XP: Children with Special Needs: CA v. TX (really long)

[auntie]

They need to check out the wait for a Katie Becket Waiver in TX.

There is a considerable waitlist for non-means tested Medicaid. I have a friend whose kid died waiting to get the kind of supplemental health insurance that would have paid for some of his ASD related SLT and OT. If they are using a Katie Becket to cover medical expenses, they will be screwed in TX.

I don't buy the BS about the DD ages out of special services. She may have to change buildings, but any services in her IEP would generally be covered in some form until she ages out of IDEA at 22. The "I" in IEP is individualized, if she has an educational need, it needs to be addressed by the school district.

They might consider hiring a sped advocate to help them whether they move or stay in Cali.

[virginia]

I normally lurk, but felt I may be able to help a bit.

My son is high functioning ASD. We moved from IL to TX last year. His services in IL were excellent, everything I asked for/expected/wanted for him. I would imagine CA would be similar.

TX is very different. Generally, support services are much harder to come by and the quality of the teachers is much lower. Ex. my son's SPED teacher is not actually certified in Sped, she's general ed certified, that is typical, his LSSP is an intern, etc. The neighborhood schools can't handle much at all, moderate to severely impaired kids would be sent to a different building(maybe it's like that in CA, it wasn't in IL).

We are in Fort Bend ISD. Fort Bend and Katy are the best for special ed around here, I cringe at what must go on in other districts. HISD is not good. Even within any given district though, the quality of schools vary greatly and are very dependent on property taxes.


I'll try to answer any specific questions you may have!

[auntie]

May 14, 2014 21:10:19 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

May 10, 2014 18:36:35 GMT -5 auntie said:

They need to check out the wait for a Katie Becket Waiver in TX.

There is a considerable waitlist for non-means tested Medicaid. I have a friend whose kid died waiting to get the kind of supplemental health insurance that would have paid for some of his ASD related SLT and OT. If they are using a Katie Becket to cover medical expenses, they will be screwed in TX.

I don't buy the BS about the DD ages out of special services. She may have to change buildings, but any services in her IEP would generally be covered in some form until she ages out of IDEA at 22. The "I" in IEP is individualized, if she has an educational need, it needs to be addressed by the school district.

They might consider hiring a sped advocate to help them whether they move or stay in Cali.

I think it's the particular school that she will be too old for and they can't offer such specialized help in the middle school.  It's unclear to me as we don't visit very frequently, so I feel like I hear things third hand.

I believe they are working for an advocate.

ETA:  Working *with* a sped advocate.

I'm glad they're working with someone. It sounds like their situation is complex. 

Kids should "age out" of elementary programs as they approach middle school age, to do anything else would violate the child's right to FAPE in LRE. That said, when you have a child with profound needs who has been part of a small learning community within a therapeutic program for years, and when that program is delivered by the same cast of teaching and therapy professionals and paras- it's really, really hard leave what you're familiar with to embrace the next step.

The "I" in IEP is individual. Her needs must be met. Delivery might look different because the social and emotional needs of a young teen have to be considered. FAPE might look a little different in terms of her placement but she should be getting what she needs. If what she needs can only be delivered in a setting like the one she's leaving, then they need to create this if it doesn't already exist somewhere in the district or local sped cooperative. 

Would it be possible for the to add a small inlaw suite to their exisiting home. I lnow two families who did this. They wanted to remain in their current neighbors/school catchment areas, so they built a small suite in which their child who had disabilities could have as her home. Both parents built a space that was wheelchair accessible and had a specially outfitted bath with a roll-in shower or bath and a small patio they could enjoy. 

[jewel]

@littlemoxie - In short, I would NOT recommend a move from CA to TX.

I sent you a long PM with some specific ideas though