Listed below are some answers to common questions about the new 2011 grant, as well as the experience of other families during the 2009 grant cycle.
I have Asperger's Syndrome, Fragile X, or PDD-NOS. Can I apply for an autism grant? YES. In this grant all Autism Spectrum Disorders can apply, as long as the diagnosis is made by a psychologist, medical doctor, and speech language pathologist.
I got one of these grants in 2009. Does this affect my ability to get the 2011 grant? NO. The fact that an individual got a 2009 grant does not affect their application in the 2011 cycle. Apply!
Can I use the grant to pay for TEFRA premiums? YES.
Do I need to have a certain level of disability to qualify for a grant in 2011? NO. While the application form asks for your individual level of disability, DDS says that this information will not be a factor in determining grant amounts or eligibility.
What is the total amount of funds available? Approximately $1.4 million, the same as the total amount given out in 2009. In 2009 DDS had originally intended to give out $720,000, which ran out in a couple of weeks. Those wait listed applicants eventually received funds as DDS made more money available.
Do my expenses need to be in a particular time frame, for instance from January 2011 to December 2011? NO. There was some confusion over this point in 2009 because of Medicaid billing requirements. However, this grant is not subject to these Medicaid deadlines.
Should I mail in the application sections when I finish them? NO. Please make sure that you mail in the application in its complete form, with all attached information. DDS will not hold partial applications.
Can this grant pay for ABA, social skills classes, and other items that are medical in need but not covered by Medicaid at this time? YES. Arkansas is not getting Medicaid match funds for this program, so it's not subject to the traditional limitations of insurance coverage. ABA is of course the biggie. (I have contacted some ABA providers to see if they can develop a parent training module within the grant. I will post on this topic later.)
Social skills programs, if recommended by a medical professional, can be covered. For instance, insurance usually requires a Ph.D. psychologist to run reimbursable social skills groups. This grant can be used to pay for social skills classes from speech language pathologists, counselors, or BCBAs.
What are the the monetary limits on each category of spending? Several families asked me about limits on each category of spending. According again to DDS, the limits are as follows:
Respite max of $1,000
Recreation max of $500
Adaptive Equipment/Home modification max of $5,000
Transportation max of $1,000
Vehicle Modification max of $5,000
Utility assistance max of $500
Rent assistance max of $500
Parent Education max of $500
Behavior Management max of $1,000
Other: valid requests related to the diagnosis
of Autism that could include DAN doctor, lab,
nutritional supplements, ABA, etc max of $5,000
What did parents learn from the 2009 cycle? Here are a couple of tips from the last cycle:
- Make sure your name and signature on the social security card and driver's license match. Sign all documents with the same first and last name. Otherwise the DHS billing department may reject your application.
- Try and rebuild the 3-part diagnosis paperwork. For those who have only a doctor or psychologist diagnosing autism, it's very difficult to add in the speech-language pathologist after the fact. SLPs do not diagnose autism and are very uncomfortable being asked to sign such paperwork. Dennis paperwork diagnosing autism probably meets the standard.
- Put a lot of requests on the application. My general advice is to put down a very large list of medical requests. That way if some of them are rejected by DDS, you the family will still receive the maximum amount of funds.
- Get your application in early in case there are any problems with the paperwork.
Here's some discussion of outside tutoring and iPads in an article I wrote:
iPads and Tutoring
Wednesday, January 12, 2011