I am having a hard time accepting the fact that we will get no assistance or help once Veronica turns 3 in a few short months.

I have been brainstorming with our EI person to see if we can work with MRDD rather than the school system. Just to make sure we can still get money for respite care and other funds we are entitled too. We just don't want to get sucked into the school system and someone telling me "put her in school" every time we meet. Our EI person totally supports our homeschooling and knows all will be well for Veronica. With our without their help.

I am torn, I don't know how things will pan out. I am not really looking to get services/therapy for Veronica. But to make sure we can stay in the system and take advantage of our tax dollars. But I don't want to do an IEP and have to have her tested. I am so confused.

Anyone else have anything to share in this regard?

Christi
Homeschooling mama to Wheatley(7) and Veronica(2)

Our biggest blessing is that Noah was able to get the special medicaid (Katy Beckett funding I think) for families who don't qualitfy financially for SSI. They only look at HIS income and diagnosis. The Medicaid is a secondary insurance and all but two of his docs accept it. This has allowed us to get private in-home therapy.

When he turns three, we have the option of getting it in the school system without placing him in it. We could, of course, place him in the local special needs preschool. We could also do private therapy as long as we have the Medicaid. I have not been thrilled with the idea of driving all over with the older boys each week.

I have also been trying to decide whether to keep him in our Mom's Morning Out program at church (which our other boys attended for 3 years each and loved). He has had a great year there and is loved beyond measure, but he isn't getting challenged.

In the end, we've chosen an interesting route to try. My husband works in the next county over and they have an incredible special needs preschool. It is considered part of their school district (as a charter school) even though it is for kids 0-6yo. They get their therapies and a basic preschool experience. He'll be in a school system--but not the one in our own county. I like that--even though our county is pretty HS friendly. Noah will start in June or Aug two days a week. My husband will drop him off and I will pick him up. He will have in-home therapy until age 3 as needed.

It isn't the route I EVER thought we would take, but it is something we've prayed over for a year. I feel a real peace about it now. I hope and pray it will be a great experience. We will probably put homeschooling in the IEP from the start.

I know it is hard to figure out!! Praying for you as you look for what suits your family best.

Hollie, Homeschooling mom to Eli (7yo), Kyle(5yo) and Noah(20 months, T21)

and nothing in the above post had anything to do with it. Sigh...sorry!!

Noah's EI is with our Dept of Special Needs and I think we can stay with her until he is 6yo. Beyond that, I don't know. We currently get respite money to pay for his one day/week at Mom's Morning Out and that will only continue until age 3yo. So I've wasted a lot of space and your time and have been no help at all.

Sorry.

Hollie, Homeschooling mom to Eli (7yo), Kyle(5yo) and Noah(20 months, T21)

Please share. I think I am doing something that hasn't been done before. Everyone is pushing to mainstream and here, I want services from MRDD.

We'll see how my advocacy hat fits.

Christi
Homeschooling mama to Wheatley(7) and Veronica(2)

I don't know if it goes by county or school district, but I asked this exact question and as long as we are willing to "compromise" by doing the IEP and paperwork through the school system I can CHOOSE where to get Johnny his things. If I choose to go to Kindermusik, library storytime, gymnastics, playgroups, and any other family vacation spots or outings as "field trips" he can still get the therapy services as though he were in a classroom. I also asked from the angle if we decided to send him to a private school like a church pre-school program. (I was curious "what if" a family would choose this route.) I was told that in the church situation they could still send out therapists for him, but it couldn't be ON the church property because of the "separation of church and state" laws. Isn't that silly? The woman who I talked to was giving a talk on the subject of transitioning to any county parents interested in attending her speech. And she said she had chosen this route for her son and the church she went to had a trailer in the parking lot that they used as offices or an extra classrooom or some sort of thing and that the therapy took place in the trailer instead of the actual church pre-school. Weird!!

I'm going to look into the details more as Johnny gets closer to 2 or 2.5 years old and if they don't, I feel pretty confident in just using the therapy that our insurance already pays for and the services that MRDD in our area provides as extra. So far that's the only therapy he's gotten (our insurance paying and a couple of evals from MRDD) and he seems to be doing ok so far with that. Let me know if you have more questions about it because he's due for a new IFSP soon so I'll be seeing our service coordinator anyway so I may bring this up.....and can ask any specifics if you have any.