What Are Medicaid Waivers?

What Are Medicaid Waivers?

We are presently struggling to navigate through Medicaid Waivers in the State of Texas for our son (intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, DMDD - dysruptive mood disregulation disorder). We've been working for the YES (Youth Empowerment Services) Waiver with MHMR in Denton, Texas since April 2018 and are still waiting for services to begin. We were on the waiting list for a while. Then we were accepted to see if we are eligible - that process is taking months. There is a discrepancy with his IQ which is another story. WHAT ARE MEDICAID WAIVERS? Medicaid Waivers help provide services to people who would otherwise be in a nursing home or hospital to receive long-term care in the community. Although there are waivers for many conditions, our focus is towards waivers for people who have intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and autism. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAIVERS? There are several types of waivers: Community Living Assistance and Support Services (CLASS): gives home and community-based supports to...
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Life Skills Checklist for Special Needs Teens and Young Adults

Life Skills Checklist for Special Needs Teens and Young Adults

This is a list we started working on for all of our kids to set goals for attempting to learn these life skills. Of course each individual living with special needs has different capacities and levels of comprehension. Our special needs son will need help in many areas to achieve this, so in some ways it's a list for us now - caregivers in the future. Maintain relationships - faith in God, home, church, family, friends, co-workers, community Maintain good hygiene Sexual health Caring for clothes - what you wear (washing, drying, ironing, storing, organizing) Using technology for communication (smartphone, email, tablets, desktops) Tie a necktie Self protection (call for help, hand-to-hand, weapon safety) Vaccinations House cleaning, maintenance and organization House emergency prep Kitchen use Technology maintainence Car maintainence Auto emergency prep Personal finance management (accounts, investing, saving, taxes, budgeting, credit score, protection) Personal insurances Personal document management (certificates, passport, records, social security) Career and Work (interviews, job search) Life...
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Context of Play

Context of Play

When our son was diagnosed with autism and behavior & intellectual challenges several years ago, one of the main points the doctor (who had 20+ years experience of working with children) made to us was that everything we wanted our son to truly and meaningfully understand should be wrapped in the context of “play”. That advice has proved consistently true as our son has grown. Successful communication with a special needs child, preteen, teen, young adult, or adult who deals with autism and behavior & intellectual challenges is naturally and sincerely playful. It receives the most notable response. I believe it makes the strongest connections and gains trust with the child you love and you want he or she to know that you love them....
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Kreed’s World

Kreed’s World

Kreed's World: A Life Unfinished is a motivating resource for parents, caregivers and families of those dealing with any of these issues: autism, hypothyroidism, epilepsy, SCAD (metabolic disorder), Adrenal Insufficiency, and/or Common Variable Immune Deficiency.  The blog topics will echo your journeys, and educate those new to the experiences. Click here to visit the site and learn more....
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