Today's Special

Waiver woes

Today's Special — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:20:19 +0000

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.

Hitting the Road

Today's Special — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:01:54 +0000

Summer again, and time to load up the family car and hit the road for fun times and sunshine-y afternoons. Unless you’ve got an autistic kid like Alex, when the good times can become more work than they’re worth and you start to envy those who can just pack ‘n’ go. Jill and Jeff discuss plans for special-needs summer fun.

Have a super happy autism day!

Today's Special — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:01:33 +0000

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.

Wish list

Today's Special — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:59:33 +0000

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.

The Nedcast

Today's Special — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:08:11 +0000

In this very special cast, Alex’s typically-developing little brother Ned, 7, offers his insights into what life is like with Alex, and, perhaps more important, what he thinks that life will be like in the future.

Wrap-up and resolutions

Today's Special — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:39:38 +0000

As 2007 ends, Jill and Jeff look back at Alex’s accomplishments through the year — overnight camp for a week, eating bananas and drinking milk, among others — and look at what they’d like to see happen for him in 2008.

Happy Holidays?

Today's Special — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:49:30 +0000

Holidays mean special times: dinners, presents, heartwarming moments with family and friends that can in turn can mean sheer exhaustion when Alex gets rambunctious. Jill and Jeff share some of their experiences from past years, strategies for this year, and gift ideas for their autistic son. (Sneak away and listen in if you get sick of your family over Thanksgiving weekend.) This podcast is now available in our archives.

And the Winner Is

Today's Special — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:06:19 +0000

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.”

Full stream ahead

Today's Special — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:02:14 +0000

Jill and Jeff would love to see Alex start to mainstream with typically developing students. They discuss the pluses and minuses, the worries and hopes of putting him in an unfamiliar situation for a few minutes a day. Will the new teacher accept him? Will the other students? Will it help him learn some social behaviors?

School Daze

Today's Special — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:55:11 +0000

For most people, back to school is a bright fall day filled with the excitement of learning new things. For Jill and Jeff, it’s a time of burning-eyed exhaustion as they readjust their schedules to meet Alex’s bus at (sob!) 7 in the morning. Through their yawns, they also discuss their goals for Alex in this new school year.

Mother of Invention

Today's Special — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:47:56 +0000

Jill and Jeff’s friend Mindy is the mother of a special-needs child — and a whiz at fashioning devices for him with little more than everyday household materials and a glue gun. In the first interview on “Today’s Special,” Mindy discusses what she’s built for her son, how she got started, where she gets her ideas, and how adaptive devices for special-needs children don’t always have to look so “medical.”

A walk in the woods

Today's Special — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:57:19 +0000

Whether he knows it or not, Alex is having a great summer. For the first time since he started school six years ago, he is not going to the summer school program. He misses school, but thanks to Grandpa’s generosity, he is at a Y day camp with an excellent program for kids with special needs. Jill and Jeff discuss tips for making camp a successful experience, their hopes for next summer, and the advantages of day camp over summer school.

This didn’t hurt a bit

Today's Special — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:26:42 +0000

For autistic kids, learning how to go to the dentist can be at least as critical as toilet training, but the visit can be a real trial: screeching, squirming, bolting, and an almost unbelievably tight clamping shut of Alex’s mouth. His latest visit went well, and Jill and Jeff share their thoughts on getting him both through this appointment and comfortable with this vital and lifelong part of health.

Eating and traveling and other stuff

Today's Special — Tue, 22 May 2007 02:21:58 +0000

Alex’s eating has been a challenge for years, but lately bananas and malted milk have made their way onto his “Yea!” list. Here’s how we did it, along with some thoughts on camping with Alex, and how everyone survives when Jeff has to travel and leave Jill alone and in charge of the kids — or the kids in charge of Jill. This podcast is now available on our archives.

In my experience…

Today's Special — Wed, 02 May 2007 13:44:46 +0000

Jill has come up with 10 can’t-miss tips and pointers for Early Intervention providers and service coordinators, based on her (sometimes exasperating) experiences with Alex in EI. With just a right amount of edge she recalls the bad stuff that could have been done better and the great stuff that was done well to make her family’s EI work the best it could, and to give Alex a start toward school.

Time off

Today's Special — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:51:29 +0000

Saturdays, school holidays, vacations… anytime’s a good time to go crazy with Alex at home. He loves structure; we love to sit around and catch up on reading, do a little housework, sip coffee. In short, no structure. This is fine for an occasional weekend. But a long school break (and we’re on Day 9, with a few days to go) brings its own challenges. Here’s a slice of what it’s like and how we cope. This podcast is available in our archives.

Special needs trusts (part 2)

Today's Special — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:40:35 +0000

Inheritance versus trust. Pooled versus private. Grantors versus trustees. Payouts and benefits cutoffs and “testamentary” and “inter vivos” and what does all this mean when you’re just trying to have a life with a special-needs child!? The nuts and bolts of establishing a special needs trust for your loved one’s future can be befuddling, and in this session we look at some of the terms they’ve learned in setting up a trust for Alex. We also provide many print and Web-based sources for more information.

A matter of trust

Today's Special — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:53:52 +0000

Few issues come with more emotional freight than whether to create a special-needs trust — monies put aside for your disabled child’s adulthood, when a parent is no longer around. We’re wrestling with the many, many, many pros, cons, and details of creating such a trust for Alex. In this first podcast discussing trusts, we talk about how we feel that such a fund may well be necessary for his future.

A bad day with autism

Today's Special — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:03:11 +0000

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Alex pours milk down the sink … asks for pizza/chicken/hot dogs in a restaurant, then won’t eat them … refuses to sit at the table with us. Sometimes it’s typical 8-year-old behavior; sometimes it’s autism. Whatever it is, it’s frustrating. Especially on a long weekend. Here’s how we cope.

Where does the money go?

Today's Special — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 02:26:28 +0000

You’d think, with two kids, two parents, and one salary, we’d be rolling in it. You’d be wrong. Life is expensive, and not just because we live in Manhattan.