Gson an disabilty questions

[dyna]

Gson 20 months old has PVL simular to CP he has low muscle tone but does walk. Slow at talking but is gettin speech therapy along with OT an PT.

DD just started getting disability for my Gson SSI I think it's called an I have several questions.

1. Should Gson/Gsons (he has a older brother 3) the boys know there is a check that comes monthly to help with the special needs of 1 of them? If so at what age?

2. In the state of Indiana if that matters WHAT else is offered for DD to get for Gson? Not tryin to take advantage of the system but don't want the boy cut short either.

3. Will Gson loose his medical benefits he has now with the state? The state is payin the medical costs that his daddys insurance does not pay?

4. What about food stamps? They get the food stamps now DSL works 40 hours a week at his job but it not enough to support the family an DD is going to school to get her masters degree the jobs she has been offered was not enough to pay day care an her bring home anything. Point being if the money Gson gets has to go for food to feed them then they no better off.

5. Anyone familuar with hippo therapy at WHAT age would you start hippo therapy? It's been suggested that Gson get it the licensed places costs more than DD can pay. I'm thinking of finding someone we know with horses an gettin him on a very gentle horse the owner of horse would have the lead on horse an have a hold of that just like in hippo therapy an his mom an I or his aunt would be on each side of him just like in hippo therapy. For now all Gson needs to do is sit on the horse I'm thinkin 5 mins to start as he might not like it an building up to 15 mins then as he gets older if he still needs the therapy start walking the horse 5 mins an building up to half hour or so.

 

[mechurchlady]

Horse riding therapy is wonderful for kids. The state the kid is located is important as each state has different laws. I do not have any answers really but can tell you that you are a good grandmother and that is what the kid needs.

The child has the right to be educated and to get therapy that will make his life productive and useful. Repeat after me: Stealing apples from a neighbor is wrong, getting therapy and other services for the kid is right. There is nothing wrong with the kid being helped to build his muscles and work on his speech.

I would not tell the kids where the money comes from. They do not need to know. All they need to know is that they are loved and what they can and cannot have.

 

[dyna]

Bumping this up for more ideas

 

[dclfun]

I'm not sure about hippotherapy but would wonder if it's appropriate for someone under age 2. Therapy in general is crucial to receive as early as possible though, but the same physical benefits could be derived from sitting on a balance ball, for instance or using some equipment that his PT should have. I doubt it would be covered the same as PT/OT but perhaps one of his therapists might have more information about anything local that could be provided. I agree that there's no need to discuss the SSI check at all and if a question ever arose about something such as hippotherapy that was being paid for by the family using the check, then they could always say that it is part of his therapy since that's what the check is for.---Kathy

 

[dyna]

Bumping for more answers on the SSI

 

[SueM in MN]

Gson 20 months old has PVL simular to CP he has low muscle tone but does walk. Slow at talking but is gettin speech therapy along with OT an PT.

DD just started getting disability for my Gson SSI I think it's called an I have several questions.

1. Should Gson/Gsons (he has a older brother 3) the boys know there is a check that comes monthly to help with the special needs of 1 of them? If so at what age?

I agree with the others that it is not something the other child needs to know. He will need to understand that his brother needs help with some things and that some of the help is called 'therapy'.
A 3 yr old is not going to question - it's just how it is. A 3 yr old is also not going to understand or care about the money, so there is no point discussing it.

2. In the state of Indiana if that matters WHAT else is offered for DD to get for Gson? Not tryin to take advantage of the system but don't want the boy cut short either.

3. Will Gson loose his medical benefits he has now with the state? The state is payin the medical costs that his daddys insurance does not pay?

4. What about food stamps? They get the food stamps now DSL works 40 hours a week at his job but it not enough to support the family an DD is going to school to get her masters degree the jobs she has been offered was not enough to pay day care an her bring home anything. Point being if the money Gson gets has to go for food to feed them then they no better off.

Exactly how things are handled varies from state to state. Their best be would be to look at the Indiana State Health and Human Services website.
If they are already getting medical benefits - there is a caseworker assigned to his case. That would be the person to ask those questions.
It may be the same person to ask about Food Stamps or there may be a different person for that. But, there are many variables and some of them will depend exactly on the family's situation. So, the best person to ask would be someone who actually is working with the family.

5. Anyone familuar with hippo therapy at WHAT age would you start hippo therapy? It's been suggested that Gson get it the licensed places costs more than DD can pay. I'm thinking of finding someone we know with horses an gettin him on a very gentle horse the owner of horse would have the lead on horse an have a hold of that just like in hippo therapy an his mom an I or his aunt would be on each side of him just like in hippo therapy. For now all Gson needs to do is sit on the horse I'm thinkin 5 mins to start as he might not like it an building up to 15 mins then as he gets older if he still needs the therapy start walking the horse 5 mins an building up to half hour or so.

The people I know who have done it did not start until about 5 yrs old. The child needs to be big enough to be secure on the horse. I believe it is never recommended for children under 2 yrs old and that most start older (3-5).
Getting someone to lead the horse around with the child riding on it would certainly be helpful and not hurt in any way, but hippotherapy actually involves working on specific therapeutic goals with the child. They may do certain things to stimulate balance or reaching while balancing. It's a lot more than just sitting on a horse. Here's a link to the American Hippotherapy website
Link to Walker Therapy Website

 

[BeckyScott]

DS was on disability at about 24 months, plus has an older brother.

We didn't discuss the disability check with them, no. We considered it an "adult" matter. We also didn't discuss the electric bill with them, how much our groceries cost, or our mortgage. At some point, yes, but not with kids that young. They wouldn't have a good frame of reference for the amount of money anyway-- to a 3-year-old, $20 sounds like a fortune.

We did also try hippotherapy when DS was in First Steps, so he was under 3. It didn't go as planned but it was an interesting adventure. The horses were too big, too high, even their smallest horse which was a pretty darn small horse, he was scared. But he has a "thing" with heights anyway. He was, however, very interested in the kittens wandering around the stable area, the ramp, the sawdust. So we didn't do it long, but it was certainly worth trying. Our hippotherapy was covered by First Steps (I guess under Medicaid but I could be wrong and it would depend on the state). They also paid for water/pool therapy. Ask the child's current Occupational Therapist, they should know.

 

[dyna]

Thank you everyone

 

[barkley]

this will sound very simplistic but have your dd give it a try-have her do a google search first with the her state's name (and subsequently with her city and county's), followed by the either the word "free" or "reduced fee", and then the type of therapy shes seeking.

when we moved from one state to another i was just trying to find a lower cost occupational therapist than we were using and stumbled upon a program i never would have imagine existed-a free service that provides an occupational therapist once per week IN OUR HOME. the program has no income guidelines and is available to any child that can benefit from it. it's sponsored by our state's elks club. there are other groups that offer these types of services in other states-and i know that there are groups that do this with horse therapy (i had a friend in california who donated use of her property and her horses to a group there that offered it free of charge).

if there's a shriners hospital anywhere near they are a tremendous resource for getting info. on groups and services (and if his treating doctor believes he could benefit at all from any of the services shriners offers it is the easiest referral process known to man-and shriners will not accept a penny from his parents or insurance it's strictly funded by private donations).

btw-on the ssi and the foodstamps:in some states ssi recipients can get foodstamps, in some they can't but in those they can't the general rule is that while this excludes them from being counted as part of the foodstamp household it also excludes their income (ssi) from being considered in calculating the benefit (so while the foodstamps might drop a litte it would be nowhere near what your dd would gain by virtue of the ssi check).

 

[h518may]

We did also try hippotherapy when DS was in First Steps, so he was under 3. It didn't go as planned but it was an interesting adventure. The horses were too big, too high, even their smallest horse which was a pretty darn small horse, he was scared. But he has a "thing" with heights anyway. He was, however, very interested in the kittens wandering around the stable area, the ramp, the sawdust. So we didn't do it long, but it was certainly worth trying. Our hippotherapy was covered by First Steps (I guess under Medicaid but I could be wrong and it would depend on the state). They also paid for water/pool therapy. Ask the child's current Occupational Therapist, they should know.

We started with Hippotherapy through First Steps. DD started at about 2 1/2. She was very afraid at first, but has come so far since beginning. She gets half hour on a horse and half an hour of more normal OT work. Actually she did Hippotherapy today, waving at everyone, sitting side ways and backwards, wearing a helmet. These are all things that she wouldn't have done in Sept. when she started.