If you’ve reached your deductibles, chances are you’re thinking about trying to squeeze any last minute medical appointments and procedures into 2007. While you’re doing this, take a quick look through your claims for the year. Our insurance company makes this simple to do via the internet. But you have to understand what you’re looking for/at.

For example, we have a claim that keeps appearing and then disappearing from the company’s computer system. It’s a claim from last December (that’s right…last year). It’s a huge amount of money, and I have a pre-authorization... more

I’ve been digging into this issue of home-based services and support for families who want to keep their mentally ill children at home, or get services within their community. This issue is inescapably linked to the issue of relinquishing a child to the state so he/she can receive mental health services.

Now, let me explain that I don’t believe for one second that all children with mental illnesses should be left within their homes – there is definitely a need for out-of-home placements, hospitalizations and residential treatment centers (RTCs). But we have... more

The recent media coverage in Florida of the plight of the Bostock family in obtaining mental health services for their adoptive son is not a “new” story. Families all over this country have been relinquishing children into state custody for years in order to obtain long-term mental health treatment. It is a devastating practice and one that most people would agree is just plain WRONG…yet it continues.

Truth is, there’s not much information out there on which states require... more

Many disabled children are raised in households where the income level prohibits the child from qualifying for SSI. Yet, the child still needs significantly more financial support to receive medical services than the family’s private insurance or resources can provide.

Each state administers their program a bit differently. In fact, in many states it is difficult to find out information on this program because it is called by so many different names. Sometimes called home-based waivers, they are generally administered through the same people who administer... more

As I continue to learn more about the world of developmental disabilities, through my Partners in Policymaking class, I am starting to understand that there are resources (albeit limited) for some of our special kids.

This link gives you some straight-forward information about applying for Social Security benefits (SSI or SSDI) for your child with disabilities.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is something a child from birth to 18 can qualify for if they have a disability that meets the... more

I stole this title from one of my readers (thanks John!) because I think it speaks so clearly about restraint and seclusion. I asked you readers yesterday what you thought about seclusion rooms at school and got lots of feedback that told me what I suspected. It’s a gray thing.

Because we need places for children who are not safe at school, we need “quiet rooms”. Some children really do improve having a quiet, safe place to calm down. How the rooms are administered... more

This article from today’s Tallahassee Democrat reports a parent challenging the use of time out rooms in her school district. The article reports that the 7-year-old girl, with learning disabilities, had been placed in the time out room at least six times since the beginning of the school year.

The girl has since become fearful of being in any room with the door shut and will no long close the bathroom door.

The Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities has... more

There are just some days that I hate living in this state. For all the things I love about where we live – our house, the weather, my church family, our friends – there is a mindset here (maybe there’s a mindset everywhere) that is really starting to bug me involving special needs children.

The educational reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote an article for their blog yesterday about the actions of some special education advocates who are opposing the new state... more

I’m a Mary Chapin Carpenter fan. She has a song entitled Passionate Kisses and the lyrics include:

Is it too much to ask I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back Food to fill me up And warm clothes and all that stuff Shouldn't I have this Shouldn't I have this Shouldn't I have all of this, and…

These words always remind me of Chinese adoptees. When I hear them I picture... more

Our state offers a benefit with special needs adoption called medical Subsidy. If your adopted child has a medical issue, which, was not caused by you, your care, or your lack of care, then the state may pay for the treatment. You need to fill out the correct paperwork, get documentation, and then wait a few months for approval. Sometimes you also have to wait a few months for them to start paying, but it does work and we’ve utilized it several times.

We have a twelve-year-old son currently in braces, which we had approved... more