Autism and relocation (Asheville: insurance, public schools, military)

[wyomingdaisy]

My family and I are wanting to relocate back East and fell in love with what we have seen of the Asheville area. I'm just wondering what nursing is like over there, is it a good working environment, is there a demand for nurses and what is the pay/benefits like? Where is the closest military base, and more importantly: are there any programs for autism, or disibilities in general, in the state like a waiver program and if so how big is the wait to get on the list and is it even worth it?

[shastadaisy67]

Asheville public schools do not support "true" ABA (the only real evidence-based treatment) since TEACHH was founded in N.C. so TEACHH has a strong political backing. The public schools say they follow an "ecclectic" approach which means ONE ABA consultant visits infrequently and covers many schools. There is an amazing ABA consultant in Asheville that trained with Lovaas but there is currently no insurance coverage for autism-related services in NC. Wait lists are long.

[faabala]

My son just had an another evaluation by the CDSA this morning. He has been receiving play and speech therapy though the CDSA. we are getting his speech therapy upped to twice a week. CDSA and Tricare are covering everything. CDSA provides services up to age three. Not had a problem with any waiting lists yet. We have been happy with the services provided by the state. Not sure how things work with older kids.

We are not involved with TEACHH so I would be interested in learning the posters experiences with them.

I also not sure what ABA is either as we are just stating this journey with our son who was diagnosed this summer at 18 mons.