hi mamas, please help if you have any advice. my family is relocating to the north metro area from out of state. my 2 yo son was just evaluated for ASD and we were told that he has 'non-autistic asd'. i want to get as much early intervention as i can for him but we are a single income family and my primary insurance denies his therapies (speech and occupational). in our former state there were assistance programs that helped us make EI therapies happen. are there any resources like this in MN? do you have reccomendations for a pediatrician or clinic, or any other information or advice that might help make the move most effective for him? thank you!
3/9---i do not understand the diagnosis either, and i have not yet received the formal documentation from the psychologist (this was just last week). i think she was trying to explain PDD-NOS but used poor choice of non-technical terminology to call it 'non-autistic ASD' (misnomer?). from my own reading, he would probably fit that category as he has many non-autistic traits but also has some behaviors that are considered 'red-flags'. I really appreciate all the great advice and feel i have a strong set of options to find assistance, including possible re-evaluation. Thank you all very much!
Try the birth to 3 program or look for other early intervention programs.
Hi A.,
I don't know what county you would be in, but I am in Washington County. My two younger kids are both low toned, and the middle one has a speech disorder. Call the school, they may be able to help. We have had a teacher come here to our home for the last two years for each kid. I really believe it has helped immensely. Without the help of my son's teacher, I don't think he would be going to kindergarden this Fall. My daughter has also come a long way too. They just have to be qualified (it has nothing to do with income), they will evaluate your son, and will be able to tell you if he's qualified for help. Now my son has passed his last eval, but he is still not talking to other kids. The school psychologist will be working with him in his preschool classroom. The school can really help, you just have to know who to ask, and how to go about it.
I have a 12 year old boy with autism and have never heard "non-autistic ASD". I live in the Champlin area (North Metro) and we see a wonderful Dr in Brooklyn Park (there are other locations to choose from). The clinic is Partners in Pediatrics, Dr Karen Arrett. Their website is http://pipstop.com. She is VERY GOOD! She has many kids like your son on her case load. Feel free to email me if you need further help.
Also, I am currently the 2009 MN Walk Chair for Autism Speaks; Walk Now for Autism and if you want information for that go to www.walknowforautism.org/minnesota. Another great resource is autismspeaks.org!! Feel free to email me anytime with questions because I have been in this for a long time!____@____.com
D. K
Hi A.,
I have a few friends that have autistic children and they are all part of a group TACA.
They are a wonderful support. I know they are all over. They'd have all that information.
If you would like to get in touch with them, let me know.
J.
MN has "Birth to 3" programs for special needs children. They are either through the county or the school district you live in. (I bet someone else will post about them and can give you more info.)
IMO, the best place for children to receive medical care in the Twin Cities is Children's Hospital in St. Paul. My son sees a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Lynn Taival (pronounced TIE-vul). I can't say enough good things about her. She answers all of our questions thoroughly and presents everything as a choice the parents can make. The great thing about Children's is all the specialists are right there, too, if you need them. I'm sure anyone at Children's would know other programs to refer you on to. Their # is ###-###-####.
I would urge you to check out your eligibility for any of the state's health insurance programs. There are a couple of different programs, and some have very generous income guidelines. Your son may qualify for more comprehensive insurance than what you currently have OR the state may pick up the cost for what your current insurance will not cover. There is one application for all the programs. If you google "MN + health insurance programs", it should come up.
Also, you may find this link helpful:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/mcshn
Whatever county you live in call to the Human Resources and ask for a financial case worker and a disability case worker. They will be able to tell you what you qualify for, and if you get any form of Medical Assistance being TEFRA, CADI Waiver that should cover the therapy services they may have set limits on them but what the provider has to do it just write to the insurance and tel them the situation and why your child needs more than what they have set aside. As for a pediatrician we see just a regular pediatrician - my son has down syndrome, autistic like tendancies, bipolar, severe ADHD and other problems, but we also see a Developmental Pediatrician for all the "bigger" problems and leave the smaller problems - sickness - to the regular pediatrician. It just all depends on where you live. If you want to email me about more information you can my email is ____@____.com and we live in Anoka County. Another thing to try and get is SSI, but that is all based on family income and the guidelines are stick and low.
Autism Society of Minnesota: www.ausm.org Do you know what school district you're moving into? Were you receiving EI through your former school district? Contact the new school district to continue services. If you were not receiving EI through your old school district, you may need to contact 612.348.TOTS for an eval.
Good luck.
My oldest son was diagnosed with autism last April through our county's Early Intervention program. He got speech therapy free in our home through the school district and now attends ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) Monday through Friday from 1:30 to 4 (also free to us). Minnesota has some of the beast autism care in the country and depending on which county you are moving to there are plenty of programs to help you. Because he is special needs he will qualify for Medical Assistance, SSI (depending on your income) and probably TEFRA. We don't see any specialist pediatricians or anything for his autism but our regular pediatrician is Dr. Sakkal at Fridley Children's and Teenager's Medical Clinic and we love him. He is very honest, helpful, supportive and friendly. All of my boys just love him. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me anytime. Good luck with your move!
I have a friend who just went through this very same thing. Our (wonderful) pediatrician sent her directly to the school district to get her son screened for kindergarten. She was told that he would obviously fail the screening since he was 2.5 years old but that they would detect his needs and start him with the appropriate therapies. He did fail the screening and started immediately with speech, occupational, and sensory therapies through the district's ECFE program. All programs plus his preschool classes are funded through the district. Her little boy has changed tremendously in the year he has been "in school." Good luck!
Hi A.
My daughter currently participates in an Early Intervention program through the school district that we live in. It is wonderful! They even come to my house for me, as we have transportation limitations. I don't know what school district you are in but the therapists that work with my daughter say that every school district has a program. The best part? TOTALLY FREE!! It is paid for by property taxes in the community. The number for the Anoka Hennepin district area is 763-323-KIDS. If you don't live in this area, at least they can direct you where to go.
Good luck!
The school district that you are moving to should be able to provide services in speech and OT and anything else you may need, free of charge. School disticts are responsible for ANY child from birth who is in need of services. The quickest way to get services started is to have copies of any evaluations that your child has had done to provide for them. The professionals who provide these services have the same education and credentials as those who work in proviate or medical settings. I encourage you to visit the district's website for information about who to contact.
I have never heard of the label "non-autistic ASD" before. Does the physician maybe mean that it isn't "autistic disorder" but PDD-NOS? Regardless, you I'm pretty sure that MN has legislation requiring insurance to pay for autism treatments, but I don't know exactly what that entails. What you may want to look into is ABA therapy, which has helped my son a lot. Kids with ASD really can make great progress when they get specialized help. We don't live in Minnesota, though, so I don't know what the resources are in your state. Best of luck to you!
J.
Hi A.,
Great advice below.
Call you school district and get started with their birth to 3 program right away. Many school districts do this year round.
If you are interested in products, I own an on-line retail store with a wide variety of products and resources. You can email me at ____@____.com if you are interested in more information.
K.
Hi A.,
I'm sure with all of the Work from home mom's out there you will be getting great advice and imput, but I just wanted to let you know I work with a company that has whole food nutrition and I have several friends who are in your shoes (less the relocating part) who are getting great results. If you would like to hear more just let me know.
Remmember, God hand picked you to be your sweet baby boys Mom, so you can't go wrong! Keep loving and keep smiling!
