What assitance of Medicaid/Medicare can I get for my son????

[Guest guest]

Hello: I am sure that other parents out there have faced the dilemma,that i'm

currently in.

My son has maxed out nbr of therapies (20 sessions per year),

We are covered by my employer's insurance(UnitedHealthCare)

thru my fulltime job, (although that might change soon since

I need to scale back work and dedicate hours to taking my

son to much needed speech/occupation therapy).

Maybe my working less hours will help my son

to qualify for Medicaid/Medicare, etc.?

Ive never even thought about applying for govertment insurance cause

I thought by me working fulltime, we would manage.

Well, we all know

that therapy coverage is barely covered.

Is there anyway, if I apply for Medicaid that he would have

more coverage for more therapy this way? And then I would

just drop him from my private insurance. Would he even

qualify?

Which diagnosis gets more coverage for services?

His neurologist wrote Asperger's diagnosis,

although my son barely speaks. Has heavy echolalia

and spaces out. Cannot converse.

The pediatrician, on the other hand,

disagrees with the neurologist and told me

that he is definitely PDD (and not Asperger's).

I don't know if I should just call the neurologist and ask him for for a script

that says " PDD " ?

Or if I can apply for Medicaid or something, with the

current diagnosis paper that says ASPERGER.

Is Aspergers considered eligible for Medicaid or Medwaiver?

I just want help with getting his therapy covered.

I see mom's sitting next to me at his last therapy

center and they didn't even work. How could they

afford therapy for their child?

I'm so confused. I just want to get

more coverage for therapy he desperately needs. He started

in an Autism Kindergartten and does not understand when

spoken to, and can't even hold a crayon?? His IEP

offers school-based speech every day for 30 minutes

and OT only once a week. His doctor assures me that

this therapy is not enough. I must supplement both

speech/occupation therapy, outside of school.

Can I apply for public assistance/services for my son who is on the spectrum,

regardless if he's asperger's or PDD or whatever?

Please help? Your advice is appreciated...

thanks,

Ramona