DDD / ALTCS / AZEIP / AHCCCS - UUUGGHHH!!!!!

UGH... It is all soooooooooo confusing. DDD, ALTCS, AHCCCS.... What is what? What is covered for what? What goes through who?

With the Poker Tournament this past weekend and some other issues over the past few days, I have not had a chance to write about the meeting I had on Friday with my DDD case worker. So, here we go....

Joshua and his boss came out to my house on Friday to discuss the fact that Conor was just approved for ALCTS (Arizona Long Term Care Services). I will be honest, when the ALTCS evaluator came out to the house several weeks ago and did her evaluation and asked me questions, I didnt think Conor was going to qualify. ALTCS basically is the service that would pay for Conor's therapy after he turns 3 years old and transistions out of AZEIP (Arizona Early Intervention Program). AZEIP and DDD are basically footing the bill right now for Conor's therapy and if he didn't qualify for ALTCS, all his therpay would be out of pocket once he turned 3 years old. KNOWING what our situation is right now with Jason's job and no insurance, needless to say my stress level has been beyond normal.

Anyway, Joshua and his boss came out and explained to me exaclty what being approved my ALTCS meant. Not gonna lie, when they explained it to me in terms I could understand, I teared up. Like I said when the ALTCS evaluator came out, she explained to me Conor had to score 40 points on his evaluation to qualify. Again, not thinking since Conor was on the "extreme" side of the spectrum, I didn't expect him to qualify, but he did. Basically what this means for Conor is that when he turns 3 and transitions out of AZEIP, ALTCS will pick up the bills. In addtion, because of Conor's score and because he is now covered under ALTCS, Conor is eligable for even more types of therapy and services. The two services they suggested were Habilitation Masters and Respite.

Here is what Habilitaion Masters is described as:
The Habilitation Behavioral Service, also known as Habilitation Masters (Hab-M), is a clinical and training service funded through the Division of Developmental Disabilities for qualified children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder prior to age 4. This is a 2 year service (starting on date of division approval as explained on the approval letter), with a maximum of 150 hours of DDD authorized clinical service and training. This service is to provide families with additional support in maintaining an Early Intensive Behavior Intervention (EIBI) home habilitation program. The program manager will write an individualized program specific to meet the child’s needs. The program manager will also provide parent training, provider training, and additional trouble shooting for any behavioral concerns that may arise. The program manager, in collaboration with the family, is also responsible for assuring that the treatment plan is executed as prescribed.

Here is what Respite is described as:
Respite is a service designed for short-term, temporary care to our clients with the purpose of giving the parents a break from the everyday routine of raising a child with special needs. An important purpose of respite is to provide parents and families temporary relief to relax, run errands, work, etc.

Now.... The Hab-M program I am definatly interested in. Whatever Conor needs... I have already contacted the HOPE Group and got the ball rolling on that. I have been sent a few forms via email and am waiting on a packet in the mail to complete that paperwork. As far as the Respite service..... Yeah, I believe that I have plenty of people to help me if I need to run to the store. Conor is not on the extreme side of the spectrum where I can't take him with me either. But.......... I did find out that the people who are currently watching him (his grandma on Monday/Tuesday and his sister on Wednesday/Thursday and Friday morning) while I am at work, can get certified and paid to watch Conor. They can get paid up to $9.50 an hour! So I have also requested information on that as well. Basically they just need to pay $67 to have a finger print background check done, take a CPR certification class which HOPE Group pays for, take a class or two, and BOOM they are certitfied. Now, I do have the option to have any one of their "certified respite workers" come sit with Conor as well if one of these two were unable to. But yeah, that won't be happening. Conor stays with people I trust, not someone I don't know. But if Sarah and Grandma Linda can get paid for what they are already doing, why not??????

When Conor turns 3, he will transistion out of the the AZEIP and will be starting pre-school. I meet Joshua (Conor's DDD case worker) and with the people over at the Dysart School District on Friday, August 10th at noon to discuss what this means for Conor.  REALLY nervous about this.... When I did put Conor into daycare and I was looking for the right one, I was VERY picky about where we went. I did extensive research on the facilities and asked A LOT of questions when I toured. Now I am expected to just throw him into pre-school and be expected to trust the teachers and the school district. I have a HUGE issue with trust to begin with and to be expected to put my trust in this is making me really nervous. I guess we will see what this is all about on the 10th when we meet.

In the mean time, I wait for the papers from HOPE Group and get those filled out and sent back in. I get the info and give it to Sarah and Grandma Linda so they can make the decision if they want to get certified and paid for what they already do or not.

Waiting sucks.......... All these different agencies is confusing............ But I need to just suck it up and deal with it. Conor deals with sooo much on a daily basis, I can manage to deal with the rest of it.