fight

All I've done for the past 2 weeks is fight. Each and every mental health agency that exists in this state. I finally had a meeting where several of the agencies were represented last week, all in one place. They collectively told me that there is very little anyone can do until my child is in kindergarten. He is autistic, but he is smart. People just don't help smart kids with autism. They aren't behind in the "right" areas of life, so they are completely ignored. Oh, and on top of that? They took away his Medical Assistance and the woman whose job it is to help me loophole him into it is just about the meanest and most spiteful person I have ever met. After over 15 calls and voicemails left over the course of 3 weeks, I had someone from another agency call and harass her as well. When I finally got through to her the same morning, she yelled at me for being impatient. Well I'm sorry lady, but it happens to be your JOB, and you haven't even acknowledged that I have called repeatedly or asked you a question. -- And this isn't the first time with her. I've gone through this migraine every 6 months since we first got on MA. I always make sure I start the process a good 2 months before things are due, (in order to assure we don't have a lapse in coverage due to her idiocy) and it is still this fight. DO YOUR JOB OR GET A NEW ONE, PEOPLE'S LIVES DEPEND ON THE ABILITY TO GET MEDICAL ATTENTION. I'm not even kidding. Because of an error on her part, I have no insurance. This means no therapy, no medication, and I'm not eligible to be covered by Steve's insurance until August 1st. And I am the less worrisome of the two of us. (Steve has his own private insurance that covers basically nothing, but Johnny and I were both on MA). I mean, I get that her job most likely leaves her bogged down with cases, but I STARTED 2 MONTHS IN ADVANCE!!! We are now at 3 months past the date I began all of this. Now that Johnny's formal evaluation and diagnosis have been faxed into this lady, (by another service, not me, so it is even more legit in the eyes of the state) she still won't tell me what the next step is. If I don't take the next step, they will make me start all over again and say it is my fault. If his insurance doesn't pick back up, that means no services for him at all. These agencies only take MA, not private insurance. She is legally obligated to put this paperwork through, and she is sitting on it. You know that slug-looking secretary from Monster's Inc.? That is her.

So all I do is fight. Fight that expletive-inducing horrible woman, fight these programs and agencies, (who at least this time around were nice enough to apologize for being unable to help and seemed sincere) fight yet another summer camp they found that they were "pretty sure" he could go to but who won't take him because he isn't potty trained... fight. How can all of these places that are specifically designed for autistic kids refuse to help him? He isn't fully potty trained because of his diagnosis. He is on the intelligent side of autism, not the cognitively lacking. He's too bad and too good. What the hell?

On the bright side, if they will ever actually give him back his MA, (which, again, he is legally entitled to until the age of 21 because of his diagnosis) we have one option left. A TSS (Therapeutic Support Staff) is supposed to be close to ready to begin working with him in place of the therapist he has been seeing. The change will mean more hours of help and the possibility of attending school with him part-time in the fall to help out there. But until that complete monster of a woman does her job, my entire family is left hanging.