When I first learned of my daughter’s diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, and began researching this disorder, I was lucky enough to find Grandin’s autobiography.  Soon I was able to breathe again, as I learned just how much someone with this disorder could accomplish.  Grandin earned her doctorate, became a university professor and single-handedly changed the way cattle are brought to the market.

This inspirational winner has been the subject of other films besides the HBO Emmy-award winning documentary.  “The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow” can be found in its entirety on YouTube. It is worth watching to hear Grandin’s insights into autism from the first person point of view.  Grandin describes how much of what she does is as a result of anxiety and the desire to avoid problems.  This is a concise, clear explanation of why some of our loved ones act the way they do– the intense anxiety they live with daily; the inability to make a decision which might be wrong.  Grandin also discusses what it is like to live with sensory integration issues–how frustrating it is to concentrate with itchy clothing, an annoying sound, the wrong lighting.  It is inspirational to understand everything she has managed to overcome due to her autism and accommodate to achieve all her accomplishments.

Grandin explains that she believes the mind of an autistic person and an animal are very similar.  She states that the anxiety and panic attacks of an autistic person is comparable to that of an animal that is always alert for threats.

But Grandin says that she would never, given a choice, give up her autism.  In this TED interview The  World Needs All Kinds of Minds” , she discusses her belief that major technological advances coming out of Silicon Valley would not have been possible without autistic minds, that the world needs autistic minds to advance.  People with autism, she states, pay attention to details the rest of us miss; that problems with sensory integration also cause autistics to look at the world from a sensory point of view. The autistic mind is a specialist mind.

Temple Grandin, the child without a voice,  has become the voice of reason for autism.

Medicare

Medicare is a health insurance program for persons over the age of  65 and for those with certain disabilities who receive SSDI. A person must have entered the United States legally and have lived here for five years before becoming eligible for these benefits.

It is extremely important to understand that Medicare does not cover long-term nursing home care.

Medicaid

Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.   Under certain circumstances, Medicaid will provide benefits for nursing home care.  In New York and a number of other states Medicaid will pay for home health care for those in need.

Medicaid is for those with low income and minimum resources.  Among those with low income who are eligible are:

• pregnant women
• children under 19 years of age
• people 65 and older, blind or disabled
• in need of nursing home care

A disabled person in New York would apply for Medicaid through the state agency.  Here in Nassau or Suffolk County, the application is available from the Department of Social Services.

It is a very complex and difficult application.  Many people retain the help of an elder care attorney to aid them in applying for Medicaid.  If you need assistance, please contact me by calling  (516) 223-4800 or by filling out the contact form on this website.

Early Start Denver Model (EDSM)–for Young Children with Autism

According to Pediatrics, the study assigned the children into one of two groups:

1. ESDM intervention, which is based on developmental and applied behavioral analytic principles and delivered by trained therapists and parents for 2 years; or
2. referral to community providers for intervention commonly available in the community.

The results showed much greater gains for the intensive EDSM intervention as opposed to the community intervention.

An Interview with the Studies’ Author

The NYTimes Health section blogged about this study recently.  Tara Parker-Pope interviewed one of the developers of this new intervention, Sally J. Rogers, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Davis.  Dr. Rogers describes the new intervention as playful and interactive as opposed to adult instructional and further discusses how this new method might work with an autistic child.  The full interview can be found here.

The Book

Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement became available at the end of December.  Additionally, many of the resources can be found online at  The Early Developmental Studies Lab. I can only hope that the reality lives up to the promise.

The new website was launched in conjunction with the 19^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and integrates content from 22 different federal agencies.  According to Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, “Far more than just a directory of federal resources, Disability.gov is a meeting ground for Americans to learn, respond and communicate about a wealth of critically important disability-related topics.”

Despite the numerous topics, and thousands of links to federal agencies, educational institutions  and nonprofit organizations, I found getting around the new site easy and enlightening.  A recent interview on Special Needs Truth ‘08 between Mark Miller and Kevin Connors, the site’s program director and Department of Labor employee, highlights the difficulty of coordinating the numerous agencies that contribute to the success of the website.

Whether you are a disabled person, family member, caregiver, employer, educator, veteran or simply interested in more information about disabilities, this site is a must follow.

Twitter Updates

One way of receiving information and updates is to follow Disability.gov on Twitter.  Each day, the site tweets new resources and information on one of seven disability-related topics:

• Monday–benefits and housing resources
• Tuesday– technology and transportation resources
• Wednesday– education resources and info
• Thursday-health related resources
• Friday–veteran and employment resources
• Saturday–independent resources
• Sunday–emergency preparedness resources

Additionally, the site frequently tweets favorite empowering quotes.  Recent ones include:

Ted Kennedy: “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”  and Helen Keller: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.”

The Government Blogs About Disability Too

Numerous contributors blog about both the resources mentioned above and other topics of interest to disabled individuals and veterans.  One post recently contained a fact sheet for people with disabilities who want to start a business and included resources across the country for people that want to become self-employed.  Another blog specifically targets Youth Programs and recently highlighted a program for Project Search.  Other discussions center around mentoring and intern programs for disabled young people.

According to Kevin Connor, the redesigned website was “tested using a variety of assistive technology software and on various machines with the many different browsers that are available”  to make the site not only accessible, but usable by its many visitors.

If you have not yet visited Disability.gov, I encourage you to take a little time to get acquainted with the various features and tools.  I assure you it will be time well-spent.