Re: Services in Washington

[Guest guest]

Here are a few things to check out:

Joanne Butts, Executive Director

Parents Are Vital in Education (PAVE)

6316 South 12th Street

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 565-2266 (V/TTY); (800) 572-7368 (In WA only)

E-mail: wapave9-2@...

Hebdon

PAVE/STOMP

6316 South 12th Street

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 565-2266 (V/TTY); (800) 572-7368

E-mail: _wapave9-2@..._ (mailto:wapave9-2@...)

Island / San Counties

RENE DENMAN, Coordinator

Island County Parent to Parent

1900 SE Pioneer Way

Oak Harbor, WA 98277

VOICE: (360) 679-5358

E-MAIL: _rene.denman@..._ (mailto:rene.denman@...)

Program Activities:

Lending Library, Resources, Workshops, Newsletter, Sibshops

SPONSORING AGENCY:

Whidbey Island, Skagit Valley College

Autism Outreach Project

Information and referral

Toll-free (888)704-9633

Autism Society of Washington

(888) 279-4968

_CSHCN newsletter_ (http://www.islandcounty.net/health/CSHCN_newsletter.htm)

_http://www.4people.org/Docs/Island.rtf_

(http://www.4people.org/Docs/Island.rtf)

_http://www.autismsocietyofwa.org/DiaryMay-June2005.pdf_

(http://www.autismsocietyofwa.org/DiaryMay-June2005.pdf#search= " Autism%20Resourc\

es%20in%20%20Island

%20County,%20Washington%20State " ) (You can sign up for the Autism society

of Washington listserve)

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Pam!! : )

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

Here are a few things to check out:

Joanne Butts, Executive Director

Parents Are Vital in Education (PAVE)

6316 South 12th Street

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 565-2266 (V/TTY); (800) 572-7368 (In WA only)

E-mail: wapave9-2@...<mailto:wapave9-2@...>

Hebdon

PAVE/STOMP

6316 South 12th Street

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 565-2266 (V/TTY); (800) 572-7368

E-mail: _wapave9-2@...<mailto:_wapave9-2@...>_

(mailto:wapave9-2@...<mailto:wapave9-2@...>)

Island / San Counties

RENE DENMAN, Coordinator

Island County Parent to Parent

1900 SE Pioneer Way

Oak Harbor, WA 98277

VOICE: (360) 679-5358

E-MAIL: _rene.denman@...<mailto:_rene.denman@...>_

(mailto:rene.denman@...<mailto:rene.denman@...>)

Program Activities:

Lending Library, Resources, Workshops, Newsletter, Sibshops

SPONSORING AGENCY:

Whidbey Island, Skagit Valley College

Autism Outreach Project

Information and referral

Toll-free (888)704-9633

Autism Society of Washington

(888) 279-4968

_CSHCN newsletter_

(http://www.islandcounty.net/health/CSHCN_newsletter.htm<http://www.islandcounty\

..net/health/CSHCN_newsletter.htm>)

_http://www.4people.org/Docs/Island.rtf_<http://www.4people.org/Docs/Island.rtf_\

>

(http://www.4people.org/Docs/Island.rtf<http://www.4people.org/Docs/Island.rtf>)

_http://www.autismsocietyofwa.org/DiaryMay-June2005.pdf_<http://www.autismsociet\

yofwa.org/DiaryMay-June2005.pdf_>

(http://www.autismsocietyofwa.org/DiaryMay-June2005.pdf#search=<http://www.autis\

msocietyofwa.org/DiaryMay-June2005.pdf#search=> " Autism%20Resources%20in%20%20Isl\

and

%20County,%20Washington%20State " ) (You can sign up for the Autism society

of Washington listserve)

[Guest guest]

I live just outside of Tacoma (Gig Harbor area) and have used PAVE in the past

to help with my son's IEP and staff at his school. They are really great! I work

right next door to them at TCC and I am able to drop in whenever, but since youa

re up in Whidbey Island it woudl be quite a drive for you, but you should give

them a call and see if they have resources closer to you....if not, you can

still receive quite a bit of their help over the phone.

Also, about your insurance not covering Sensory Integration Therapy...I had

the same problem with my insurance (Regence Blue Shield) and my son's therapist

helped me work with the insurance company through the appeals process and

finally got them to cover his weekly therapy. What it came down to is that the

insurance company said they did not cover rehabilitative services for some one

who did not have the abilities, or potential to develop those abilities. Since

he was born autistic, he did not qualify. His OT said they deal with this kind

of crap with insurance companies all the time so they helped obtain medical

records and doctor statements and finally worked out the wording so that the

insurance company would approve. When my son was born, the umbilical cord was

wrapped around his neck 5 times. He was okay, but due to lack of oxygen, his

blood sugars were low, and he was less responsive than a newborn should be. He

turned out fine and went on to be a very healthy

happy baby. Then two years later, started showing signs of autism (totally

unrelated to the complications at brith.) But, we were able to convince the

insurance company that his disabilities may be a side effect from the injury at

brith, therefore the therapy qualified as rehabilitative to restore an ability

he would have developed had he not been injured at brith.

It was really confusing and took about six months to work out, but was worth

it! He now has a one hour therapy session once a week (at $100 a session) and

the insurance covers it 100% (with $10 copay.) My son has benefited so much from

the therapy!

Your insurance situation may be different, but don't give up on teh first try,

appeal their decision and see if your therapist, doctor, etc would be willing to

work with you. Also, if your child is registered with the Department of

Developmental Disabilities, they usually assign you a case worker to help you

with these sorts of things. And also, PAVE might be able to help you or refer

you to somone who can help you.

Hope this all helps.

-Fantasy

Mother of:

Devin (age 10) Autistic - Asperger's Syndrome

Sydney (age 9) ADHA, possible Bi-polar

& <aviationgod@...> wrote:

Hey Pam,

You seem to be the woman with all the wonderful who to go to people lists--do

you know of anyone in either Washington state or Island County that can help us

find resources for ?

Our Navy clinic has a FABULOUS social worker, but we're having a difficult time

finding any real help on the Island. We finally got a referral to OT, but our

insurance doesn't cover sensory integration therapy, so we're using the visits

we were pre-authorized to work on it while reporting back that he's working on

fine motor skills. Hopefully the school will help with the sensory issue--the

new SPED teachers seemed really willing to get the new IEP going and new

services approved last night at the open house. Maybe 1st grade won't be so bad

after all!! LOL OH, and his first grade teacher said she's worked with AS kids

before and was so nice and willing to share the things they had done in the

past--cool down area, working with books on their intense interests for reading

group, visual schedule with any upcoming changes posted to the side, etc.

Luckily, our oldest son had her for 1st grade, so we know she's a great teacher

and is actually looking forward to going

back to see her tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!! Just 17 more hours!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

[Guest guest]

We have a PAVE lady here in Oak Harbor, but I seem to only get her voicemail.

Our social worker at the Navy base has said she's willing to attend the IEP

meetings with us to help fight for the services is going to need. She's

been trained in the STOMP (Specialized Training Of Military Parents) program,

which is apparently an off shoot of the PAVE program. LOL Learn something new

everyday!! I'm not sure exactly what either program does, but if it can help us

fight for his best interest then I'm all for it!! : )

Tricare (the military's insurance of choice) said it all depends on the billing

code--one place has it under a covered billing code while another place has it

under a non-covered billing code. Apparently the OT we go to has it under the

non-covered code. His psychiatrist said when she gets back from Russia (she's

visiting family) she will appeal to the our regional contractor to get the

service covered. Of course, we just got on the state's basic health coverage for

kids program and they cover whatever Tricare doesn't, so if nothing else we may

have to go that way. They also cover the UW Autism Center, which our insurance

no longer covers. I'm not thrilled with the UW Child Development Center--they

told us there was nothing wrong with and if there is then it's all ODD

with possible bi-polar or all part of his epilepsy (that hadn't been completely

diagnosed at that point), but autism and PDD are definitely not a possibility.

Luckily, his psych, regular dr., counselor, neurologist, etc. wanted a second

opinion!! But since we had such a bad experience with the CDC area, I'm really

leery about their Autism Center.

I'm in the process of getting into the Department of Developmental Disabilities

(we just learned about it Wednesday morning!) to see what they can do for him.

We're also looking into the SSI thing to help with the expense of going to all

of his appointments--between his OT and psychiatrist in Coupeville, regular dr.

and counselor at NASWI, developmental pediatrician at Bremerton, and neurologist

at Seattle Children's, we seem to use A LOT of gas in a month's time!! We got

the state's kids insurance to help with his medications that the Navy doesn't

carry or cover all of, especially since the out of pocket on one of them just

went up!!

He was diagnosed a little over 2 months ago and we're just now finding out about

a lot of the programs that would have been helpful from the very beginning, but

the base didn't let us know they were available. This site has actually been

more helpful than any place else we've found!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

I live just outside of Tacoma (Gig Harbor area) and have used PAVE in the past

to help with my son's IEP and staff at his school. They are really great! I work

right next door to them at TCC and I am able to drop in whenever, but since youa

re up in Whidbey Island it woudl be quite a drive for you, but you should give

them a call and see if they have resources closer to you....if not, you can

still receive quite a bit of their help over the phone.

Also, about your insurance not covering Sensory Integration Therapy...I had

the same problem with my insurance (Regence Blue Shield) and my son's therapist

helped me work with the insurance company through the appeals process and

finally got them to cover his weekly therapy. What it came down to is that the

insurance company said they did not cover rehabilitative services for some one

who did not have the abilities, or potential to develop those abilities. Since

he was born autistic, he did not qualify. His OT said they deal with this kind

of crap with insurance companies all the time so they helped obtain medical

records and doctor statements and finally worked out the wording so that the

insurance company would approve. When my son was born, the umbilical cord was

wrapped around his neck 5 times. He was okay, but due to lack of oxygen, his

blood sugars were low, and he was less responsive than a newborn should be. He

turned out fine and went on to be a very healthy

happy baby. Then two years later, started showing signs of autism (totally

unrelated to the complications at brith.) But, we were able to convince the

insurance company that his disabilities may be a side effect from the injury at

brith, therefore the therapy qualified as rehabilitative to restore an ability

he would have developed had he not been injured at brith.

It was really confusing and took about six months to work out, but was worth

it! He now has a one hour therapy session once a week (at $100 a session) and

the insurance covers it 100% (with $10 copay.) My son has benefited so much from

the therapy!

Your insurance situation may be different, but don't give up on teh first try,

appeal their decision and see if your therapist, doctor, etc would be willing to

work with you. Also, if your child is registered with the Department of

Developmental Disabilities, they usually assign you a case worker to help you

with these sorts of things. And also, PAVE might be able to help you or refer

you to somone who can help you.

Hope this all helps.

-Fantasy

Mother of:

Devin (age 10) Autistic - Asperger's Syndrome

Sydney (age 9) ADHA, possible Bi-polar

& <aviationgod@...<mailto:aviationgod@...>>

wrote:

Hey Pam,

You seem to be the woman with all the wonderful who to go to people lists--do

you know of anyone in either Washington state or Island County that can help us

find resources for ?

Our Navy clinic has a FABULOUS social worker, but we're having a difficult

time finding any real help on the Island. We finally got a referral to OT, but

our insurance doesn't cover sensory integration therapy, so we're using the

visits we were pre-authorized to work on it while reporting back that he's

working on fine motor skills. Hopefully the school will help with the sensory

issue--the new SPED teachers seemed really willing to get the new IEP going and

new services approved last night at the open house. Maybe 1st grade won't be so

bad after all!! LOL OH, and his first grade teacher said she's worked with AS

kids before and was so nice and willing to share the things they had done in the

past--cool down area, working with books on their intense interests for reading

group, visual schedule with any upcoming changes posted to the side, etc.

Luckily, our oldest son had her for 1st grade, so we know she's a great teacher

and is actually looking forward to going

back to see her tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!! Just 17 more hours!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

[Guest guest]

I just wanted to say that my Daughter and Son-in-Law live in Oak Harbor too,

and my son-in-law is in the Navy there as well. They just visited us here in

Nebraska for 2 weeks. My Grand baby is 11 months. Lynda

[Guest guest]

My husband grew up on Whibey Island, specifically Freeland, and he is in the

Navy Reserves with his unit stationed out of Oak Harbor. We regularly visit his

parents who still live in Freeland, but unfortunately I am not very familiar

with the area nor the services offered in the area. However, I can tell you that

the first year after which your child has been diagnosed is the hardest. You are

told by so many people that there are so many services out there, but it seems

impossible to find said services! When my son was first dianosed, I was so lost

and wished there was a website out there that listed step by step instructions

on what to do and whom to call. But there wasn't. Every person or organization I

called asked what could they do to help me and all I could say was, " I dont

know. " Because I really didn't know what help I needed. I just knew I needed

help.

I also went through the struggles of getting everyone to agree on what my son

was actually diagnosed with. I had worked with autistic chidren for four years

before my son ws born so when he started showing signs around age two, I kind of

had a feeling of what might be going on. But no one would listen to me. By age

three and a half, I had taken him to Child Find, which was a free service that

assesed him to see where areas of need may be and they were able to direct me to

a specialized preschool that could offer him speech therapy. I had to switch

pediatricians three times before I found one that would take my concerns

seriously. She referred me to Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma and we had an

evaluation done at the Psychological Services Center on the hospital grounds.

After two months, they finally handed down a diagnosis of AS. It was a sigh of

relief because then I could finally access services such as Disability, SSI, and

so forth. Prior to the diagnosis I'd had

various doctors tell me that there was nothing wrong with my son, it was my

parenting. But I knew better and finally got what it was my son needed.

As a side note, I am a preschool teacher at Tacoma Community College and over

the years I have referred children out to Child Find and Child Search only to

have them tell the parents there is nothing wrong with their child when his

parents and caregivers such as myself know darned well that something is going

on. So just because UW told you one thing, just keep moving on until you find

the one that listens to you and sees your child as an individual, not as a score

in some generic scaling system.

Anyway, once you have your dianosis in hand, you can go apply for SSI for your

child. Not only will you qualify for a monthly cash assitance amount, but your

child will be given medical coverage through the state for free. You will

receive a medical coupon much like Medicaid or Medicare, and it will cover any

services for your child as long as the provider you are using accepts state

coupons. That was one problem I have run into. The only therpists in my area

that took medical coupons were way out in Puyallup (40 miles from where I live),

so my son receives therapy from an office about 10 miles away who accepts my

personal insurance through my employer. But any time my son goes to the dentist

or his pediatrician, they bill my insurance first, and use his state insurance

as a secondary adn it helps alliviate much of the extra costs that regular

private insurances do not cover.

As far as the Department of Developmental Disabilities, it is a good idea to

get registered with them, but I really didn't find any of their services usefull

to me. But that may not be the case for everyone.

And yes, STOMP is a very beneficial program. Being that Fort and McChord

are very close to where I work, many of the children in my class are from

military families and I have reffered them to STOMP before and I've heard

nothing but praise.

And one more thing to suggest to you, when I first started looking into all of

these things, people kept telling me all about support groups and I felt like I

didn't need it, I could handle this on my own, I wasn't having emotional

problems dealing with the fact that my son was autistic. But as the years have

passed, I have found that connecting with other parents of autistic kids is very

helpful at times. I always thought of a support group as a somber meeting of

indivuiduals talking about the emotional struggles and " poor me, " or " why me "

and that wasn't my thing. But when I contacted PAVE and found out about a

support group for the whole family, I started going to these meetings in which

the whoel family could attend and participate. Sometimes it would be carnival

like activities, and other times there were guest speakers in which volunteer

staff had activities planned for teh children and their siblings, and then

parents and caregivers could have lectures,

discussions, or hands on activites on all kinds of subjects ranging from

dietary restictions to grade school to middle school transitions. My family and

I attend these about every other month and it is nice to get around other

families in a social setting where it can be a positive experience for all; not

a somber meeting whining about how unfortunate we are.

And think about gettin your son in to some kind of social group. Some

therapists offer social skills therapy groups that is similar to a play group,

but for autistic kids where the therapists are present to help teach children

appropriate social cues and how to interact with, make friends with, and enjoy

time spent with other children, disabled or not. That really benefited my son

who prior to the group, ignored other children and lived in his own world 24/7.

That is just a suggestion.

Good luck and feel free to contact me anytime. I'm glad to help or be there to

just listen.

Fantasy

& <aviationgod@...> wrote:

We have a PAVE lady here in Oak Harbor, but I seem to only get her

voicemail. Our social worker at the Navy base has said she's willing to attend

the IEP meetings with us to help fight for the services is going to

need. She's been trained in the STOMP (Specialized Training Of Military Parents)

program, which is apparently an off shoot of the PAVE program. LOL Learn

something new everyday!! I'm not sure exactly what either program does, but if

it can help us fight for his best interest then I'm all for it!! : )

Tricare (the military's insurance of choice) said it all depends on the billing

code--one place has it under a covered billing code while another place has it

under a non-covered billing code. Apparently the OT we go to has it under the

non-covered code. His psychiatrist said when she gets back from Russia (she's

visiting family) she will appeal to the our regional contractor to get the

service covered. Of course, we just got on the state's basic health coverage for

kids program and they cover whatever Tricare doesn't, so if nothing else we may

have to go that way. They also cover the UW Autism Center, which our insurance

no longer covers. I'm not thrilled with the UW Child Development Center--they

told us there was nothing wrong with and if there is then it's all ODD

with possible bi-polar or all part of his epilepsy (that hadn't been completely

diagnosed at that point), but autism and PDD are definitely not a possibility.

Luckily, his psych, regular dr.,

counselor, neurologist, etc. wanted a second opinion!! But since we had such a

bad experience with the CDC area, I'm really leery about their Autism Center.

I'm in the process of getting into the Department of Developmental Disabilities

(we just learned about it Wednesday morning!) to see what they can do for him.

We're also looking into the SSI thing to help with the expense of going to all

of his appointments--between his OT and psychiatrist in Coupeville, regular dr.

and counselor at NASWI, developmental pediatrician at Bremerton, and neurologist

at Seattle Children's, we seem to use A LOT of gas in a month's time!! We got

the state's kids insurance to help with his medications that the Navy doesn't

carry or cover all of, especially since the out of pocket on one of them just

went up!!

He was diagnosed a little over 2 months ago and we're just now finding out about

a lot of the programs that would have been helpful from the very beginning, but

the base didn't let us know they were available. This site has actually been

more helpful than any place else we've found!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

I live just outside of Tacoma (Gig Harbor area) and have used PAVE in the past

to help with my son's IEP and staff at his school. They are really great! I work

right next door to them at TCC and I am able to drop in whenever, but since youa

re up in Whidbey Island it woudl be quite a drive for you, but you should give

them a call and see if they have resources closer to you....if not, you can

still receive quite a bit of their help over the phone.

Also, about your insurance not covering Sensory Integration Therapy...I had the

same problem with my insurance (Regence Blue Shield) and my son's therapist

helped me work with the insurance company through the appeals process and

finally got them to cover his weekly therapy. What it came down to is that the

insurance company said they did not cover rehabilitative services for some one

who did not have the abilities, or potential to develop those abilities. Since

he was born autistic, he did not qualify. His OT said they deal with this kind

of crap with insurance companies all the time so they helped obtain medical

records and doctor statements and finally worked out the wording so that the

insurance company would approve. When my son was born, the umbilical cord was

wrapped around his neck 5 times. He was okay, but due to lack of oxygen, his

blood sugars were low, and he was less responsive than a newborn should be. He

turned out fine and went on to be a very healthy

happy baby. Then two years later, started showing signs of autism (totally

unrelated to the complications at brith.) But, we were able to convince the

insurance company that his disabilities may be a side effect from the injury at

brith, therefore the therapy qualified as rehabilitative to restore an ability

he would have developed had he not been injured at brith.

It was really confusing and took about six months to work out, but was worth it!

He now has a one hour therapy session once a week (at $100 a session) and the

insurance covers it 100% (with $10 copay.) My son has benefited so much from the

therapy!

Your insurance situation may be different, but don't give up on teh first try,

appeal their decision and see if your therapist, doctor, etc would be willing to

work with you. Also, if your child is registered with the Department of

Developmental Disabilities, they usually assign you a case worker to help you

with these sorts of things. And also, PAVE might be able to help you or refer

you to somone who can help you.

Hope this all helps.

-Fantasy

Mother of:

Devin (age 10) Autistic - Asperger's Syndrome

Sydney (age 9) ADHA, possible Bi-polar

& <aviationgod@...<mailto:aviationgod@...>> wrote:

Hey Pam,

You seem to be the woman with all the wonderful who to go to people lists--do

you know of anyone in either Washington state or Island County that can help us

find resources for ?

Our Navy clinic has a FABULOUS social worker, but we're having a difficult time

finding any real help on the Island. We finally got a referral to OT, but our

insurance doesn't cover sensory integration therapy, so we're using the visits

we were pre-authorized to work on it while reporting back that he's working on

fine motor skills. Hopefully the school will help with the sensory issue--the

new SPED teachers seemed really willing to get the new IEP going and new

services approved last night at the open house. Maybe 1st grade won't be so bad

after all!! LOL OH, and his first grade teacher said she's worked with AS kids

before and was so nice and willing to share the things they had done in the

past--cool down area, working with books on their intense interests for reading

group, visual schedule with any upcoming changes posted to the side, etc.

Luckily, our oldest son had her for 1st grade, so we know she's a great teacher

and is actually looking forward to going

back to see her tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!! Just 17 more hours!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

[Guest guest]

Small world!! : ) We'll be visiting our families in Kansas next weekend through

the first of October. Do you know which squadron or group he's stationed with?

There are so many on base! We're in VAQ-141--the world famous Shadowhawks!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

I just wanted to say that my Daughter and Son-in-Law live in Oak Harbor too,

and my son-in-law is in the Navy there as well. They just visited us here in

Nebraska for 2 weeks. My Grand baby is 11 months. Lynda

[Guest guest]

That's sounds so familiar!! I would give anything at this point for someone to

tell me what he needs and how we can go about getting said services, because I

have no clue where to even start!! With the SSI, do we need to be registered

with DDD first or can we apply on our own? If we register with them first, can

they give us an idea of income guidelines, proper steps, and help with the

application process for SSI? I called DDD here in Oak Harbor Friday and found

out the ladies only work a couple days a week and I can't find a number in our

phone book for an 800 number to any other office to even find out if we qualify

for their help. He was assigned a case manager at the base, but she hasn't

worked with AS before, so she keeps asking what she can do for us and I keep

telling her " I don't know--maybe resources and services? " . She said she'd get

back with us if she finds anything and that was a couple weeks ago. We have no

idea what services are out there or available to him--he seems too " functional "

for SSI, but I don't know how that all works. It would be so nice to have

someone come in and explain EVERYTHING, but I know that's not going to happen.

We have the free medical coupon--started getting that Wednesday, which is also

the same day we found out about the DDD!

I would love to be part of a support group, but the one here in Oak Harbor only

meets through the school year and on nights we have cub scouts! We have been

involved with youth bowling since transferring back to OH in 2003, so at least

we're giving him socialization opportunities. Unfortunately, he still prefers to

ignore the other kids. We're doing cub scouts this year, so maybe this will help

since the boys have to work together as a den to accomplish some of the goals

through the year. It's a nice dream, anyway!!

Hopefully things will start falling into place over the next week and when we

get back from Kansas the first week in October we'll be able to pick up where we

leave off and services will start appearing that we've been needing but didn't

know about before!!

Thank you!!

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT (so far)

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

I live just outside of Tacoma (Gig Harbor area) and have used PAVE in the past

to help with my son's IEP and staff at his school. They are really great! I work

right next door to them at TCC and I am able to drop in whenever, but since youa

re up in Whidbey Island it woudl be quite a drive for you, but you should give

them a call and see if they have resources closer to you....if not, you can

still receive quite a bit of their help over the phone.

Also, about your insurance not covering Sensory Integration Therapy...I had

the same problem with my insurance (Regence Blue Shield) and my son's therapist

helped me work with the insurance company through the appeals process and

finally got them to cover his weekly therapy. What it came down to is that the

insurance company said they did not cover rehabilitative services for some one

who did not have the abilities, or potential to develop those abilities. Since

he was born autistic, he did not qualify. His OT said they deal with this kind

of crap with insurance companies all the time so they helped obtain medical

records and doctor statements and finally worked out the wording so that the

insurance company would approve. When my son was born, the umbilical cord was

wrapped around his neck 5 times. He was okay, but due to lack of oxygen, his

blood sugars were low, and he was less responsive than a newborn should be. He

turned out fine and went on to be a very healthy

happy baby. Then two years later, started showing signs of autism (totally

unrelated to the complications at brith.) But, we were able to convince the

insurance company that his disabilities may be a side effect from the injury at

brith, therefore the therapy qualified as rehabilitative to restore an ability

he would have developed had he not been injured at brith.

It was really confusing and took about six months to work out, but was worth

it! He now has a one hour therapy session once a week (at $100 a session) and

the insurance covers it 100% (with $10 copay.) My son has benefited so much from

the therapy!

Your insurance situation may be different, but don't give up on teh first try,

appeal their decision and see if your therapist, doctor, etc would be willing to

work with you. Also, if your child is registered with the Department of

Developmental Disabilities, they usually assign you a case worker to help you

with these sorts of things. And also, PAVE might be able to help you or refer

you to somone who can help you.

Hope this all helps.

-Fantasy

Mother of:

Devin (age 10) Autistic - Asperger's Syndrome

Sydney (age 9) ADHA, possible Bi-polar

&

<aviationgod@...<mailto:aviationgod@...><mailto:aviationgod@veri\

zon.net<mailto:aviationgod@...>>> wrote:

Hey Pam,

You seem to be the woman with all the wonderful who to go to people lists--do

you know of anyone in either Washington state or Island County that can help us

find resources for ?

Our Navy clinic has a FABULOUS social worker, but we're having a difficult

time finding any real help on the Island. We finally got a referral to OT, but

our insurance doesn't cover sensory integration therapy, so we're using the

visits we were pre-authorized to work on it while reporting back that he's

working on fine motor skills. Hopefully the school will help with the sensory

issue--the new SPED teachers seemed really willing to get the new IEP going and

new services approved last night at the open house. Maybe 1st grade won't be so

bad after all!! LOL OH, and his first grade teacher said she's worked with AS

kids before and was so nice and willing to share the things they had done in the

past--cool down area, working with books on their intense interests for reading

group, visual schedule with any upcoming changes posted to the side, etc.

Luckily, our oldest son had her for 1st grade, so we know she's a great teacher

and is actually looking forward to going

back to see her tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!! Just 17 more hours!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

[Guest guest]

_Social Security Disability Insurance_

(http://www.kidsource.com/nfpa/social.html)

[Guest guest]

Just wanted to say hi to and Fantasy in Washington State. I am in

county so I don't really know the services available in Oak Harbor. I do

belong to AutismRecovery WA group and they know of every resource you

could

possibly want in Wa state. They are very helpful. They are very into

biomedical treatments (which I am very interested in too), but whether you are

or

not, they are still a great resource for all types of help. I went to the UW

autism Center in Tacoma for the first time last week and was very impressed with

them. They were so friendly and helpful. I don't know anything about the UW

autism center Seattle but I would expect that they are the same. There is

lots of support groups in Washington, and the AutismRecovery group could help

hook you up with people in your area. Best wishes. Sheryl

[Guest guest]

When my son was diagnosed they referred me to DDD first. Form ther I found out

about SSI and contacted Social Security myself and set up an appointment to see

if he qualified. I had to bring along any documentation on him including his

diagnosis. I also had to supply birth certificates for everyone living in the

household, income verification for everyone in teh household, including copies

of my children's savings bonds, and documentation on any assests we had (cars,

bonds, etc). I made a decent amount of money at the time and we still qualified.

We are a family of four and make about $50,000 a year right now, not including

child support, and still qualify for about $230 a month. It isn't much but it

covers his copays on therapy, medications, special equipment for school such as

head phones and such, and gives him a little bit of money to save each month to

buy himself video games, books, art supplies, etc.

Have you tried looking for support groups in Mt Vernon, sville, or

Bellingham? I know its a drive but maybe their schedule would work better for

yours and you could go like once a month or something.

& <aviationgod@...> wrote:

That's sounds so familiar!! I would give anything at this point for

someone to tell me what he needs and how we can go about getting said services,

because I have no clue where to even start!! With the SSI, do we need to be

registered with DDD first or can we apply on our own? If we register with them

first, can they give us an idea of income guidelines, proper steps, and help

with the application process for SSI? I called DDD here in Oak Harbor Friday and

found out the ladies only work a couple days a week and I can't find a number in

our phone book for an 800 number to any other office to even find out if we

qualify for their help. He was assigned a case manager at the base, but she

hasn't worked with AS before, so she keeps asking what she can do for us and I

keep telling her " I don't know--maybe resources and services? " . She said she'd

get back with us if she finds anything and that was a couple weeks ago. We have

no idea what services are out there or

available to him--he seems too " functional " for SSI, but I don't know how that

all works. It would be so nice to have someone come in and explain EVERYTHING,

but I know that's not going to happen. We have the free medical coupon--started

getting that Wednesday, which is also the same day we found out about the DDD!

I would love to be part of a support group, but the one here in Oak Harbor only

meets through the school year and on nights we have cub scouts! We have been

involved with youth bowling since transferring back to OH in 2003, so at least

we're giving him socialization opportunities. Unfortunately, he still prefers to

ignore the other kids. We're doing cub scouts this year, so maybe this will help

since the boys have to work together as a den to accomplish some of the goals

through the year. It's a nice dream, anyway!!

Hopefully things will start falling into place over the next week and when we

get back from Kansas the first week in October we'll be able to pick up where we

leave off and services will start appearing that we've been needing but didn't

know about before!!

Thank you!!

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT (so far)

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

I live just outside of Tacoma (Gig Harbor area) and have used PAVE in the past

to help with my son's IEP and staff at his school. They are really great! I work

right next door to them at TCC and I am able to drop in whenever, but since youa

re up in Whidbey Island it woudl be quite a drive for you, but you should give

them a call and see if they have resources closer to you....if not, you can

still receive quite a bit of their help over the phone.

Also, about your insurance not covering Sensory Integration Therapy...I had the

same problem with my insurance (Regence Blue Shield) and my son's therapist

helped me work with the insurance company through the appeals process and

finally got them to cover his weekly therapy. What it came down to is that the

insurance company said they did not cover rehabilitative services for some one

who did not have the abilities, or potential to develop those abilities. Since

he was born autistic, he did not qualify. His OT said they deal with this kind

of crap with insurance companies all the time so they helped obtain medical

records and doctor statements and finally worked out the wording so that the

insurance company would approve. When my son was born, the umbilical cord was

wrapped around his neck 5 times. He was okay, but due to lack of oxygen, his

blood sugars were low, and he was less responsive than a newborn should be. He

turned out fine and went on to be a very healthy

happy baby. Then two years later, started showing signs of autism (totally

unrelated to the complications at brith.) But, we were able to convince the

insurance company that his disabilities may be a side effect from the injury at

brith, therefore the therapy qualified as rehabilitative to restore an ability

he would have developed had he not been injured at brith.

It was really confusing and took about six months to work out, but was worth it!

He now has a one hour therapy session once a week (at $100 a session) and the

insurance covers it 100% (with $10 copay.) My son has benefited so much from the

therapy!

Your insurance situation may be different, but don't give up on teh first try,

appeal their decision and see if your therapist, doctor, etc would be willing to

work with you. Also, if your child is registered with the Department of

Developmental Disabilities, they usually assign you a case worker to help you

with these sorts of things. And also, PAVE might be able to help you or refer

you to somone who can help you.

Hope this all helps.

-Fantasy

Mother of:

Devin (age 10) Autistic - Asperger's Syndrome

Sydney (age 9) ADHA, possible Bi-polar

&

<aviationgod@...<mailto:aviationgod@...><mailto:aviationgod@veri\

zon.net<mailto:aviationgod@...>>> wrote:

Hey Pam,

You seem to be the woman with all the wonderful who to go to people lists--do

you know of anyone in either Washington state or Island County that can help us

find resources for ?

Our Navy clinic has a FABULOUS social worker, but we're having a difficult time

finding any real help on the Island. We finally got a referral to OT, but our

insurance doesn't cover sensory integration therapy, so we're using the visits

we were pre-authorized to work on it while reporting back that he's working on

fine motor skills. Hopefully the school will help with the sensory issue--the

new SPED teachers seemed really willing to get the new IEP going and new

services approved last night at the open house. Maybe 1st grade won't be so bad

after all!! LOL OH, and his first grade teacher said she's worked with AS kids

before and was so nice and willing to share the things they had done in the

past--cool down area, working with books on their intense interests for reading

group, visual schedule with any upcoming changes posted to the side, etc.

Luckily, our oldest son had her for 1st grade, so we know she's a great teacher

and is actually looking forward to going

back to see her tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!! Just 17 more hours!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT

[Guest guest]

My Son in law is Knott, I don't know which squadron he is with,

sorry! Alls I know is he works and repairs on the Prowler and will be going to

Afghanistan next January for his second tour. I will ask what squadron he is

with.

Lynda

[Guest guest]

I talked to the intake lady with DDD this afternoon and she said that because

he's not " specifically autistic " and has the AS diagnosis he doesn't qualify for

their services. FUN!! : )

We haven't looked into groups off the Island, especially since my hubby works

nights and all my volunteer activities have evening meetings!! Luckily one of my

girlfriends' son has AS and she is a big help.

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT (so far)

Re: ( ) Services in Washington

I live just outside of Tacoma (Gig Harbor area) and have used PAVE in the past

to help with my son's IEP and staff at his school. They are really great! I work

right next door to them at TCC and I am able to drop in whenever, but since youa

re up in Whidbey Island it woudl be quite a drive for you, but you should give

them a call and see if they have resources closer to you....if not, you can

still receive quite a bit of their help over the phone.

Also, about your insurance not covering Sensory Integration Therapy...I had

the same problem with my insurance (Regence Blue Shield) and my son's therapist

helped me work with the insurance company through the appeals process and

finally got them to cover his weekly therapy. What it came down to is that the

insurance company said they did not cover rehabilitative services for some one

who did not have the abilities, or potential to develop those abilities. Since

he was born autistic, he did not qualify. His OT said they deal with this kind

of crap with insurance companies all the time so they helped obtain medical

records and doctor statements and finally worked out the wording so that the

insurance company would approve. When my son was born, the umbilical cord was

wrapped around his neck 5 times. He was okay, but due to lack of oxygen, his

blood sugars were low, and he was less responsive than a newborn should be. He

turned out fine and went on to be a very healthy

happy baby. Then two years later, started showing signs of autism (totally

unrelated to the complications at brith.) But, we were able to convince the

insurance company that his disabilities may be a side effect from the injury at

brith, therefore the therapy qualified as rehabilitative to restore an ability

he would have developed had he not been injured at brith.

It was really confusing and took about six months to work out, but was worth

it! He now has a one hour therapy session once a week (at $100 a session) and

the insurance covers it 100% (with $10 copay.) My son has benefited so much from

the therapy!

Your insurance situation may be different, but don't give up on teh first try,

appeal their decision and see if your therapist, doctor, etc would be willing to

work with you. Also, if your child is registered with the Department of

Developmental Disabilities, they usually assign you a case worker to help you

with these sorts of things. And also, PAVE might be able to help you or refer

you to somone who can help you.

Hope this all helps.

-Fantasy

Mother of:

Devin (age 10) Autistic - Asperger's Syndrome

Sydney (age 9) ADHA, possible Bi-polar

&

<aviationgod@...<mailto:aviationgod@...><mailto:aviationgod@veri\

zon.net<mailto:aviationgod@...>><mailto:aviationgod@...<mailto:a\

viationgod@...><mailto:aviationgod@...<mailto:aviationgod@verizo\

n.net>>>> wrote:

Hey Pam,

You seem to be the woman with all the wonderful who to go to people lists--do

you know of anyone in either Washington state or Island County that can help us

find resources for ?

Our Navy clinic has a FABULOUS social worker, but we're having a difficult

time finding any real help on the Island. We finally got a referral to OT, but

our insurance doesn't cover sensory integration therapy, so we're using the

visits we were pre-authorized to work on it while reporting back that he's

working on fine motor skills. Hopefully the school will help with the sensory

issue--the new SPED teachers seemed really willing to get the new IEP going and

new services approved last night at the open house. Maybe 1st grade won't be so

bad after all!! LOL OH, and his first grade teacher said she's worked with AS

kids before and was so nice and willing to share the things they had done in the

past--cool down area, working with books on their intense interests for reading

group, visual schedule with any upcoming changes posted to the side, etc.

Luckily, our oldest son had her for 1st grade, so we know she's a great teacher

and is actually looking forward to going

back to see her tomorrow!!!! YEAH!!! Just 17 more hours!! : )

mother of /8/anxiety, GERD, asthma

/6/AS, anxiety, epilepsy, asthma

Hunter/4/asthma

Dylan/1/NT