Always thankful.....

While I am not thankful for autism, I am thankful for the arsenal that I have to fight it.

1.  The Autism Bill- requiring the insurance company to pay for in-home ABA.

2.  Behavior Intervention Services- providing the staffing for said ABA.  Team Hill is Fabulous!  They have changed my life!

3.  Action for Autism- the organization that raises money to help families pay for therapies for their children with autism.  They help me pay the co-pays and the boys' camp fees.

4.  ARC- Association for Retarded Citizens....yes, they need a new name.  They provide the weekend camp that Nate attends and Noah will also go this spring. They also ran Teens in Motion, the summer camp that Nate attended this year.

5.  The Home Health section of our health insurance-  when the OT and Speech therapists come to the house and it's billed through Home Health, there is no co-pay.  Please share this with other families!  The boys receive 50 OT visits and unlimited speech through the Home Health section of our insurance.  It makes life so much easier, we don't have to take them anywhere and we don't pay a $20 co-pay each time.

6.  Vicki-  every family should have a Vicki.  There are not enough words to explain how she helps us and not enough words to express our gratitude.

7.  The ADA Act-  when anyone takes the boys to an activity that charges admission, we pay for the boys, but their staff get in free.  This saves us a lot of money.

8.  Skyzone- kids with autism and their staff member jump free anytime.

9.  Therapy Relief- the company that provides our OT and Speech therapists.

10.  Special School District- St. Louis County pools their money to provide SSD services to all of the school districts.  This way, they can provide better services to kids.  Because of this, they have never told me that there isn't enough money to give the boys what they need.

11.  Southview School- the school for special kids that Nate and Noah attend.  Nate is starting to learn some basic office skills.  The boys can stay in school until they are 21.

12.  My family- they love the boys unconditionally and celebrate every one of their accomplishments.

13.  My friends- they don't pity me...they listen to me cry when I need to without judgement and take me out when I need to get away.