Monday, January 10, 2011

The State Lady

Today the state intake worker from DDSO came and spent an hour with us and met GB. She is the first step on a long road to get GB some services as developmentally disabled. The mental health people turned her down, as when she is not psychotic, she is not difficult enough to handle. Hope on the other hand, will be receiving 10 hours of respite from MHA, courtesy of the meltdown she had while we were trying to do a preliminary intake.

The DDSO worker said that GB is such a complicated kid that GB and I would undoubtedly have to meet with one of the two  state psychologists that do reviews on eligibility for my area. Sometimes it gets tiring to always have to battle one dragon or another. Then I remind myself how difficult it is to be GB and how much energy she puts into everyday. It usually makes me stop whining.

The worker said they were trying to deal with budget cuts by tightening up on eligibility requirements. I am going to call the neuropsychologist at the George Jervis clinic tomorrow and ask her what hoops I have to jump through. They are all under the same state director, so it seems silly that one person tests and recommends the service, and second, less educated person, reads the report, and sends it to a third person (another psychologist), who wants to see us again, to compare us to the report. Maybe all that duplication of service is contributing to the state budget problems.

How do parents who don't know how to fight the system get services for their kids?

5 comments:

Kristin said...

They just don't get services. Or else they get services they don't need (IE CPS) because obviously there's "something wrong in the home".

I greatly admire your tenacity in seeking help for your girls. You rock!

Shantra said...

That right, untill I learned to fight , We just didn't get them!!!!

marythemom said...

I agree with Kristin: They don't. The kids end up in foster care.

I do know how to fight, and yet we still don't have all the services my kids need.

Mary in TX

angie said...

I don't have the knowledge you have and you can tell in X's schooling, they don't want to give him services because he is "making" improvements, but I don't see a check in the mail for working with him everynight doing the teachers job. At least you have the knowledge to keep putting out the fires, I love you mom.

Integrity Singer said...

i ask that same question many times