Medicaid

Jack was approved for the Level One waiver by the county. Not because he is so high functioning, as we barely qualified for another couple of years of services, but because he's such a pain in the butt. (You think I jest.. but it was a list of every horrible, no-good thing he did in 3rd grade that got him re-qualified).

One of the things the Level One waiver could potentially help Jack with is sensory equipment- things like a weighted blanket. Up to the day we got approval and filled out the required million forms, etc, all we had to do was get a therapist at school to fill out a request form for a certain item Jack could benefit from at home, and then wait for the county service coordinator to pass it on. The school OT feels Jack needs a weighted blanket. He gets a lot of use out of the one at school, and he seems to like it- that's pretty much what they're looking for. A reason to pay for it. So I got the required form from the OT, and then passed it along to the service coordinator. She proceeded to tell me that suddenly the process is a lot more complicated, and now I have to take the form to the pediatrician, who then has to write a prescription for the blanket, and THEN we see if the county/medicaid will pay for it. HUH? Needless to say, I haven't done anything with the form yet. :(

The only thing nice to say about this whole thing so far is that we have not had to pay for any prescriptions- the last inhaler and refills of both of Jack's pills, have cost nothing. He went to the lab for blood work and an EKG a couple of weeks ago, so we'll see what the bill will be on those. Kind of sad when you can say that your kid gets better medical coverage that you do.. on regular insurance.

On a totally unrelated note, my kiddo has now had 3 "play dates" (hell, I don't even know what to call them now.. "hang-outs"?) with a boy in his class. The boy also has Autism, and is not as behaviorally challenged as Jack. He seems more easy going, which makes me a little jealous. LOL His mom is pretty nice. As neither of us is sure about leaving our kids for whatever reason, we've just sat down and talked while the kids do their thing. So far so good.