Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

Here's my wish list for this year:

1.  A Lopez Waiver for Nate
2.
3.

Actually, that's all I want. Our new insurance company follows the law to the letter, $40,000/ year per child. $40,000 is a lot of money, so it should buy a lot of ABA services , right?

Wrong. It's about 14 hours a week. When you have a 15 year old that can't be left alone, that's not a lot.

Our DMH case manger called me yesterday and said, "Christmas came early!"  I almost started to cry. I thought Nate got the waiver. No such luck. She was calling to tell me that Nick was awarded some funding.  I don't want to sound ungrateful......however, what about Nate?  He is much more severe and needs funding for more help.

So Santa, please help. Nate has come so far in the last three years with the help of 20+ hours of staffing a week. Cutting it back will bring setbacks, not more progress. I wish these people making these decisions would come visit and meet the recipients of the services before they put a cap on services or pass him over because he doesn't appear needy enough.

Please give me a Christmas miracle,

Stacey