Welcome to Unlimited Parenting, where we discuss parenting children with disabilities or special
health care needs.
My name is Allison, and today I am joined by everyone's favorite, Melissa.
Hey!
Is that the sound of the real thing?
That's feedback I've received.
You're so lame.
I wish.
Please someone.
Please, please someone send in that feedback.
I'm just kidding.
And today we are here to record another installment of IPUL Found It on Facebook.
This is the second episode of that series, so if you missed the first, they are not in
any way chronological or connected, but you're welcome to go back and listen to it because
they are covering different questions.
So if you missed the first episode, just a little backstory is I was on Facebook.
Weird.
You keep opening some TikTok.
I'm very old.
And I was noticing that there are lots of questions that get asked in a lot of groups,
you know, whether they're diagnosis specific groups or just Treasure Valley groups, statewide
groups.
There's a lot of questions that get asked and sometimes there's not a lot of answers.
Sometimes there are a lot of answers.
And I thought, what if we took some of those questions, we researched them to, you know,
the end of the world, and then we came back and presented a fully reviewed answer to some
of those questions.
Love it.
So that's what we've done.
Today we have four questions and if it's a...
I'm laughing because she said four questions, but the amount of paperwork that is before
us.
Sorry, it looks like more than four.
Listen, I researched it a lot.
And she says she is researching this to the depths of the internet and back.
She's serious.
And if you're curious about where I found this information, I would be happy to link
it and or provide it to you.
So I saved the receipts.
Good deal.
I'm sure you'll all be too.
Just in case you wanted to know more.
Okay.
So question number one.
Okay.
And for this question in specific, it will be a lot of me kind of explaining, but then
I would like to hear your family perspective on this first question.
Okay.
It is, what is ESY and how is a student eligible for it?
So let's first begin by explaining that ESY is extended school year.
Yep.
Right?
Okay.
So here we go.
ESY is the principle that each student with a disability is, in fact, entitled to an
individually designed education established in a series of court cases that led to the
adaptation in 1975 of the federal law that we now know as IDEA, right?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Basically, what I'm saying here is, is that there's been a lot to get to where we are
right now.
So if you remember nothing from the words that come out of my mouth next, please remember
that this didn't happen overnight.
A subsequent series of court cases and policy clarifications established providing special
education services beyond the usual school year is a part of FATE, which is the Free
and Appropriate Public Education.
Everybody deserves one.
Everybody gets one.
These decisions have prescribed the basic requirements for the ESY program eligibility
and defined some of the related extended school year elements, such as the length and type
of the program, funding, and transportation.
In addition to all of that, the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education
ruled that even students regarded as disabled under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
and not eligible for services under IDEA have to be considered for ESY services.
So I'll allow a pause for that to blow your mind for a second.
Okay, mind blown?
The wow.
It came out of, like my head is that emoji right now.
A letter of finding issued by OCR to the Baltimore City Public Schools.
Again, I recognize that this is not Idaho, but it still sets a precedent, right?
States that Section 504 regulations require that the individual needs of every child be
examined, considered, and met.
While 180 days of school may be adequate for some, again, this is not my word, and this
is from a letter from a while ago.
So this is not current zeitgeist, but for some handicapped students, it may not be an
adequate amount of time for others.
So eligibility for extended school year services at no cost to the parent is determined by
the child's team.
Okay, so buckle up for another one.
Because there's a whole lot of work that went into extended school year.
So if nothing, maybe this just gives you a greater appreciation for extended school year.
So Royce Royce versus Fountain in December 29, 1994, the court noted that emerging skills
and quote unquote breakthrough opportunities.
So that's like when a child is on the brink of learning how to read, right?
And should be incorporated into the eligibility analysis for extended school year.
The child is in a critical stage of developing a skill which has great potential for increasing
his or her self-sufficiency.
If such a skill is not completely acquired and mastered, it is likely that that skill
will be lost due to the interruption of summer vacation.
That decision of the US Supreme Court in Maryland, again Maryland, wow, prescribed very specific
requirements relative to the ESY procedures.
The court found that the explanation about extended school year contained a brochure
that got distributed to all students and that that was NASS efficient and ordered additional
explanation be provided to all parents.
The court in that decision also ordered that the student's eligibility for extended school
year be considered at each annual review meeting because at this point it had not been, right?
And the parents sign a form acknowledging that they received this information.
So quick recap, IDEA has been around decades, but extended school year was kind of more
of a conversation starting 1994, right?
The district must document the decision and the discussion reached for consideration of
ESY.
So that's something that you might have noticed when you are looking at your IEP, was extended
school year discussed, was it determined necessary?
And now that looks like a checkbox.
And part of that is in thanks to this decision in 1994.
Christine.
Here's another one.
Okay.
A number of federal courts, I'm talking my boys Johnson v Bixby, the federal circuit
court in 1990.
And get this one, battle versus Pennsylvania.
That sounds like a UHC fight.
It does.
UFC?
Sure.
Anyway, tell us in the comments, which is the third federal.
WEE, I don't know.
Can you smell what Bixby?
What cocaine?
Okay, that last one is 1980.
Sorry.
Mentioned that one of the standards that needs to be considered in determining the need for
extended school year is, and this might shock you, the ability of the parents to provide
structure at home.
The regression and recruitment issue will not be as severe.
Thus, extended school year services through the school staff may not be necessary.
So again, this is really emphasizing that the IEP is, in fact, don't be surprised, a
team.
Sure.
So can the team provide those services, including the parents?
So perhaps the parent feels, you know what, we're going to decline ESY.
You may have been found eligible for it, but I feel like I can provide those supports in
home.
Right.
Okay.
Now, that's some federal level business.
Federal level litopity.
What about the state of Idaho?
What's the state of Idaho have to say about extended school year?
Well, let me tell you.
It's basically what you've already heard, that it's mandatory and it's mandatory that
it be assessed.
Right.
Provide special education and related services to an eligible student with a disability beyond
the conventional number of instructional days, that 180 that we talked about earlier, and
this is key, at no cost to the parents.
It must be based on the IEP team decision that meets Idaho standards.
The district shall provide extended school year services for students with disabilities
who qualify.
Right.
The student's educational program is based on individual needs and not determined by
what the program already has available in the district.
That is straight from the special education manual.
I'll repeat it again.
The student's educational program is based on individual needs and is not determined
by what programs are readily available within the district.
Again, another very important statement coming up.
A student cannot be required to fail or to go for an entire school year without extended
school year services simply to prove a need.
The IEP team shall consider the following.
The term means special education and or related services that are provided beyond the regular
school year.
Now I feel like I'm at the end of that commercial when they're just trying to say, oh, Zempit
can, and they result in...
You'll say micro machines, but you're probably too young and you don't even remember that.
I don't know what a micro machine is.
Well, the micro machines, it was these little teeny...
Anyways, I talked really fast.
Let me just put it at those.
Yeah, you checked really fast.
The goal of ESY at the end of the day is to assist students with disabilities with the
emergence and maintenance of IEP goals addressed during the school year, right?
Right.
These goals can include independence, behavior, socialization, communication, academics, but
it provides a different focus from general education summer school programs.
So we're talking about emerging skills, regression recruitment, and self-sufficiency.
Okay?
Okay.
Okay, one more thing I wanted to include.
I don't want to bore you guys to absolute death, but I do have IDEA CFRs if you really
wanted to go crazy and look up more about what IDEA in specific has to say about extended
school year, and they are 300.106 and 300.20 through 300.324.
If you want to go crazy, go crazy.
Play that for your weekend extravaganza.
Exactly.
So, full disclosure, I am not a parent of a child who qualifies for extended school
year, but you are.
I am.
And I would like to hear more about if you chose to pursue extended school year or not.
Okay.
So I will back kind of way back up.
My son is going into the... What?
We're having a moment.
I just had a moment.
He's going into the ninth grade.
That means he is a freshman in high school.
That is disgusting.
Okay.
He is eligible for ESY.
He is eligible for extended school year.
However, it's not something that we choose at this time to pursue and participate in.
But backing way up, we did a couple of times participate in ESY.
The first time we participated is when he had the emerging skill of walking.
It was... Talk about something that's important.
Right?
And so I'm like, absolutely, we're going to do this.
We are going to do this.
He had his cute little walker.
His physical therapist had some really, really great goals that we used to foster some independence.
So he got himself this nifty little walker.
He qualified in March for extended school year.
The walker came in May, and a week later he started walking.
So that was wonderful.
So we used the entirety of the six week ESY session to focus on how he was going to maneuver
and continuing to learn the school environment, the playground environment, because it was
now a really new skill.
It was no longer a skill that we were working on getting out, but now it was an emerging
skill.
So we spent that entire six weeks working one to... Well, I don't want to say one to
one with a physical therapist, but with some really, really individualized physical therapy
goals.
I will say that it was a little bit of a struggle because when he participated this particular
year it was at a school different than the school that he normally went to during normal
school, just whatever.
And it was with a team that was different from his school team.
So it was different paraprofessionals and a different lead special education teacher.
The reason that this worked though, the physical therapist was the same physical therapist
that came from his traditional school.
Oh, so someone he knew.
So someone he knew.
So it worked, and it worked, and he walked, and we never looked back.
So that skill was not something that regressed.
We emerged and here we are so many years later.
The next year we had a very similar conversation with his team because we had just started
Reese's nonverbal, but uses a communication device.
And we had just secured the communication device, a new system, and we're really trying
to get that up and running with the team and everybody and get him on board.
And it was an emerging skill that we didn't want to say only us as a family worked on
for the summer.
We wanted everybody on the team to work with it.
And again, we were at a different school with a different team, a different SPED teacher,
and this time with a different speech pathologist.
And it didn't work.
This time it didn't work.
Reese pushed back.
Reese, it took us almost the entirety of the six weeks to get him really acclimated to
the new staff, to the new.
And so we didn't see what we thought we would see from it like we did the year before with
the walking.
And so from that point on, he still qualifies every year.
We had the conversation in February of this year about he has some emerging skills, communication
still being one of those, and that would still qualify him.
But it's not something that we at this time really pursue as a family because, and truly,
it's because the team is different and there's not consistency, and I know for my child that
consistency is key.
And I want to give him a summer.
I want to give him some time.
So we kind of struggle with that a little bit.
Is this intervention that he desperately needs, or is this something, like you said in the
open, that can be somewhat replicated in the home and that we don't have to worry about?
I don't have to worry that he's not going to use the communication device when we go
back to school.
I know that we are still utilizing it, that we're still, that these are still skills that
we're working on.
So yeah, that's where we are.
Did I?
Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense.
I'm curious, and it's not to say that just because you're eligible for ESY one year,
it doesn't mean you're going to be eligible the following year, right?
That's a really good point because there's been a couple years where we weren't.
Maybe his later years, for one reason or another, he didn't have eligibility.
I potentially could have pushed that if it was something that I felt strongly about,
but I didn't.
I don't know.
I don't necessarily feel like we ever were in fear of losing anything where he wasn't
found eligible for.
Before we close out on this, I want to give a few pointers on what Extended School Year
is not.
Please do.
Extended School Year is not mandated 12-month services for all students with disabilities.
Just because you qualify for an IEP does not mean you automatically qualify for ESY.
Extended School Year is not required for the convenience of the school or parents, and
therefore, it cannot serve as a respite care service.
It is not required or intended to maximize educational opportunities for any student
with disabilities.
Remember the recoupment emerging skills conversation.
I would even venture to say that it's not super convenient for parents.
It's a six-week, and transportation is provided if that's something your child is eligible
for, but it's just in the morning.
You've got to figure out how to maneuver around it.
Absolutely, it's never intended for the convenience of a family or for babysitting services.
It is not necessary to continue instruction on previous year's IEP goals.
Rather, the focus would be on those specific critical skills where regression due to an
extended vacation may occur.
It's not to help students with disabilities advance in relation to their peers, like an
IEP maybe throughout the school year.
It's not for those students with disabilities who exhibit regression, which is only related
to medical problems resulting in degeneration or transitional life situations such as divorce
or death of a family member.
It is not required solely when a child fails to achieve IEP goals during the year.
It is not to provide a child with education beyond what is prescribed in his or her IEP.
So, I hope I have left everyone with a very concrete explanation of what extended school
year is and isn't.
Yes.
Do you feel educated?
I do.
Okay, perfect.
Hearing no further questions, I would like to move on to question number two.
This one, I'm not sure, please, if you have any feedback, feel free, but I'm not sure
this is something that really interests me.
No, I feel like that's wrong.
I don't feel like it's something that you've pursued.
But if you've ever had a parent ask about it, please.
Oh, I know, I'll show you.
The second question I found on Facebook is, what is neurofeedback therapy and will Family
Direct pay for it?
Did I put that in there?
No, I'm just kidding.
No, because I don't know.
You're right.
I don't know much about it.
So, I'm going to learn right along with all of you.
All of you listeners.
I hope you're ready.
I am.
Before I even start, I want to say the following.
EIPL is endorsing neurofeedback therapy and none of the staff at EIPL have received neurofeedback
for themselves or their children.
That is correct.
I am going to state some facts that I have researched and if I state an opinion, I will
attribute it to the person who provided it.
Okay.
Thank you.
Except right now, here's my opinion.
I will here attribute it to you.
I think it sounds kind of cool.
That's my opinion.
Okay.
Okay, now here we go.
Neurofeedback is also referred to as EEG biofeedback, but since that's a mouthful, they say neurofeedback.
They mean-
Which is not a mouthful.
Listen, you got to make some choices.
Yeah.
I'm surprised it's not an acronym.
I'm really just, in this world, everything-
NFB?
Is that what the acronym would be?
NFB?
I'm glad it's not an acronym.
Okay, neurofeedback.
Noninvasive and is referred to as a learning modality that is designed to find and then
retrain dysregulated brainwave patterns.
In the simplest of terms, you can think of it as a guided exercise for your brain that
is based on a psychological concept called operant conditioning.
Now I am going to pause and explain operant conditioning because I think it becomes important
later.
Operant conditioning was first coined by my guy B.F.
Skinner, who wanted to look at the external causes of human behavior.
That word operant is used to refer to any active behavior that operates, get it, operates
on the environment to generate a consequence, so external behavior, not any kind of like
intrinsic causes of behavior.
The word operant is used to refer to any active behavior that operates on the environment
to generate a consequence.
But please remember that in this instance, consequence is an ambivalent term, right?
It could be positive, it could be negative, simply what happens as a result of this behavior.
Are you still with me?
Yeah, I'm still with you.
Okay.
Operant, which are followed by reinforcement, will then of course be strengthened and more
likely to continue again in the future, right?
If I tell a funny story and then everybody laughs at me, I'm more likely to tell that
story again or try to be funny again, right?
Hence the child who repeatedly tells the same joke.
In the future, the term operant is to refer to any active behavior that operates upon
the environment to generate a consequence.
Okay.
So, clear as mud, perfect.
I told you, you guys, you had a lot of papers.
Listen, I have so many papers, it's ridiculous.
This is what is happening with neurofeedback.
The system is rewarding your brain when your brain provides that preselected brainwave.
So at this point, you may be asking yourself, self, how exactly is this working?
So first, there are sensors that are connected to your brain, again, non-invasive, not painful.
Just outside.
External.
That monitors the brain's activity.
While this is happening-
P-E-G, guys.
Exactly, because that's why it's called P-E-G, biofeedback.
So the sensors are connected to your brain, monitoring your brain's activity.
I wish this was being videoed.
While this is happening-
Lovely, you guys.
While all of this is happening, the computer is interpreting the signals that it's receiving.
So if the brain is doing what we want it to do, then a reward is given.
So let's take my child, for example.
They love the show Gravity Falls.
So do I.
So while they're hooked up, they're watching Gravity Falls.
Again, my children, I'm not doing it.
I'm just using this as an example.
But they're hooked up to electro-
They're watching Gravity Falls.
Exactly.
When their brain is producing the brainwave that we've selected that we want more of,
the screen that they're watching may light up, providing that positive reinforcement.
So they were always watching Gravity Falls, but it was darker.
It was dipped.
Oh.
Until the brainwave that we've selected-
So why do we select that brainwave?
Because that's the wave that we want to see more of, that we want to encourage, that helps
us with other things.
Okay.
Is that mapped out?
Sorry.
Yes.
And then it's in advance.
So there's an initial session where they're like, wow, we're really low over here.
Okay.
And we're really high up here.
And we're looking to balance it out by doing this.
Interesting.
Okay.
So-
I just had to-
No.
Make it make sense.
Okay.
Please.
When their brain is producing the brainwave that we want more of, the screen lights up.
And that's the positive reinforcement to create more of that brainwave.
Could be in an alternate situation, the sound on Gravity Falls is off.
And so when the brainwave that we want, the sound would turn on.
Right?
So it could be audio.
Okay.
It could be visual.
And hold onto your britches because it could also be a vibrating chair.
Now, from what I have learned, there are very few of these vibrating beds that are left.
But what makes this super cool is with the chair concept is that reinforcement can be
delivered even if the individual is asleep.
Oh.
Because if you produce that wave, they can still provide the feedback by vibrating the
chair even if they're asleep.
This is just what I know.
So the brain is now recognizing the reward and the consequence and responding with the
changes.
I also want to make something very clear.
Neurofeedback, not new.
This is not something that's just happened, right?
It's been studied for the past 40 years.
Dr. Duffy, a professor and pediatric neurologist at Harvard Medical School, is quoted as saying
the following.
Neurofeedback should play a major therapeutic role in many difficult areas.
In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy, it would
be universally accepted and widely used.
That's some high praise.
Absolutely.
That is some praise.
Probably exactly right.
If this was a pill you could pop, everybody would want it.
Right.
It's the ozempic of...
Yeah.
Okay.
So what is neurofeedback?
Give me some diagnoses that neurofeedback could be used for.
Pretend like you just asked me that question.
Oh, okay.
I wasn't trying to...
What did I want them to...
I know.
I was like, I don't know.
You're supposed to be telling me you found this.
What are some diagnoses that could possibly use neurofeedback, Allison?
That's such a good question.
Thanks.
They could be diagnoses such as ADHD, panic attacks, autism, maybe you've had a stroke,
headaches, anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, learning disorders, TBI,
et cetera.
Now, from what I have gathered, the extensive research has been for individuals who have
ADHD.
Okay.
I did not research to see if that 40 years applies to any of the other diagnoses.
Okay.
Just...
End of clarification.
Never mind.
You're going to say this probably, so I'll...
Well, hold on to your...
Hold on to your britches.
Okay.
Now, for the million dollar question.
Is neurofeedback dangerous and or does it hurt?
I'm here to tell you that it's completely painless and again, non-invasive.
It is marked as safe by the FDA.
In fact, the FDA recognizes that neurofeedback has never produced a serious side effect since
it was first discovered 40 years ago.
But having said that, I also would like to say that I, in my research, have seen reports
from parents that say that their child appeared tired after sessions.
And they attribute that to mean that it was a good exercise.
And that's what their providers have said that, you know, wow, we really exercise the
brain so yes, they're tired.
But I want to mention that that is what happened.
So typically, the next question, at least in my mind, the next question would be, okay,
how long?
How long are those sessions?
How many do there need to be?
Is this a forever?
Yeah, is it a you can cure or you can?
Exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
So this is what I found.
A typical session lasts between 30 and 50 minutes.
And a typical treatment plan is roughly 20 sessions.
Of course, some people need more.
Some people need less.
Okay.
Because the brain is neuroplastic, right, the changes appear to be permanent.
The ultimate hope is that once the brain learns how and when to produce the certain brain
wave, the ability to do so is natural and now inherently a part of like a permanent
circuit in the brain.
Okay.
Because, as I just mentioned, the brain is plastic, it can always learn and grow and
change.
Wow.
Okay.
I have a few other studies on neurofeedback that I would be happy to share in the sake
of time.
I'm not going to go through all of them, but if you want to know more, please feel free
to reach out.
So now that we've know about neurofeedback, let's get back to the second half of that
question, which was, does FDS cover neurofeedback?
It was so long ago.
So first, FDS stands for Family Directed Services.
And as we know, it is one of two pathways that can be taken in the Children's Developmental
Disability Program.
The other pathway being the traditional pathway.
From my research, I have found that FDS will in fact cover neurofeedback, but if and only
if your child is duly diagnosed with ADHD and is autistic.
I do know that you can contact your case manager and they could potentially send you a list
of individuals who have the required certification to provide neurofeedback.
Okay, so it is a...
It's intensive hours and of course, not just anybody can get the equipment and then provide
neurofeedback, right?
I also know that commonly once you've chosen your provider, they will give you an invoice
20 to 52 sessions, right?
That you can use for your support and spending plan, SSP, right?
In some cases, I have heard that the goods and service form was filled out by the OT,
occupational therapist, or by the pediatrician, whomever is making this referral.
Again, iPoll does not endorse or sponsor or want to advertise for any specific provider
in our state.
However, a quick Google search does show that there are several providers in the Treasure
Valley, in the Magic Valley, in the Idaho Falls area, and in Coeur d'Alene.
Okay.
If you want more information, I would be happy to share it with you on a one-off basis.
Please feel free to reach out.
All right.
How are we feeling?
That's two questions down, we're halfway done.
Okay.
The other ones are going to be shorter, I promise.
Okay.
So, question number three.
For those of you that are using FDS, what we just mentioned, family-directed services,
what are some of the things that you use your budget for?
So for those of you who don't know, when you've been found eligible, you will receive a budget.
It could be $14,900.
It could be...
$8,200 is another one.
And what's the other most common one?
It's like $4,200, I think.
Yeah.
There's $86,400, I think.
$4,200, $86,400, and $14,900, I believe, are the budget levels.
Yeah.
They stick around those areas.
So for starters, items and services that you would like to use require written recommendation
from qualified professionals to be paid for.
Correct.
So let's give some examples.
A pediatrician.
Oh, of a licensed...
Like a qualified...
Yes.
Okay.
Yeah, so a pediatrician, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist.
A speech-language pathologist or potentially a psychologist.
Those are some examples, right?
All of our therapy, yeah.
The form must state that the items that you wish to purchase meet the following requirements.
Excuse me, requirements.
They must be safe and effective.
They must meet standards of care.
They must benefit the health, safety, and wellbeing of the child.
They need to be the least costly option that reasonably meets the needs of that child,
needed for the sole benefit of the child.
And goods and services must also help the child to be in their community, increase community
involvement for the child, increase independence of the child.
All services requested must meet the child's needs.
Again, they say it again.
They must be related to the child's disability listed on the support and spending plan.
The support and spending plan cannot pay for a provider when items that would serve as
a substitute for that provider have been approved.
All durable medical equipment or DME, over $100, must first go through Medicaid DME.
Okay, so now that we've said all of that, let's talk about some things that we can use.
Our sons for.
So I would love to hear from you, a fellow parent in the room, Ms. Melissa, if you feel
comfortable, would you mind sharing some things that you have used your son's budget for?
Yeah.
Right now we use a lot of his budget for community support worker to take him in the community,
to work on goals, to work on getting him in the community, because that's something we're
struggling with.
However, in the past, we have used his budget to purchase goods and equipment that allow
him to remain in his community or stay in his community with all of us.
Probably my most favorite is his special needs bike trailer.
So I mentioned earlier, he's going to be a freshman, which is crazy.
And Reese is nonverbal, Reese has some mobility problems, but Reese loves to be outside and
we love to ride bikes and we love to do that kind of stuff as a family.
So when we realized like a trike wasn't going to be an option or a self propelled vehicle
for Reese was not going to be... You don't want to put him on a go-kart?
Reese would love that.
Well, Reese would be in the wall, but he would have fun doing it.
He needed to be in a big old bike trailer, so that was something that we got.
It allows him to maintain his independence as much as possible within our community,
his independence in the family.
He can hang out in it.
So that's one of my most favorite purchases that we've ever made.
And it was a big purchase and it was a purchase that we kind of really had to budget for.
We did, we budgeted his budget for it.
So exactly, that's exactly what we did.
We have purchased spio suits, which are compression garment, garments, I guess, compression type
clothing for him that really benefited him in a couple different areas in which he needed
that sensory support.
So we've got those.
We purchased one of the big P-pods for him, the big inflatable for him to... Essentially
it was more of his compression.
You can see the... He's a seeker.
See what he likes.
Compression sheets we have purchased, swings, that kind of stuff.
Another piece of equipment that we got that we did run through DME first, and then we
did go through the budget when he was struggling with some motor and trunk control, a special
tomato seeding system that we had that went on a kitchen chair so that he was able to
sit at the kitchen table and eat dinner with us, or at least-
To be in his community.
Yeah, he wasn't eating dinner.
He was being tube fed, but he was participating in the eating, the socialization of the eating.
So that was really important that we were able to have a seeding option for him that
allowed him to be fed, as well as social in that area.
So those are some of my favorite ones.
We've bought different apps that support... A writing wizard app that really supports some
fine motor.
What else?
Puzzles are always something that we get a great deal of enjoyment out of.
Just for his fine motor needs.
But yeah, I guess that would be some of-
Thank you for sharing, because some of the things that you just listed are not already
listed.
Okay, good.
So I would like to read to you from a list.
Some of these are things that I have found on the Department of Health and Welfare's
website.
Kim?
And some of these things are things that individuals from Facebook reported as using.
Okay.
So by no means is this list exhaustive.
No.
And I just encourage you to reach out to your case manager, reach out to your support worker.
Yes.
Get the goods and service form from your occupational therapist, your physical therapist.
And have them pull it out.
Exactly.
Yes.
So having said all of those caveats, here is the list.
Respite care for sleep.
I hired someone to sleep over on nights when I needed sleep.
Music therapy.
Yeah, that's a colon.
I am choosing not to share the specific company's name, but just please know that there are
a few, because I don't want to make it seem like we're endorsing anyone.
A sensory swing, you mentioned.
Someone reported all of our hours go to the CSW, which is fair.
And I think that's, I say that like that because that's something that you had already echoed.
That's where we are kind of right now.
And I think that happens as kids get older.
Yeah.
I actually mentioned neurofeedback, which I found very interesting.
Right.
Okay.
Social stories, up to $150 a year.
Oh, okay.
Kinetic sand, up to $50 a year.
Essential oils.
Sorry.
Right.
Kinetic sand could be dangerous.
Yes.
Essential oils, up to $250 a year.
Chewies, 100.
Fidgets, $100, and compression items, three shirts and three socks annually.
Okay.
AquaAbility at the YMCA accepts Family Direct.
And again, this is very local to the Treasure Valley.
If that interests you, you can reach out to Andrea Parker.
That's a specific name for you at AquaAbility.
Yeah.
Other things that I found.
A pocket ramp for wheelchair accessibility.
Adaptive trike and wheel replacement for that.
So don't just think about the item in specific.
Also think about the replacement.
And additionally, when you're thinking about sensory swings, please also think about the
equipment that you use to mount it or the...
Exactly.
The stationary.
The hardware.
Thank you.
Good Lord.
Yeah.
Sessions at the Therapy Place, which again is very local to the Treasure Valley.
A weighted jacket, a weighted blanket, a bounce chair.
Oh, I forgot we've done all of those.
A goalie tablet.
The goalie tablet.
The goalie.
Uh-huh.
Again, remember this is based off of your child's individual needs.
So just because one child got it doesn't necessarily mean...
So please keep that in mind.
A crash pad, a trampoline, a body sock, a cozy canoe, which I think is that same thing.
Yeah, the same thing.
Yep.
Cozy canoe.
And another thing that was local to the Treasure Valley that a lot of people recommended, and
I'm not recommending this individual, but I just am sharing because a lot of people
said this name, right?
Swimming with Coug.
Oh.
Cougar is his name.
Okay.
And he does adaptive swimming lessons.
And I felt like I would...
And that's why I'm including it just at the end, but I felt like I would be remiss if
I didn't include it because it literally was repeated over 43 times.
Wow.
I stopped counting at 43.
You're kidding.
So I guess...
Go Coug.
Okay.
Um, it seems like something that people really love.
So...
You know, one thing I should say, and this has been a while ago, we did use our budget
to do some minor home remodeling to make my son's bathroom more accessible for him.
He was in our bathroom with a glass...
It wasn't good.
It wasn't a good fit.
And we were able to utilize...
I mean, it was a process, I will say that, but it is something that is doable and you
can utilize your budget for minor home modification.
So I mean, we modified our shower from a three by three stall shower to a more open shower
that he was able to get in and we were able to bathe him.
So that is another option too that I think sometimes gets kind of...
Forgotten.
Yeah.
And another thing that you just reminded me of that I know that you can speak to more
than I can are like motion sensors or water sensors.
Yeah.
So you can...
That is...
Now, I don't know about some of the subscription services that those require.
You would really have to talk to your support broker about those.
It's something that we did just we pay for because it is something that we felt very
adamant about.
But we do have water sensors that were paid through from Family Direct, but the subscription
fee we pay.
Oh, man.
And then the other thing that I saw a lot was AngelSensed.
Is that a subscription or do you know?
I don't know.
I can't believe I didn't research that.
I believe it is a subscription because it is the...
Right?
Yes, it's the watch.
It's the watch.
I am 99% sure that's a subscription.
So someone had mentioned that that was paid for.
So again, please talk to your support broker.
I know that that is...
I don't know how you do it, I guess I would say.
I don't know how you fill out that paperwork for subscriptions.
Your support brokers know how to do that.
Exactly.
So I know it's something that families have gotten covered.
It's just not something that we pursued, but we do have...
You mentioned the alarms on windows too.
We do have those and yeah.
So one more thing that I want to echo before we move on is that this is for community.
So it can't be educational.
So we're not talking tutoring.
Nope.
But there is something called the Empowering Parents Grant, which offers a maximum of $1,000
per child that can support educational needs in the community, including tutoring.
So there may be some other options available to you.
And that's for all students.
Yes.
Make sure that all students are participating in that.
Thank you.
Yeah.
The final question.
Okay.
It says, talk to me.
I don't want to repeat exactly word for word what this person's question is, but essentially
what it boils down to is this individual has an autistic child and they really, really
want to be a police officer.
Oh, okay.
And we know that locations can't discriminate, but is it going to be prohibitive to be, can
they be a police officer?
Can they be an EMT?
Can they be a firefighter?
Right.
Because you do hear that.
I think there's been that blanket statement made.
I know that I've heard it, like autism disqualifies you from the military.
I think you've done some research on this though, and I think it's not necessarily true.
And I guess we should just say every individual is an individual, right?
And their diagnosis or disability is individual.
Exactly.
100%.
So, I think you're going to give us the like...
I'm not going to read you word for word everything that was said, but I want you to know that
I reached out to some very kind people at the Idaho State Police and I gave them the
rundown on this question and they were very kind and they said, we do not disqualify anyone
from employment based on any kind of diagnosis, which obviously I would hope that they would
say, right?
They have to say that.
Each of our job classifications have minimum qualifications that every applicant has to
meet for trooper specifically, which is the one that I asked about.
They must meet the entrance requirements.
Okay.
Be a citizen of the United States.
Okay.
Be a graduate of a high school or have a GED equivalent.
Be a minimum of 21.
Have a valid driver's license.
You know, they're going to be fingerprinted, right?
Yeah.
Must successfully complete a polygraph, you know, pass their drug policy requirements,
meet the ISP's medical vision, hearing, psychological and physical fitness requirements.
And then there's an advanced training course.
If an applicant can successfully meet these qualifications, they would be considered for
employment.
Each applicant is required to pass an oral board evaluation, extensive physical and complete
the educational and continuing 22 week advanced training class.
So as I'm reading this, I'm just going to speak for the both of us and say, Reese is
not going to be a police officer.
Reese is not meeting those minimum eligibility requirements.
Jackson and Silas are also not going to be police officers.
I'm okay with that.
Yes.
But I also want to say there are some different aspects of this job that could potentially
appeal to someone who is autistic in this specific case, like attention to detail for
solving cases or just having a special interest in being a police officer.
So if you can meet these requirements, then there's nothing your diagnosis doesn't hold
you back.
There's no blanket.
No, you can't.
It's just like you have an astigmatism as long as you can meet the medical and visual.
Let me give you another example of this.
In the before time, my husband really wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force.
That was his dream.
He didn't meet the vision requirements.
So my husband, without a developmental disability, essentially, I hope that makes sense.
Oh, it absolutely makes sense.
When you were reading through that, I was thinking that this is really similar to, I
mean, every student has the right to participate on any sports team.
Every student could try out for the football team.
Will they make the eligibility requirements?
Maybe not.
If they try out, is he going to make it?
Probably not.
But he still has the opportunity to try out just like everyone else and to meet the eligibility
requirements just like everybody else.
You summed up perfectly something that I'm going to explain in a little bit more detail.
No, I really appreciate you saying that because what's protecting you is Title I of the ADA,
which applies to employers who have 15 or more employees.
It prohibits the discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay.
It also requires that employees provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental
limitations of otherwise qualified, so they have to first be qualified, individuals with
disabilities unless it results in undue hardship.
Reasonable accommodations, you might be asking what are those?
What are those?
Thank you.
Any modification to a job or the work environment that will enable a qualified applicant with
a disability to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions.
Examples of these include reassigning non-essential job responsibilities to someone else, changing
the layout of a workstation, or modifying equipment.
Although more than half of all accommodations cost nothing, tax incentives are in fact available
to help employers implement workplace accommodations.
The last thing I want to say is just a caveat.
I would not be doing my due diligence if I didn't also add that it is important for youth
and families to understand that while the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, protects
employees from being discriminated against on the basis of a disability, it does not
require employers to hire an applicant with a disability if there is another applicant
who is more qualified or just as qualified, nor does the Americans with Disabilities Act
protect employees with disabilities from being fired or laid off as long as the dismissal
is not based on the disability.
Wow.
So.
We found a lot of things.
Did you learn about extended school year?
I did.
Did you learn about neurofeedback?
A lot.
Did you learn about FDS, what you can buy with your budget?
Yep.
Did you get confirmation on whether or not an autistic individual could potentially be
a trooper?
Absolutely.
Then I did my job.
Yeah.
Thank you so much everyone out there for listening in.
And know that if you are in Idaho or planning on moving to Idaho and have questions on systems
or services for children with disabilities, please consider reaching out to us on our
website at ipulidaho.org.
That's I-P-U-L Idaho.org.
Or by calling us at 208-342-5884.
Be sure to tune in next time, until then this has been Unlimited Parenting.
Thanks for listening.
Be sure to tune in next time, until then this has been Unlimited Parenting.