Is autism a disability?

[springtimeblues]

What is the name of your state? Arkansas

My son has autism and as a direct result I am having an impossible time keeping dependable childcare. I have already lost several jobs because I cannot keep childcare for him and I am really running out of options. I have been through family, friends, even my church for help with childcare. Every time I find someone they end up saying they cannot do it.

I applied for disability for him about two years ago and it was denied. They said that he isn't disabled. He is considered to be high functioning but even a person with high functioning autism needs more care than other people.

If I am unable to find childcare I am not able to work. I live in a small community so there aren't a lot of jobs or options for childcare available. At this point I really don't know what else to do. I am going to reapply but I want to know what the chances are of it being approved. Autism is considered a disability for things like school and other areas of life. Why would they say he isn't disabled? They do not had out the diagnosis of autism lightly. Since it is considered a disability, how can they say he isn't disabled if he has a condition that is called a disability for everything else he encounters?

 

[bjl1105]

What is the name of your state? Arkansas

My son has autism and as a direct result I am having an impossible time keeping dependable childcare. I have already lost several jobs because I cannot keep childcare for him and I am really running out of options. I have been through family, friends, even my church for help with childcare. Every time I find someone they end up saying they cannot do it.

I applied for disability for him about two years ago and it was denied. They said that he isn't disabled. He is considered to be high functioning but even a person with high functioning autism needs more care than other people.

If I am unable to find childcare I am not able to work. I live in a small community so there aren't a lot of jobs or options for childcare available. At this point I really don't know what else to do. I am going to reapply but I want to know what the chances are of it being approved. Autism is considered a disability for things like school and other areas of life. Why would they say he isn't disabled? They do not had out the diagnosis of autism lightly. Since it is considered a disability, how can they say he isn't disabled if he has a condition that is called a disability for everything else he encounters?

The definition of *disability* for children has changed under several different adminstrations, and the pendelum has swung from one side to the other. At one point a child had to be so severly disabled; and at another point the mildest of conditions led to an approval. Currently, the administration is in the middle again. Refile. Soon. Good luck.
Contact your local welfare department for help in the meantime.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

If your child has either HFA or Asperger's they may indeed have behavioral problems in both school and child care and should qualify for disability if the reports are properly written for either state or social security programs. Please contact your state division on Developmental Disabilities
http://www.state.ar.us/dhs/ddds/ for assistance and program eligibility. Also contact http://www.ilusa.com/links/ilcenters.htm for more assistance accessing programs and making applications. There are some residential programs for children with Autism spectrum disorders through the United States this might be an option.

 

[springtimeblues]

Thank you all for your help. He does have high functioning autism but it's too much for the babysitters. His IQ is 71 and that is considered borderline. He has a lot of ticks though and sensory trouble that make it difficult to care for him. He also has two types of seizures, tonic clonic and petite mal. The tonic clonic seizures do not disrupt his life but the petite mal do. His doctor doesn't want to use medications because he is still young and might outgrow them and they don't happen very often. He said that sometime the medications can be more damaging than an occasional seizure.

He does receive speech, occupational and physical therapy. I think the problem is that they called him high functioning based on his ability to talk. He uses a very involved form of echolalia but most people mistake it for actual conversation. He repeats movies and books verbatim. If you ask him a question he will answer with a quote from a movie. The only other responses you can get from him are his name an the word yeah. That is high functioning for an autistic child but in other areas he is very far behind, such as his motor skills. He is also mildly self abusive, although that is beginning to slow down.

It's like they are only focusing on his ability to talk without taking the other areas of autism into consideration. People with good intentions believe they can take care of him, then he has a meltdown, or a seizure. Even though they were warned about it I guess they don't believe it until they see it.

I live in a small town and there are not a lot of services available for him, so far he is receiving everything available. If I am not able to work because of his disability, what else can I do? I feel like going into a meltdown myself and pounding my head against the wall.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Please understand the other poster is drumming up business and not knowledgeable of the criteria for evaluation of disability in children at least. While the term "Special Needs" is used it is not a diagnostic term and in no way qualifies disability. With FSIQ of 71 that is borderline, however, do you have the PIQ & VIQ scores? If there is a 15 point difference between them, that can qualify even a borderline child. In your child's case, they also have a sizeure disorder, another qualifier. Most likely a properly written report would bring together all the objective findings and show how the child qualifies for disability on a pragmatic level. PLEASE, PLEASE contact the DD department at the links I provided and the CIL's groups in your area who can assist you at no charge. Although FSIQ of 71 is borderline, it may still change as the child progresses and Asperger's may become a more apporpriate Dx. It is very important to get your child qualified under an Autism spectrum Dx and not as SED or access to many resources will evaporate. Once qualified, ask for respite services. If it gets too much there are residential facilities.

 

[springtimeblues]

Please understand the other poster is drumming up business and not knowledgeable of the criteria for evaluation of disability in children at least. While the term "Special Needs" is used it is not a diagnostic term and in no way qualifies disability. With FSIQ of 71 that is borderline, however, do you have the PIQ & VIQ scores? If there is a 15 point difference between them, that can qualify even a borderline child. In your child's case, they also have a sizeure disorder, another qualifier. Most likely a properly written report would bring together all the objective findings and show how the child qualifies for disability on a pragmatic level. PLEASE, PLEASE contact the DD department at the links I provided and the CIL's groups in your area who can assist you at no charge. Although FSIQ of 71 is borderline, it may still change as the child progresses and Asperger's may become a more apporpriate Dx. It is very important to get your child qualified under an Autism spectrum Dx and not as SED or access to many resources will evaporate. Once qualified, ask for respite services. If it gets too much there are residential facilities.

He does have a diagnosis of autism, they didn't say aspergers though, they called it classic autism. I also did follow your link and I was sent an application for something called TEFRA, it is a program I didn't know about before.

I have never heard of or been offered the other IQ tests you mentioned. I will see what I can find out about scheduling them. I do need help filing I think. One of the reasons everyone loves him is that he follows the rules. The only trouble is that he has to learn every little thing as a rule. I don't know if that makes sense or not. From trying to parent him I have learned that society has about ten million rules that we all pick up without thinking about it. He is also pretty dependant on routines, and still has trouble feeding himself. I do understand why he is a difficult child to babysit, I don't blame people for giving up. I actually appreciate that they do I would rather someone tell me that they cannot handle it than to keep going when it is too much for them. I think he is a pretty good kid, and I might be living in a fantasy world but I think he really tries. I don't want to give up on him and put him in a home.

I'm also trying to find ways to work from home. Hopefully something will give soon. Thank you for all of your help. I really do appreciate it.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

VIQ (verbal IQ)+ PIQ (Performance IQ) = FSIQ, (full scale I Q), you should already have the scores.

I'm glad you found more resources.

Needing to learn each rule by rote is classic of Asperger's because they cannot abstract, so decisions are difficult, thus behavioral problems at times when confronted with something new, or withdrawl/dissociation, lower IQ could be because of the Sizeure disorder.

 

[springtimeblues]

VIQ (verbal IQ)+ PIQ (Performance IQ) = FSIQ, (full scale I Q), you should already have the scores.

I'm glad you found more resources.

Needing to learn each rule by rote is classic of Asperger's because they cannot abstract, so decisions are difficult, thus behavioral problems at times when confronted with something new, or withdrawl/dissociation, lower IQ could be because of the Sizeure disorder.

Thank you again, your help is really appreciated. Most of his odd behavior isn't that bad. His sensory problems cause a lot of meltdowns. At home he will sometimes go into a cabinet in my kitchen and close it. He especially does that after we have been somewhere. It's kind of upsetting to watch and I use to try to stop it. I learned that he gets sensory overload at times and needs a sensory free area and he found what was available so I cleaned out the cabinet and let him have it when he needs it.

I'm curious about Asperger's because no one has ever said that in connection with him before. I know it exists but I don't know much about it. If memory serves me there are five types of autism, they called his classic. What is the difference between classic autism and Asperger's?

 

[springtimeblues]

I also wanted to say that TEFRA is sort of like a home health aid if I understand it correctly. It is a good service and I am applying for it, I'm sure it will be a lot of help for him. It won't do much for our situation at the moment but it still looks like a good program. The less he has to go out the less he will have some of the problems he has.