Monday, January 18, 2010

Knowing Your Rights

What are your rights as a parent in regards to services and help for your child as they get older? That was a question that was posed today by a mother of a teenager. She only has three years before her child is 18 years old. I haven't even thought about that since #1: my child is only 9 at the moment and #2: I am optimistic that my child won't need any services by then. However, it is better to be prepared just in case.

The first thing that comes to mind is SSI or social security benefits. However, I think it is based on household income so I am not sure how that works. Here are a few links with information:
http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/social-security.html

http://www.autism-world.com/index.php/2007/10/14/does-children-with-autism-qualify-for-disability-benefits/

Sometimes you might need legal help. I found the following site and although I am not endorsing them or even familiar with the firm, I thought I would post it so that you can see some of the points they make on the site: http://www.socialsecuritylawfirms.com/resources/social-security/social-security-disability-coverage/child-autism.htm

I will try and do some extensive research and post my findings in the near future.

1 comment:

shashank said...

Here is a link to more information about the genetics of Wilson Disease that was prepared by our genetic counselor and which has links to some useful resources for those dealing with this condition: http://www.accessdna.com/condition/Wilson_Disease/396. There is also a phone number listed if you need to speak to a genetic counselor by phone. I hope it helps. Thanks, AccessDNA