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I'm from Saudi Arabia. I have tow children with special needs (down syndrome). They are going to a good center in my city and they learned many things. I will travel to USA to complete my study after 6-9 month. I'll stay in columbus or kent city. I will stay many years. I want to know if I can find schools or centers for my children at kent or columbus city. I want them learn new skills in USA. My children ages are 12 and 8. I want to know what is the suitable schools for them ? and how can I Contact this schools. please give me any details about down syndrom education in ohio and schools for them. what are the best suburbs to live near kent or ohio, what are the best schools
Pleas help mother needs to help her children
My son has severe cerebral palsy, so I have done a lot of searching on this subject.
Delaware County is preferrable to Franklin County in terms of services for your children. Franklin County has a huge population of special needs kids relative to Delaware, and so Franklin is spread very thin in comparison. Also from the research I have done, Delaware County is preferred over the other counties in the area as well.
As far as school districts, I would -not- recommend you move into Columbus Public Schools. They are very large and bureaucratic, and a large portion of their students (not all) are either impoverished or close to it, which results in lots of problems for the schools and the other kids in the schools. Many of the parents and the teachers are doing the best they can, but it's very difficult there.
I think that Dublin is by far the best district for special needs kids, just going by my own experience and from what I've been told by many people. I was also told that Upper Arlington is not a good place for special needs kids by several different people. Just as well because it is very expensive to live there.
My son started special needs preschool in Dublin back in May, and I am extremely impressed with his teachers and therapists. It is also a very nice area in which to live. Some areas of Dublin are very expensive, some average, and some not as expensive (but those areas are not as desireable, of course, but they are still better than most other places in my opinion)
No problem Saudi Mother. I actually posted the question on another message board about what states are known for being better for special needs kids. As soon as I get some replies, I'll let you know what they say.
You mentioned California. From what I know about California, it is very,very expensive to live there. Housing there costs at least twice what it costs here in the midwest, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not sure if cost of living is a factor for you or not. The weather in California is nicer than here in the midwest! They have their earthquakes and mudslides, though. But it's much warmer in the southern part of California than it is in Ohio. In Ohio it gets pretty hot and humid (nineties Fahrenheit) in the summer (June - Sept) and then it gets pretty cold (from 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 10 below zero) in the winter (Nov - March).
Also, you probably could join a Yahoo Group about down syndrome. I get most of my info from a Yahoo Group for "parents of severely disabled children". You just google "yahoo groups" and there will be a place on there to search for group. The group names and descriptions will come up, and you can choose which one(s) you want to join. Yahoo Groups will ask you to fill out a registration form, and then you'll hear back from that group. I think most of the groups originate from the USA, so there will be other down syndrome parents from the USA that can give you more info. I think these parent groups are much more informative then any other source I have tried - the doctors and therapists don't give you the "inside scoop" like other parents will.
I will send you info about the Dublin schools.
Also you mentioned your English - I am always amazed when someone from another country knows English as well as you do - I don't think most Americans would be able to learn another language so well. So don't worry about it!
Pinkpanther88 thank you so much for important information you wrote. I was looking for sites like this. I will try to join these groups. But I need you help me to know more about public schools in Dublin that can accept down syndrome children, and privet centers for them. Regarding language thank you for courtesy. thank you so much
Just saw this discussion, we have a child with Down Syndrome and lived in the Columbus area for over a dozen years, with our child in both the Hilliard and Dublin school programs.
And, as a bonus, I now live in California!
So, I have a bit of a broad view here.
First off, the Dublin special ed program was FAR SUPERIOR to Hilliard, so between these two rather large areas the choice would be a "no brainer" for me, I liked Dublin a lot. We had inconsistent experiences with Hillard, sometimes finding ourselves responsible for designing our child's program instead of the school giving us perspectives of what would be possible.
As far as Ohio vs California, the schools are a school to school comparison so I can't say either state would be superior to the other. However, after your child graduates and goes on to the adult programs (age 22) California has a far superior program to Ohio. In fact, this is the reason I ended up taking an early retirement and leaving Ohio for California, the programs for providing work and recreation to handicapped adults are so far superior in California.
This is largely due to protection handicapped folks have out in California, as a result of the Lanterman Act, and the developmental center structure developed as a result of this act:
FDLRC - Lanterman Act (broken link)
Regarding cost of living, it depends where you live in California. Generally in Southern California, homes with three bedrooms and two baths can be rented for about $2500-$3000 per month in Los Angeles and Orange County, while the massive Inland Empire area will cost about $1500-$2000 per month. In Northern California, San Francisco is very expensive, probably about $3500-$6000 per month, The Bay Area east of San Francisco is a bit cheaper, running about $2000-$4000 per month while the Sacramento area would run about $1800-$3500 for a similar home.
Boy, that's great - you are tailor made for this discussion! It is good to read that we made a good choice in our pick of Dublin. It was a lot of work deciding on what area to move to - esp. since we are born and raised in Westerville. But now we are absolutety happy here in Dublin.
I've always wondered about the rents out there in Ca. I've always had this question: Are the salaries in Ca more than in Ohio/midwest, in order to keep up with the high cost of living?
How do you like Ca as far as the other aspects - climate, people, "feel", etc? The weather there must be nice. Although I would miss the seasons.
Here is the conversation about states from the yahoo group:
Re: S.Group some states better than others?
Minnesota is very good. That would be my recommendation.
Michael
- Phoebe's dad
RE: S.Group some states better than others?
I would agree with Michael on Minnesota (I'm from Iowa). Not only good medical (I love Gillette) but the educational system is a lot better than Iowa at this point.
Lynne V
Re: some states better than others?
Many states have long waits for Medicaid...I've heard up to 10 yrs. I
know Texas and Florida are like that. California has no wait list. They
also have CCS to help with equipment and therapies, and IHSS which pays
for hired help to care for the child, or can be paid directly to the
parent to care for their child. I don't think California is the best, but it is
definitely better than most states.
I agree with California, that is where we live, it's been termed as an 'entitlement' state. California is in the midst of the Budget woes, but I guess that is probly always the case with all state budgets.
One thing that I learned while working closely the last several years with a 'Regional Center'. is that just because the child has a condition ;i.e. down syndrome, spinal bifida, cp, autism, etc - does not mean that they qualify for services. There has to be significant delays in 4 criteria areas. But most of our kids would easily qualify. There is a little known category called "Other" condition which the children can apply under.
Now the next thing to check up on in California. There are 21 regional centers and the services they offer and/or how up-to-date they are vary amongst them. That's where again, the parent's advocate and show them how to catch up with their peers. i.e. the regional center here on the Central Coast did not know about track hoist systems, where in the Sacramento area the regional center tells the families about it and automatically install them in homes.
I have 8 families in our relatively small database (here at the resource center) that have 2 down syndrome family members each; 6 of them are twins.
Debra M-Mc (mom to Jason, age 31, micro cp, spastic quad, trach, g-tube)
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE] Re: S.Group Re: some states better than others?
There's a great website, www.healthlaw.org, where you can keep track of what's happening in every state with regard to medicaid. The information is updated every month.
The site also contains one of the best sources of information on EPSDT that I've found. It includes records of all the court cases fought on the issue which can especially useful if your local DOH/DHS is trying to deny services that are "medically necessary" to any child on either medicaid or a waiver program.
Hawaii sent out a notice to the families of all the kids on our DDMR waiver program in August, saying that any child 13 and under receiving more than 29 hours per week of services needed to justify it by filling out a five page survey form. Talk about unnecessary paperwork! I called Hannah's case manager and reminded her the entire concept was illegal, and she just sighed and reminded me she wasn't the one making policy. I'll end up filling in the survey, but I'm sending it with yet another letter from Hannah's neuro saying, again, that 24/7 skilled nursing is medically necessary. That's all federal law requires.
Summer
: some states better than others?
In general, the northern states are okay or good, and the southern
states suck for services (sorry to those of you in the south). I live
in Wisconsin and my son qualifies for the Medicaid waiver that doesn't
take into account our income - only his. I have to fill our the
paperwork once a year and have a home visit every 2 years to keep his
eligibility, but that's not too bad. And it pays for most things.
Our insurance is primary, Medicaid is secondary for Jeromy, and by
state law no doctor is allowed to charge us beyond what they pay.
Really. So we have no copays, no doctor or hospital bills. We do
have to work to get prior authorization from Medicaid for some things,
though (therapies, equipment, etc.). But things could be MUCH worse.
Meghan
Re: some states better than others?
Hi
I live in Missouri. We have a wonderful birth to 3 program but after
that not much. And that did not help with doctor bills. My son will
turn 4 this weekend. We are on a waiting list for our states waiver
program but who knows if we will ever get on it. My child is severely
disabled but he does not have a feeding tube because I spend hours
everyday feeding him. I have been told he would have a better chance
of getting the waiver if I would put a tube in him. In Missouri it is
like winning the lottery to get the waiver. I think that is terrible.
A child should just qualify or not. We do have a regional center and
they help some with therapies but my sons needs are so great that
they cannot cover all his needs because they have a spending limit
per child regardless of how severe they are. So we have had to cut
back on his therapies and will probably need to cut more soon. We
only get 28 hours a month of respite care.
I don't feel that Missouri is a good state for services. A friend of
mine hired a child advocate and was told that Missouri is 43rd out of
50 states in regards to services for disabled persons.
Jenny Wade
Mom to Austin 3 (cp, severe brain injury,daily seizures, cvi, etc.)
and Amber 7 and Abby 10 About Austin » Austin’s Story Re: S.Group Re: some states better than others?
I pay something called a Parental Fee. Even though Phoebe gets Tefra and the Waiver, they take my income into account. We aren't rich by any means, but my fee is $600/month. Let me tell you, that hurts. The only reason I do it is because when she turns 18 she cannot lose her waiver. Like someone else mentioned here, if I stopped paying, they would take her off and it takes years to get back on.
Here's some info from the ARC:
Parental fees were substantially increased in legislation that was enacted after the completion of the 2003 Legislative Session. Parents whose children receive Medical Assistance (MA) services through waivered services, TEFRA, Consumer Support Grants, ICF/MRs, or residential treatment programs for children with severe emotional disturbance were subject to these fee increases. These fee increases ranged up to 1200%. It is critical that parents understand all the implications of this legislation and are knowledgeable about their options related to influencing the calculation of their monthly fee.
The Arc of Minnesota will continue to be active on this issue. Families should continue to write their legislators describing their personal situations and how the increase in fees has impacted them. Here are some tips on putting your parental fee story together.
Below are some common questions and answers about parental fees. Continue to check this web site for information related to calculating your fee and news about related concerns.
Should I give up my Medical Assistance services because of the fee increase? Although the fee increases are very tough to swallow, The Arc of Minnesota urges parents to exercise extreme caution before deciding to drop Medical Assistance services. Many children received a waiver slot during the “Open Enrollment” period during 2001 who would have otherwise waited for years to get a slot. It is highly unlikely that this type of opportunity will be offered ever again. The legislature has also frozen any growth in the waiver program during 2004/2005, so waiting lists are going to grow again. The waiver continues for the lifetime of the person and will be very important for children as they become adults. Therefore, leaving the waiver program should be the last thing you consider after exhausting all other options, because of the long-term implications for your child. You need to continue to use a habilitation service (community supports) to remain eligible for the waiver. If you do decide to withdraw from Medical Assistance services, contact your county worker for the procedures for ending the service. Different counties have different policies and time frames for closing out Medical Assistance services. Remember, the Parental Fee ends after the month when your child turns 18!
Re: some states better than others?
I live in Indiana and the state waiver is really good, but the waiting
list to be on it is years! My sister lives in Illinois and you can
move in and practically be on state assistance that week. She says
their programs are really good.
e: some states better than others?
Hi Linda,
We live in Virginia (close to Washington DC) and had never had a
problem. Adil has the Medicaid Waiver now for about 2 years. Before
that just Medicaid. The wait list for the waiver was about 2 years
almost. He has an aide (looking for one currently) and all medical
bills,medicines,equipment paid for.
Christine
Re: S.Group Re: some states better than others?
It is almost impossible to compare the states. I would love to see a chart that clearly explains what services you get under what circumstances in each and every state. I'd love to see a coverage comparison that lists services covered, fees, and waiting lists.
In WI, if you qualify for the Katie Beckett Medicaid Waiver (TEFRA) there is no waiting period or fee to receive your Medicaid card and get coverage for medical care, including home health, prescriptions, eyeglasses, hearing aids, DME and physician/dental care (all within their allowed limits). You have to qualify separately for the Children's Long Term Care Waiver (sometimes called the Family Support Program). There are waiting lists and the length of the list varied by county -- if you move to a new county before you get through the waiting list you go to the bottom of their list. My county has a 5 year wait. We are 2 years in, and we'd like to move to a county that has a 7 year wait, so if we move this year Sam will qualify when he is about 10 years old. This waiver can pay for respite care, additional nursing or personal care not covered by Medicaid, home modifications, additional therapies (including hippotherapy or HBOT) etc. There are no fees for either of these programs, (there is a parental cost share for early intervention services through Birth to Three if you do not have Medicaid). Note that in WI a parent cannot be paid to be a juvenile's personal care worker, so even after you get the Children's Waiver, you can't pay yourself with it. There are also separate agencies that provide respite care funds while families are on the waiting lists in most counties.
Medicaid coverage in WI is quite extensive, and limits tend to be pretty high. For instance, Sam gets 10 g-tube extensions, and 35 cath tip syringes for tube feeding each month. His formula is completely covered (to the tune of about $1200), as are disposable gloves, medicine syringes, tape and guaze. My home health provide even asked me last month if I wanted a bunch of disposable changing table pads (I don't use them so I said no). I got a list from Birth to Three of what is covered. They cover things like corrective shoes, communication devices, dycem, adaptive eating utensils and chiropractic services. You just need to know who to ask.
The only web site I can find that rates Medicaid by state is UCP. They do a survery, but it isn't just about children's coverage. I puts a lot of weight on residential situations for adults. The site is at http://www.ucp.org/medicaid/
If anyone knows of any sites with handy charts, please let us all know!
Boy, that's great - you are tailor made for this discussion! It is good to read that we made a good choice in our pick of Dublin. It was a lot of work deciding on what area to move to - esp. since we are born and raised in Westerville. But now we are absolutety happy here in Dublin.
I've always wondered about the rents out there in Ca. I've always had this question: Are the salaries in Ca more than in Ohio/midwest, in order to keep up with the high cost of living?
How do you like Ca as far as the other aspects - climate, people, "feel", etc? The weather there must be nice. Although I would miss the seasons.
Thanks so much for jumping in here!
Yes, salaries are generally a bit higher in California. The difference between the two areas generally appears to be about 20-50% to me, depending upon the field.
People are a bit less interactive than the midwest, it is far more likely your neighbors will tend to keep to themselves and that more folks will be less inclined to acknowledge you when you pass them while walking through the neighborhood.
Due to the lack of rain from April through September, it tends to get a bit dirtier out in California, the rain in the midwest really helps clean out the areas.
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