured...Federal rules don't apply and State rules don't apply...for

anything. So, six years later, there is still no coverage in the state of

MD for a huge percentage of the children. Do I believe that we should fight

for coverage. Yes. But it's many many years down the road before we'll see

help and until then, I'm not going to deny my child the benefit of any

disposable income that I may retain. If it allows me to take him to an

opera and expose him to life, or take him on a special trip somewhere so

that he can experience the world, I will save my resources for that.

Further, we have a diabetic daughter whose medical bills are very high even

with insurance. She was valedictorian and 1580 SAT's. Should we have

denied her the right to a life and the right to go to one of the top

Computer Science Universities because I chose to pay for hearing aids,

speech therapy, audiology for my son that I didn't have to pay for. I don't

think so. Even with a decent income, our resources are stretched. And, we

live in an old cape cod that is in need of repair and are frugal with our

money. We have bought decent cars for transportation etc, but still need to

watch our money carefully. Despite having an MBA from Duke, I've had to

stay home to take care of two seriously ill children, so I have a home based

business which provides no insurance. When my husband lost his job two

years ago, we ended up paying $14,000 a year for hmo coverage that didn't

cover hearing aids. Those that covered them were thousands more annually.

He now has another job with another large aerospace company...again, a self

insured company, and guess what? It doesn't cover hearing aids. At this

point, it's becoming a moot point because we are looking into a cochlear

implant.

So, I will continue to advocate that the school system should provide what

the law says they should provide. That is why the law is there. The bottom

line is, if they don't do it now and help make our children productive

members of society, it's going to cost them ALOT more in the long run when

these kids grow up and can't hold decent jobs and/or end up drawing benefits

from the government for being unable to work. My son will be a huge

contributor to the tax base as he will be quite successful due to the

education we have fought for him to receive. It's a daily battle, but I

don't in any way feel guilty about the resources he's using because he has

value as a person.

Bottom line is that parents should insist on appropriate services for their

children. Try to be reasonable in terms of minimizing the cost to the

school system. But, don't hurt your child in your efforts to do so. I am

thrilled for those of you who don't find it burdensome to pay for your own

hearing aids, etc. And, more thrilled for the few of you who have insurance

covering them. But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is paying for

them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

[Guest guest]

It's all well and good to talk about the insurance companies paying for

hearing aids. Yes, I'm in land, and we have a law that requires

insurance companies to pay for hearing aids....not even half the price of

one hearing aid. Further, this does not apply to companies that self insure

themselves. So, my husband, who worked for Lockheed , with over

100,000 employees did not have any insurance for hearing aids though we are

in land. That goes for hundreds of thousands of individuals. Further,

there are many individuals with minimal or no insurance. I think it is very

easy to say, " Gee lets pay for our own hearing aids " when you've got a

decent disposable income. Very different for those who have to chose

between electric bills and hearing aids. Take an income of $25,000 and tell

the parent to fork out $5,000 or even $8,000. What does that leave them to

survive on? Now, take the family with disposable income of $100,000 and,

gee, they're giving up that extra movie, that dream vacation, etc.

Further, if we follow the argument about the possibility of having poor

audiologists fit them, then it follows we should also be paying for all of

our own speech pathologists because they may not be good. Why not extend

that to paying for private school since the teachers may not know how to

acommodate children with hearing loss.

The bottom line is to get resources for your child. The law says that the

schools must provide them. If there's a funding issue, let them battle for

funding from the Feds, they're bigger than we are. Further, I sit here and

watch the local school system whine while I see administrators driving

Lexuses, with Cherry wood office furniture, new laptops, jetting to

conferences right and left, and magnet schools with their own weather

stations, tv's in every classroom with central transmitters in the office

for distributed morning announcements, tv shows, etc. I see abhorrent waste

of funds. I see teachers and principals paid to take early retirement and

then being brought back at sometimes double their salaries. Does it bother

me that we are fighting for services for our children which we're entitled

to under the law...NO! And, I recommend that parents fight to get what they

need. If the law is there, it should be used to benefit our children. I

will battle for every rightful benefit that we are entitled to ensure that

we have adequate funds necessary to provide additional supports that my

children require. While I make EVERY effort to minimize expenses to the

school, I fight for services and support. The law is there for a reason,

and I utilize it to ensure that my child benefits from it.

Further, regarding fitting by incompetent audiologists? It's a travesty that

it is considered appropriate to support the needs of children with

incompetency. The answer is to not tolerate the incompetency, not to pay

for it yourself because the services aren't any good. Our school system

pays for us to take our child to a private audiologist because their

audiologists couldn't handle the programming of programmable hearing aids!

Imagine that...to not know how to program a hearing aid with today's

technology! We seriously considered filing a malpractice complaint,

however, since we were allowed to go elsewhere, it became a moot point.

However, the point is, we did not tolerate the incompetency and say, " Gee,

they're so horrible, we'll need to pay for this ourselves! " Don't you think

they're counting on this. Why do you think they tolerate this AND the

incompetency about hearing loss in general. Parents end up going elsewhere

and paying for their own services which saves the school system money.

Further, the schools can NOT limit the hearing aids based on brand or cost.

They must fit an appropriate hearing aid. They'll try, but once again, that

is not their right.

Insurance companies are one of the most powerful industries in the country.

Don't count on getting full coverage for hearing aids in the near future.

Sure, I fought and testified at multiple state Senate hearings...so did

, even though he was only seven at the time. When they passed the bill,

we were ecstatic...only to find out that rules don't apply to the self

insured...Federal rules don't apply and State rules don't apply...for

anything. So, six years later, there is still no coverage in the state of

MD for a huge percentage of the children. Do I believe that we should fight

for coverage. Yes. But it's many many years down the road before we'll see

help and until then, I'm not going to deny my child the benefit of any

disposable income that I may retain. If it allows me to take him to an

opera and expose him to life, or take him on a special trip somewhere so

that he can experience the world, I will save my resources for that.

Further, we have a diabetic daughter whose medical bills are very high even

with insurance. She was valedictorian and 1580 SAT's. Should we have

denied her the right to a life and the right to go to one of the top

Computer Science Universities because I chose to pay for hearing aids,

speech therapy, audiology for my son that I didn't have to pay for. I don't

think so. Even with a decent income, our resources are stretched. And, we

live in an old cape cod that is in need of repair and are frugal with our

money. We have bought decent cars for transportation etc, but still need to

watch our money carefully. Despite having an MBA from Duke, I've had to

stay home to take care of two seriously ill children, so I have a home based

business which provides no insurance. When my husband lost his job two

years ago, we ended up paying $14,000 a year for hmo coverage that didn't

cover hearing aids. Those that covered them were thousands more annually.

He now has another job with another large aerospace company...again, a self

insured company, and guess what? It doesn't cover hearing aids. At this

point, it's becoming a moot point because we are looking into a cochlear

implant.

So, I will continue to advocate that the school system should provide what

the law says they should provide. That is why the law is there. The bottom

line is, if they don't do it now and help make our children productive

members of society, it's going to cost them ALOT more in the long run when

these kids grow up and can't hold decent jobs and/or end up drawing benefits

from the government for being unable to work. My son will be a huge

contributor to the tax base as he will be quite successful due to the

education we have fought for him to receive. It's a daily battle, but I

don't in any way feel guilty about the resources he's using because he has

value as a person.

Bottom line is that parents should insist on appropriate services for their

children. Try to be reasonable in terms of minimizing the cost to the

school system. But, don't hurt your child in your efforts to do so. I am

thrilled for those of you who don't find it burdensome to pay for your own

hearing aids, etc. And, more thrilled for the few of you who have insurance

covering them. But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is paying for

them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

[Guest guest]

It's all well and good to talk about the insurance companies paying for

hearing aids. Yes, I'm in land, and we have a law that requires

insurance companies to pay for hearing aids....not even half the price of

one hearing aid. Further, this does not apply to companies that self insure

themselves. So, my husband, who worked for Lockheed , with over

100,000 employees did not have any insurance for hearing aids though we are

in land. That goes for hundreds of thousands of individuals. Further,

there are many individuals with minimal or no insurance. I think it is very

easy to say, " Gee lets pay for our own hearing aids " when you've got a

decent disposable income. Very different for those who have to chose

between electric bills and hearing aids. Take an income of $25,000 and tell

the parent to fork out $5,000 or even $8,000. What does that leave them to

survive on? Now, take the family with disposable income of $100,000 and,

gee, they're giving up that extra movie, that dream vacation, etc.

Further, if we follow the argument about the possibility of having poor

audiologists fit them, then it follows we should also be paying for all of

our own speech pathologists because they may not be good. Why not extend

that to paying for private school since the teachers may not know how to

acommodate children with hearing loss.

The bottom line is to get resources for your child. The law says that the

schools must provide them. If there's a funding issue, let them battle for

funding from the Feds, they're bigger than we are. Further, I sit here and

watch the local school system whine while I see administrators driving

Lexuses, with Cherry wood office furniture, new laptops, jetting to

conferences right and left, and magnet schools with their own weather

stations, tv's in every classroom with central transmitters in the office

for distributed morning announcements, tv shows, etc. I see abhorrent waste

of funds. I see teachers and principals paid to take early retirement and

then being brought back at sometimes double their salaries. Does it bother

me that we are fighting for services for our children which we're entitled

to under the law...NO! And, I recommend that parents fight to get what they

need. If the law is there, it should be used to benefit our children. I

will battle for every rightful benefit that we are entitled to ensure that

we have adequate funds necessary to provide additional supports that my

children require. While I make EVERY effort to minimize expenses to the

school, I fight for services and support. The law is there for a reason,

and I utilize it to ensure that my child benefits from it.

Further, regarding fitting by incompetent audiologists? It's a travesty that

it is considered appropriate to support the needs of children with

incompetency. The answer is to not tolerate the incompetency, not to pay

for it yourself because the services aren't any good. Our school system

pays for us to take our child to a private audiologist because their

audiologists couldn't handle the programming of programmable hearing aids!

Imagine that...to not know how to program a hearing aid with today's

technology! We seriously considered filing a malpractice complaint,

however, since we were allowed to go elsewhere, it became a moot point.

However, the point is, we did not tolerate the incompetency and say, " Gee,

they're so horrible, we'll need to pay for this ourselves! " Don't you think

they're counting on this. Why do you think they tolerate this AND the

incompetency about hearing loss in general. Parents end up going elsewhere

and paying for their own services which saves the school system money.

Further, the schools can NOT limit the hearing aids based on brand or cost.

They must fit an appropriate hearing aid. They'll try, but once again, that

is not their right.

Insurance companies are one of the most powerful industries in the country.

Don't count on getting full coverage for hearing aids in the near future.

Sure, I fought and testified at multiple state Senate hearings...so did

, even though he was only seven at the time. When they passed the bill,

we were ecstatic...only to find out that rules don't apply to the self

insured...Federal rules don't apply and State rules don't apply...for

anything. So, six years later, there is still no coverage in the state of

MD for a huge percentage of the children. Do I believe that we should fight

for coverage. Yes. But it's many many years down the road before we'll see

help and until then, I'm not going to deny my child the benefit of any

disposable income that I may retain. If it allows me to take him to an

opera and expose him to life, or take him on a special trip somewhere so

that he can experience the world, I will save my resources for that.

Further, we have a diabetic daughter whose medical bills are very high even

with insurance. She was valedictorian and 1580 SAT's. Should we have

denied her the right to a life and the right to go to one of the top

Computer Science Universities because I chose to pay for hearing aids,

speech therapy, audiology for my son that I didn't have to pay for. I don't

think so. Even with a decent income, our resources are stretched. And, we

live in an old cape cod that is in need of repair and are frugal with our

money. We have bought decent cars for transportation etc, but still need to

watch our money carefully. Despite having an MBA from Duke, I've had to

stay home to take care of two seriously ill children, so I have a home based

business which provides no insurance. When my husband lost his job two

years ago, we ended up paying $14,000 a year for hmo coverage that didn't

cover hearing aids. Those that covered them were thousands more annually.

He now has another job with another large aerospace company...again, a self

insured company, and guess what? It doesn't cover hearing aids. At this

point, it's becoming a moot point because we are looking into a cochlear

implant.

So, I will continue to advocate that the school system should provide what

the law says they should provide. That is why the law is there. The bottom

line is, if they don't do it now and help make our children productive

members of society, it's going to cost them ALOT more in the long run when

these kids grow up and can't hold decent jobs and/or end up drawing benefits

from the government for being unable to work. My son will be a huge

contributor to the tax base as he will be quite successful due to the

education we have fought for him to receive. It's a daily battle, but I

don't in any way feel guilty about the resources he's using because he has

value as a person.

Bottom line is that parents should insist on appropriate services for their

children. Try to be reasonable in terms of minimizing the cost to the

school system. But, don't hurt your child in your efforts to do so. I am

thrilled for those of you who don't find it burdensome to pay for your own

hearing aids, etc. And, more thrilled for the few of you who have insurance

covering them. But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is paying for

them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

[Guest guest]

I am confused about this statement. Are you saying that public school

is the only way to go about getting services/equip? I will continue to

recommend any program, either state or federally funded, that will

enable a child to receive the necessary equip/services for future

success.

We went through a state funded agency (Dept of Rehabilitation) that has

plenty of money allocated for children/adults with disabilities. Here

in Alabama our public schools are struggling financially and

academically. I don't feel like it would be worth the fight, to push a

school system to pay for my son's services and equipment, while they

struggle to provide children with books and an adequate education.

That's just my choice - also my son is not school age... so how would

you recommend a child that is not school age fighting the public school

system to pay for services/equipment? What about a child who attends a

private school, or is home schooled? I guess I feel like it is our

responsibility to make certain that our children become successful

individuals, not the school system.

Tillery

On Friday, April 16, 2004, at 09:13 AM, Semesky,

Animegination.com wrote:

> But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

> others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is

> paying for

> them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am confused about this statement. Are you saying that public school

is the only way to go about getting services/equip? I will continue to

recommend any program, either state or federally funded, that will

enable a child to receive the necessary equip/services for future

success.

We went through a state funded agency (Dept of Rehabilitation) that has

plenty of money allocated for children/adults with disabilities. Here

in Alabama our public schools are struggling financially and

academically. I don't feel like it would be worth the fight, to push a

school system to pay for my son's services and equipment, while they

struggle to provide children with books and an adequate education.

That's just my choice - also my son is not school age... so how would

you recommend a child that is not school age fighting the public school

system to pay for services/equipment? What about a child who attends a

private school, or is home schooled? I guess I feel like it is our

responsibility to make certain that our children become successful

individuals, not the school system.

Tillery

On Friday, April 16, 2004, at 09:13 AM, Semesky,

Animegination.com wrote:

> But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

> others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is

> paying for

> them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am confused about this statement. Are you saying that public school

is the only way to go about getting services/equip? I will continue to

recommend any program, either state or federally funded, that will

enable a child to receive the necessary equip/services for future

success.

We went through a state funded agency (Dept of Rehabilitation) that has

plenty of money allocated for children/adults with disabilities. Here

in Alabama our public schools are struggling financially and

academically. I don't feel like it would be worth the fight, to push a

school system to pay for my son's services and equipment, while they

struggle to provide children with books and an adequate education.

That's just my choice - also my son is not school age... so how would

you recommend a child that is not school age fighting the public school

system to pay for services/equipment? What about a child who attends a

private school, or is home schooled? I guess I feel like it is our

responsibility to make certain that our children become successful

individuals, not the school system.

Tillery

On Friday, April 16, 2004, at 09:13 AM, Semesky,

Animegination.com wrote:

> But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

> others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is

> paying for

> them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I agree with each side here to an extent. I think that yes we do need to push

for insurance companies to pay for aids. I think that would be the optimal

solution, however if a family has been fighting for approval and is denied

repetedly and otherwise has no way to pay for them. Isn't it best to settle for

what they can get even if it is a not so great quality and seeing the audi of

the schools choice and being at their mercy rather than having nothing at all?

I agree that is not the best situation at all, but if you have no other choice

and insurance won't pay for it, instead of spending years fighting the insurance

company getting the child aided is the first priority. Once that is done you

can fight your insurance company and not happen to tell them that the school has

provided aids. I just think that while getting the school to pay for aids puts

you at their mercy and certainly should not be any parents first choice, it

could be their last choice and in that case go for it.

Re: Paying for Hearing Aids

It's all well and good to talk about the insurance companies paying for

hearing aids. Yes, I'm in land, and we have a law that requires

insurance companies to pay for hearing aids....not even half the price of

one hearing aid. Further, this does not apply to companies that self insure

themselves. So, my husband, who worked for Lockheed , with over

100,000 employees did not have any insurance for hearing aids though we are

in land. That goes for hundreds of thousands of individuals. Further,

there are many individuals with minimal or no insurance. I think it is very

easy to say, " Gee lets pay for our own hearing aids " when you've got a

decent disposable income. Very different for those who have to chose

between electric bills and hearing aids. Take an income of $25,000 and tell

the parent to fork out $5,000 or even $8,000. What does that leave them to

survive on? Now, take the family with disposable income of $100,000 and,

gee, they're giving up that extra movie, that dream vacation, etc.

Further, if we follow the argument about the possibility of having poor

audiologists fit them, then it follows we should also be paying for all of

our own speech pathologists because they may not be good. Why not extend

that to paying for private school since the teachers may not know how to

acommodate children with hearing loss.

The bottom line is to get resources for your child. The law says that the

schools must provide them. If there's a funding issue, let them battle for

funding from the Feds, they're bigger than we are. Further, I sit here and

watch the local school system whine while I see administrators driving

Lexuses, with Cherry wood office furniture, new laptops, jetting to

conferences right and left, and magnet schools with their own weather

stations, tv's in every classroom with central transmitters in the office

for distributed morning announcements, tv shows, etc. I see abhorrent waste

of funds. I see teachers and principals paid to take early retirement and

then being brought back at sometimes double their salaries. Does it bother

me that we are fighting for services for our children which we're entitled

to under the law...NO! And, I recommend that parents fight to get what they

need. If the law is there, it should be used to benefit our children. I

will battle for every rightful benefit that we are entitled to ensure that

we have adequate funds necessary to provide additional supports that my

children require. While I make EVERY effort to minimize expenses to the

school, I fight for services and support. The law is there for a reason,

and I utilize it to ensure that my child benefits from it.

Further, regarding fitting by incompetent audiologists? It's a travesty that

it is considered appropriate to support the needs of children with

incompetency. The answer is to not tolerate the incompetency, not to pay

for it yourself because the services aren't any good. Our school system

pays for us to take our child to a private audiologist because their

audiologists couldn't handle the programming of programmable hearing aids!

Imagine that...to not know how to program a hearing aid with today's

technology! We seriously considered filing a malpractice complaint,

however, since we were allowed to go elsewhere, it became a moot point.

However, the point is, we did not tolerate the incompetency and say, " Gee,

they're so horrible, we'll need to pay for this ourselves! " Don't you think

they're counting on this. Why do you think they tolerate this AND the

incompetency about hearing loss in general. Parents end up going elsewhere

and paying for their own services which saves the school system money.

Further, the schools can NOT limit the hearing aids based on brand or cost.

They must fit an appropriate hearing aid. They'll try, but once again, that

is not their right.

Insurance companies are one of the most powerful industries in the country.

Don't count on getting full coverage for hearing aids in the near future.

Sure, I fought and testified at multiple state Senate hearings...so did

, even though he was only seven at the time. When they passed the bill,

we were ecstatic...only to find out that rules don't apply to the self

insured...Federal rules don't apply and State rules don't apply...for

anything. So, six years later, there is still no coverage in the state of

MD for a huge percentage of the children. Do I believe that we should fight

for coverage. Yes. But it's many many years down the road before we'll see

help and until then, I'm not going to deny my child the benefit of any

disposable income that I may retain. If it allows me to take him to an

opera and expose him to life, or take him on a special trip somewhere so

that he can experience the world, I will save my resources for that.

Further, we have a diabetic daughter whose medical bills are very high even

with insurance. She was valedictorian and 1580 SAT's. Should we have

denied her the right to a life and the right to go to one of the top

Computer Science Universities because I chose to pay for hearing aids,

speech therapy, audiology for my son that I didn't have to pay for. I don't

think so. Even with a decent income, our resources are stretched. And, we

live in an old cape cod that is in need of repair and are frugal with our

money. We have bought decent cars for transportation etc, but still need to

watch our money carefully. Despite having an MBA from Duke, I've had to

stay home to take care of two seriously ill children, so I have a home based

business which provides no insurance. When my husband lost his job two

years ago, we ended up paying $14,000 a year for hmo coverage that didn't

cover hearing aids. Those that covered them were thousands more annually.

He now has another job with another large aerospace company...again, a self

insured company, and guess what? It doesn't cover hearing aids. At this

point, it's becoming a moot point because we are looking into a cochlear

implant.

So, I will continue to advocate that the school system should provide what

the law says they should provide. That is why the law is there. The bottom

line is, if they don't do it now and help make our children productive

members of society, it's going to cost them ALOT more in the long run when

these kids grow up and can't hold decent jobs and/or end up drawing benefits

from the government for being unable to work. My son will be a huge

contributor to the tax base as he will be quite successful due to the

education we have fought for him to receive. It's a daily battle, but I

don't in any way feel guilty about the resources he's using because he has

value as a person.

Bottom line is that parents should insist on appropriate services for their

children. Try to be reasonable in terms of minimizing the cost to the

school system. But, don't hurt your child in your efforts to do so. I am

thrilled for those of you who don't find it burdensome to pay for your own

hearing aids, etc. And, more thrilled for the few of you who have insurance

covering them. But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is paying for

them and/or you've been able to swing the financing.

All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

You wrote:

<But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

<others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is <paying for

them and/or you've been able to swing the financing

This is precisely my point. All of us are basing our recommendations on our own

experiences and those family stories with which we are familiar. Some of us

have a higher level of understanding of the whole picture than others. Some of

us bring previous experience and education to the issue. Some of us have been

dealing with this for years while others of us are newer to the process.

Just as we are careful about preaching about the different communication

options, we need to be careful about making blanket statements on what families,

new or old to this, should do. This is especially true if this group puts

together a mentoring program (which is one of the reasons why most mentoring

groups go through some kind of training or follow a set of guidelines before

going live). One of the things that makes this group great is the healthy

exchange of ideas and the acknowledgment that what works for one family may not

be in the best interests of another.

Good luck to all of us.

Kerry

[Guest guest]

You wrote:

<But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to

<others on the fact that you've got yours because someone else is <paying for

them and/or you've been able to swing the financing

This is precisely my point. All of us are basing our recommendations on our own

experiences and those family stories with which we are familiar. Some of us

have a higher level of understanding of the whole picture than others. Some of

us bring previous experience and education to the issue. Some of us have been

dealing with this for years while others of us are newer to the process.

Just as we are careful about preaching about the different communication

options, we need to be careful about making blanket statements on what families,

new or old to this, should do. This is especially true if this group puts

together a mentoring program (which is one of the reasons why most mentoring

groups go through some kind of training or follow a set of guidelines before

going live). One of the things that makes this group great is the healthy

exchange of ideas and the acknowledgment that what works for one family may not

be in the best interests of another.

Good luck to all of us.

Kerry

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to others on the fact

that you've got yours because someone else is paying for them and/or you've been

able to swing the financing

--- end of quote ---

I've saved this post thinking hard about how I want to respond to it, both as a

listserve member and as a list moderator.

This is a listserver built on tolerance - just as there's no one " right way " to

communicate with your child, there's not a right way to approach services or

paying for hearing aids or other devices. What works for one family may not

work for another. I think it's *very* appropriate to let others on the list

know how you handled a situation as it may help others know how to proceed; to

say it's not fair to base recommendations because that particular family may be

in a higher income bracket, did it in a way that is disagreed with etc., etc. is

in my mind *not* a fair thing to say. Our family also has chosen to handle this

situation (obviously) in a different way.

I think educating those on the listserve is important to let folks know there

are options - the school district is one option, petitioning your insurance

company another, local agencies such as the Lion's clubs are another. The key

here is getting the device that's appropriate to your child's loss in a timely

fashion, however that's accomplished. In my own situation - and we are very

much " middle income " so we're not foregoing Disney World vacations! - having our

insurance company give us a waiver to pay for both our boys' aids and molds was

a blessing. It lets us pay for braces for the boys! :-) I also do have an

excellent relationship with our boys' school teams - they have given us

everything we've asked for this year - and find I live my life easier having

that balance. But that's just my husband and me and how we've chosen to do

things. It may not be right for everyone - I respect that too.

I think if indeed a mentoring list is coming out of the listserve, which I think

is wonderful, those who are volunteering to serve as mentors need to keep this

in mind.

So please, let's respect people's decisions in this regard too - I'm sure that

the initial comments made came out stronger than were actually intended. I'll

be keeping a very close eye on this topic.

Barbara

P.S. - Jill - we're in Hanover/Lebanon NH - we also service families in Vermont

(we're in an area called the Upper Valley). We have a parent group called DEAF

that meets several times a year and has many parents of older kids who love to

help folks. Our contact is Kirsten Elin (who's on this listserve!), her email

address is Kirsten.Elin@... if you'd like to include this on a mentoring

list.

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

I don't know if it is already available or not, but a page on the ListenUp

site that is a sort of " starter kit " for parents of newly identified kids

with hearing loss would be great. It could include the wide range of ways

families have gotten services and equipment for kids, and also a list of

people in various states that are willing to be contacted by new members in

those same areas- especially since what is available varies so widely

between states.

--- end of quote ---

Hi Colin - I think that's an excellent idea. I know the State of Vermont has a

parent resource guide that they give parents when their kids are diagnosed with

hearing loss; NH is following with a resource guide soon and I would imagine

other states would have one too? (NH is pretty far behind with its newborn

hearing screening - as of the first of this year we have 23 of 24 hospitals

onboard so we're getting there!) Just having " one stop shopping " for parents

with kids with newly diagnosed hearing loss would so helpful - I know how hard

it was for me to feel around in the dark at first....

Barbara

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

I don't know if it is already available or not, but a page on the ListenUp

site that is a sort of " starter kit " for parents of newly identified kids

with hearing loss would be great. It could include the wide range of ways

families have gotten services and equipment for kids, and also a list of

people in various states that are willing to be contacted by new members in

those same areas- especially since what is available varies so widely

between states.

--- end of quote ---

Hi Colin - I think that's an excellent idea. I know the State of Vermont has a

parent resource guide that they give parents when their kids are diagnosed with

hearing loss; NH is following with a resource guide soon and I would imagine

other states would have one too? (NH is pretty far behind with its newborn

hearing screening - as of the first of this year we have 23 of 24 hospitals

onboard so we're getting there!) Just having " one stop shopping " for parents

with kids with newly diagnosed hearing loss would so helpful - I know how hard

it was for me to feel around in the dark at first....

Barbara

[Guest guest]

--- You wrote:

I don't know if it is already available or not, but a page on the ListenUp

site that is a sort of " starter kit " for parents of newly identified kids

with hearing loss would be great. It could include the wide range of ways

families have gotten services and equipment for kids, and also a list of

people in various states that are willing to be contacted by new members in

those same areas- especially since what is available varies so widely

between states.

--- end of quote ---

Hi Colin - I think that's an excellent idea. I know the State of Vermont has a

parent resource guide that they give parents when their kids are diagnosed with

hearing loss; NH is following with a resource guide soon and I would imagine

other states would have one too? (NH is pretty far behind with its newborn

hearing screening - as of the first of this year we have 23 of 24 hospitals

onboard so we're getting there!) Just having " one stop shopping " for parents

with kids with newly diagnosed hearing loss would so helpful - I know how hard

it was for me to feel around in the dark at first....

Barbara

[Guest guest]

Right...this listserve is based on tolerance. And, your initial post

regarding this matter, from a list moderator, was less than tolerant. As

were subsequent posts. They negated the efforts of those of us who fight

long and hard to get services through the school system. It did NOT offer

other alternatives. It indicated that it was inappropriate to be asking for

help from the school system and listed all of the negatives. Had it offered

a list of options, it would have been appropriate. If this is the kind of

" tolerance' on this list, I'll happily be removed. This is all I am going

to say on this matter and I'm signing off for a while.

Re: Paying for Hearing Aids

> --- You wrote:

> But, I don't think it's fair to base your recommendations to others on the

fact

> that you've got yours because someone else is paying for them and/or

you've been

> able to swing the financing

> --- end of quote ---

> I've saved this post thinking hard about how I want to respond to it, both

as a

> listserve member and as a list moderator.

>

> This is a listserver built on tolerance - just as there's no one " right

way " to

> communicate with your child, there's not a right way to approach services

or

> paying for hearing aids or other devices. What works for one family may

not

> work for another. I think it's *very* appropriate to let others on the

list

> know how you handled a situation as it may help others know how to

proceed; to

> say it's not fair to base recommendations because that particular family

may be

> in a higher income bracket, did it in a way that is disagreed with etc.,

etc. is

> in my mind *not* a fair thing to say. Our family also has chosen to

handle this

> situation (obviously) in a different way.

>

> I think educating those on the listserve is important to let folks know

there

> are options - the school district is one option, petitioning your

insurance

> company another, local agencies such as the Lion's clubs are another. The

key

> here is getting the device that's appropriate to your child's loss in a

timely

> fashion, however that's accomplished. In my own situation - and we are

very

> much " middle income " so we're not foregoing Disney World vacations! -

having our

> insurance company give us a waiver to pay for both our boys' aids and

molds was

> a blessing. It lets us pay for braces for the boys! :-) I also do have

an

> excellent relationship with our boys' school teams - they have given us

> everything we've asked for this year - and find I live my life easier

having

> that balance. But that's just my husband and me and how we've chosen to

do

> things. It may not be right for everyone - I respect that too.

>

> I think if indeed a mentoring list is coming out of the listserve, which I

think

> is wonderful, those who are volunteering to serve as mentors need to keep

this

> in mind.

>

> So please, let's respect people's decisions in this regard too - I'm sure

that

> the initial comments made came out stronger than were actually intended.

I'll

> be keeping a very close eye on this topic.

>

> Barbara

>

> P.S. - Jill - we're in Hanover/Lebanon NH - we also service families in

Vermont

> (we're in an area called the Upper Valley). We have a parent group called

DEAF

> that meets several times a year and has many parents of older kids who

love to

> help folks. Our contact is Kirsten Elin (who's on this listserve!), her

email

> address is Kirsten.Elin@... if you'd like to include this on a

mentoring

> list.

>

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know if it is already available or not, but a page on the ListenUp

site that is a sort of " starter kit " for parents of newly identified kids

with hearing loss would be great. It could include the wide range of ways

families have gotten services and equipment for kids, and also a list of

people in various states that are willing to be contacted by new members in

those same areas- especially since what is available varies so widely

between states.

Colin

_________________________________________________________________

Check out MSN PC Safety & Security to help ensure your PC is protected and

safe. http://specials.msn.com/msn/security.asp

[Guest guest]

I don't know if it is already available or not, but a page on the ListenUp

site that is a sort of " starter kit " for parents of newly identified kids

with hearing loss would be great. It could include the wide range of ways

families have gotten services and equipment for kids, and also a list of

people in various states that are willing to be contacted by new members in

those same areas- especially since what is available varies so widely

between states.

Colin

_________________________________________________________________

Check out MSN PC Safety & Security to help ensure your PC is protected and

safe. http://specials.msn.com/msn/security.asp