Today’s Special

Waiver Woes

Alex, being forever autistic, has a Medicaid waiver, which opens the door to funding for a variety of services, from dental insurance to payment for recreation camps and activities. The social services people, however, keep sending us the wrong forms year after year. We dutifully fill them out, his waiver gets axed, and Jill has to go stand in line in an office neither of us ever dreamed she’d see the inside of. Here’s how we intend to attack this problem, and tips for special-needs parents wrangling in their own version of this growing problem.

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April is Autism Awareness Month, and as Jeff said to Jill, “What the hell do we need this for? I’m always aware of autism!” Then an old friend of Jeff’s sent him an email saying, “I searched in vain for a Happy Autism Awareness Day card to send you.” Jill and Jeff, whose 9-year-old son Alex has PDD-NOS, then wondered what message these cards could carry. Would they be humorous or heartfelt? Caring or callous? They discuss some possibilities and the idea of caring for someone who is going through something you just don’t understand.

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In a perfect world, parents of autistic kids would have every need met. But Jill and Jeff don’t live in a perfect world, and in this cast they talk about what they’d like to see available for services to autistic kids and their families, with ideas — playgrounds, insurance, rec programs, tax breaks — ranging from the fantastic to the commonsense.

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Scads of movies and TV shows have featured developmentally challenged characters, from “Rain Man” to “Something About Mary” to “The Office.” As parents in the trenches of special-needs, Jill and Jeff offer their insights into some of these portrayals, and recommend what movies to catch, and avoid.

Some movies we mention (but don’t have time to discuss): “Bill,” “Pumpkin,” “I Am Sam,” and “Riding the Bus With My Sister.” Pascal Duquenne is a Belgian (not French) actor with Down Syndrome with roles in “Toto the Hero” and “The Eighth Day.”

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