Fighting for Answers | Author Archives | Page 16David's Father, Author at Fighting for Answers

I Guess That’s My Cue

I don’t write about anyone in the family except David, unless I am writing about things he has done to his siblings. Today, I am writing about my son… let’s call him George. George has Asperger’s Syndrome, which falls in the Autism Spectrum Disorder list. He does really well. Earlier this year, he brought up the idea of attending Boys State. So we encouraged him to apply. He was accepted, but I could see as school ended, and summer began he was beginning to show some anxiety about what Boys State would mean. We talked about ways for him to be successful. About embracing those aspects of his Asperger’s Syndrome which will benefit him during the time at Boys State. George has a phenomenal memory. I would say that he is highly intelligent, but he doesn’t like to show that off, because, he admits he is afraid of letting us

Pending Change of Placement

Change of Placement.What happens if… David has been in a facility placement since October of 2015. Now he is nearing the end of his time at the current facility. Plans are to transition to another facility when a bed is available. We wanted him to finish out the current school year in his current placement. So placement change will come in the next 6 weeks or so. Interesting enough, his certificate of need (insurance authorization) expires at the same time. So this post is a what happens if… or How can Change of Placement be successful if options aren’t available? What happens if a bed is not available and the certificate of need is denied? The next placement is a step down from his current facility in an effort to ultimately return David to our family home. At present, while we have had successful day passes, no one in the

The State of North Dakota Budget Cuts

We are beginning to see the affects that the budget cuts are having on David’s care here in North Dakota. As a part of his ongoing care, I am trying to determine what services will be needed in the community for him to return home. I am all about long range planning. One of the key services that we utilized before placement was mentor support. Where he spent part of a day with a mentor doing things away from the home. It gave David a break from us and it gave the family a break from David. Due to the budget cuts that service is largely unavailable for him now. One mantra that we have heard here in North Dakota is that the budget cuts aren’t affecting people. I beg to differ. Not only are the budget cuts affecting people, they have long reaching consequences. We can’t get a