For those of you who have guided me, educated me and given me suggestions please believe me that I have already done these things. And yes, I have followed up on them because things change, laws change, people change. I first had James evaluated when he was 11 months old by our states early intervention program. The first goal of our IEP- For James to answer to his name. Our early intervention program was coming to our house almost four times a month to work with James. Eight months into that James was diagnosed. We started ABA one month after that and we also continued to work with the early intervention program. So yes, we did work extensively with them. I also honestly feel like nothing was accomplished while working with them. When it comes to IEPs in the public schools, they will meet with our program director, evaluate James, spend time learning the process that James has been using but they are, in no way, required to take any of those things into consideration when it comes to actually writing out the IEP. Shadows (therapists) to work in the school would have to be employed by the school which means they would not be specifically assigned to James. You cannot bring public employees into the school to work. We are currently looking into charter schools that would let us bring a shadow and scholarships for private schools. Please trust me that Ive learned all the laws, all the qualifications, looked into all the government resources that are out there. In reality, it becomes the few vs the many. Two years ago when we started ABA we were told that less than 30% of children who do this therapy are successful (meaning that they lose the autism diagnosis). James uncle was successful but another close person in our life who did just as much ABA at the same time as Ben was not considered successful. This persons life is hundreds of thousands of times better than it would have been had it not been for ABA but in the eyes of the government, that child wasnt cured and therefore hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted. People want ABA to be a cure for autism. Consider chemo, it doesnt always cure cancer. When it comes to government assistance think of FAFSA. A student from a middle-class family fills out the FAFSA form and they dont get any assistance because their parents make too much money, even if that students parents dont plan to or cant help them pay for college at all. Chris makes too much money to qualify for government assistance. The government doesnt consider the rest of lifes expenses. In most cases assistance is based on the ABA cost of 80% of 20 hours a week. James gets 36 hours a week. To be honest I dont remember why we cant be considered a non-profit, my husband did that research, as well as my father-in-law, and my father-in-laws financial adviser. Scholarships from Autism websites are the same as the government assistance ones, Chris makes too much money. Im not saying that there are families out there that dont deserve those scholarships more than James, they do. That is why those qualifications are there. We are surrounded by wonderful people who are helping us learn and share their experiences. There are some moms out there who have an almost 3 year-old little boy who cant say her name and she doesnt know why or what to do. I want her to have that help. She deserves it and needs it more than I do. After James was diagnosed I started my search, my quest, of how to improve my sons life, what ABA is and how to pay for it. During my search I came across a pin on Pinterest that said, A worried mother does more research than the FBI. Thank you for your outrage. Thank you for your thoughts. Please believe me when I say Ive done the research. We arent in the situation we are in because we havent been trying, Ive been crying more than a colicky baby. I promise that I have been and will be exploring all the avenues available. So in the end, thank you for your suggestions, but I wish you would understand that I have done everything I can do. Please understand that some tips are frustrating to hear. Frustrating because James has had his autism diagnosis for over two years and I feel that I have done everything that is obviously possible. And if you feel that what you have to say is sincerely something that I might not have done please send me a personal message. Im really sorry if this seems ungrateful in anyway, because, in truth, Im one of the luckiest people in the world to have people who care about me and my family. But, in conclusion, yes Ive tried that, Ive looked into that, and Ive asked that group and it didnt work, that is why weve turned to gofundme as a way to share our little boy and the joy that ABA is helping bring into our lives. And how much we need the help to keep going.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 03:10:17 +0000
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