The deadline to file for intent to use the McKay Scholarship is July 3, 2017 for the 2017-2018 100% award amount. Parents have to file for intent by July but the paperwork for admission and enrollment at their private school by August 2nd. Just because you file intent does not mean that you have to…
Tag: florida
Learning Through The Mistakes
Pretty sure that I have made a big and costly mistake! Can you help me fix it?! So, this McKay Scholarship is all tricky and complex! There are all these rules and processes and no real human to walk you thru the system. It’s one thing to just file intent and fill out some private…
504 and High School
This post is different from most because it relates to high school. Ruthfulness has a primary focus on early intervention for parents and students but as a high school teacher, I get to see how teens and their parents handle or fail to handle their/(child’s) special needs. Teachers, students, parents, and the community: A 504…
The Investment in Autism Treatment
I have read articles from other autism parents that describe the cost of care for their child. Some parents even joke that their child with autism is their million dollar child. That got me thinking about my own finances and my own child. I have for years maxed out our health insurance on doctors appointments…
Summer Problems for Special Needs Children
SUMMER IS HERE! School ends this week, Thursday for those of us in Florida (Pinellas County). Thursday is an early release day. Why does the school district do this to us?! Why are you even taking them? 8:30-11:30 that is not helping us working parents, now you have added more scheduling, after school transportation and…
Keeping an IEP after the Developmentally Delayed (DD) label is dropped when children turn 6.
When your child goes to Kindergarten they will age out of the Developmentally Delayed (DD) criteria of the IEP. My son was classified DD and LI (language impaired) until this school year. I knew what to expect within the process so I started in August and finished in January so that I could only have…
Transitioning to Kindergarten? Quick Tips to make your Transition a Success.
Is your child graduating from Pre-K?! It all happens so fast, you don’t really think about it at the beginning of the year because it’s still preschool then all of a sudden May comes and you get a graduation announcement! My little guy is graduating from preschool and moving onto kindergarten. No matter if…
Why do you get help…
…and my more medically complicated child gets none?! Over the last week or so, the questions and concerns have been made regarding assistance for children with autism that have complex medical needs. Why are some families qualifying and others not? What is the missing piece? The information that started the discussion was about Medicaid. Our…
Collaboration with private therapy and public education
Children with autism in my school district are often placed in ASD units within a self contained classroom or on the other end they have their services taken from them sometimes their entire IEP and parents have to fight for a 504 plan. There seems to be very little in between in the public school….
Medicaid and CMS…you want to read this!
is it income based?! I think I figured it out!!! Our family had a big win last month with notification that our son with autism was eligible for Florida’s Children’s Medical Services (CMS). My mouth fell open, I jumped up and cheered. It felt like hitting the lottery! For years, our family has scrambled to…
Ruthfulness 