My 2 1/2 year old son was diagnosed with Autism 6 weeks ago. My husband & I live in NJ which is rated one of the best states to live in for treatments of Autism and education. Only problem is that it's also one of the most expensive to live in. We are getting some great Early Intervention speech, behavioral therapy and OT through the state at a cost share level (which means we pay like $8 an hour when they bill every 8 weeks or so). My husband is considering applying with his current employer to relocate to Arizona as we've always loved it there and I have family there. We of course have some concerns about moving as we want the best for our son. If anyone can help answer these questions and tell me more about what AZ has to offer for Autism that would be greatly appreciated. We're looking to move to Tucson.
1) Does the state offer in-home speech, behavior, OT therapy at no cost or at least on a sliding scale based on income?
2) Are there a wide selection of outpatient treatment facilities that offer the above therapies? Do most insurances in AZ cover this type of treatment?
3) How are the public schools in Tucson responding to the increase in Autism diagnosis? What are the best private and/or public schools that provide the most comprehensive education to autistic children?
I'm sorry to hear about your
I'm sorry to hear about your sons diagnosis. I know all to well how you must be feeling. I have 3 boys my oldest is dx with Asperger's and my middle son with Autism. It sounds like you are on the right track with early intervention.
As for AZ I live in Phoenix so I won't be able to give you much info on the Tucson area. However the state services have be a great help to my family. From birth to 3 everything is coordinated through AZ Early Intervention. After 3 the Department of Developmental Disabilities coordinates services. Since DDD has no money they pay for the services through Arizona Long Term Care Services.(medicare) Once you get approved through DDD then ALTECS sends a nurse to your home to do an observation and ask tons of questions. Then you wait to see if you qualify with them. My son with Autism is qualified so he gets Speech 1 hour twice a week, OT 1 hour a week, Music Therapy 1 hour a week, habiltation 60 hours a month, and respite I can't remember how many hours we have total but it is for the year. He also had PT but he was discharged from that last year. We have private insurance so his state insurance is the payer of last resort. Our DDD coordinator comes to the house every 3 months and at the age of 6 the child has to be re approved. The providers in the Phoenix area include both in home and clinic. Currently all of my sons therapy is in clinic but when he was younger it was all in home. I won't lie it is difficult to find providers especially in home. My son went for a year without a speech therapist. Of course he was in the developmental preschool so that helped.
Recently a bill was passed that will make insurance companies in AZ pay for therapies for the treatment of autism. Including ABA.
I could go on & on but I only know what I have done and I'm sure there are better resources than me. I would start with Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) they are a wealth of information and have the most amazing programs to help teach parents about ABA & PRT. Another good place to check out would be www.arizonaautismsupport.org there is a message board for parents all over AZ and I'm sure you could find more info on what Tucson has to offer.
If you have any other questions you can also email me at steff_smith2005@yahoo.com
Good luck with everything!
Steffanie
If you want to go to the
If you want to go to the public schools in Tucson, hands down, the best public district in the Tucson is the "Foothills District (e.g., feeds into Orange Grove M.S., Catalina Foothills H.S.) This is considered District 16.
I'm sure that other people will tell you about positive experiences with individual schools or teachers outside District 16 (e.g. Sam Hughes Elem. near the Univ. of AZ in District 1), but overall, the reason people move to Dist. 16/Foothills is b/c the schools are the best in the City.
Once you get with a real estate agent, she'll be able to give you a map with boundaries, etc....AND reinforce this information.
By the way - in terms of basic insurance info - my son has had the full gamet of OT, PT, and Speech for the past 3 years....all covered by BCBS-AZ. (PPO).
Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 7 yr. old daughter and a 5 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.
I agree with the previous
I agree with the previous comments -- you'll find great resources in their suggestions. I have a 13-yr-old son with Asperger's and he was 3 when we moved here from Texas. I was amazed at the amount of resources (and the wonderful coverage we received from the state/fed govt programs) compared to what we had in Texas. My son received excellent speech, occupational and physical therapy until he was 10 and no longer needed it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you move here.
DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com