Hi I'm new to N.Y. and I am looking for anything on services that are available for autistic children.. I have a 5 year old son with autism... I'm also looking for support groups.. basically anything.. thank you..
I have a friend who has an autistic 4 year old. She gave me the following sites which you can visit.
____@____.com
I know you live in New York, but maybe they can direct you to the right groups for New York.
http://www.njcosac.org/cosac2/supportgroups
Best of luck I hope the above sites help.
try meet up.com.. I have seen groups for parents with children that support autism check it out...I hope this helps
Hi J.,
Welcome to New York! There are a wealth of autism resources out there.
Firstly, you can contact the Brooklyn chapter of Autism Society of America:
225 Avenue S, Brooklyn NY 11223-2745
###-###-#### ____@____.com
Secondly, your son is eligible for lots of free services provided by New York State. He can qualify for Medicaid via a program called a Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver. The HCBS Waiver "waives" parental income and only looks at the child's finances, which allows him to qualify for Medicaid. The HCBS Waiver is for people with developmental disabilities, including autism. Not only will he then get Medicaid, but he can get a whole bunch of HCBS Waiver services, including Residential Habilitation (someone coming to your home to teach him skills) and respite (basically free baby-sitting). The HCBS Waiver can also get him Family Education and Training, which would be free workshops for you to attend. And the best part is you would get a Service Coordinator to coordinate all these services, make the phonecalls, complete the paperwork, and connect you to new resources.
My advice is to call as many agencies you can and get on their wait lists for any of these services you are interested in. Contact your local DDSO (Developmental Disabilities Services Office) for a list of agencies and what they can provide:
888 Fountain Avenue, Building 1, Brooklyn, NY 11208
Phone: ###-###-#### Fax: ###-###-####
I work for one such agency, so I do suggest you get on our wait list too. If nothing else, our intake coordinator has lots and lots of information she can share with you. She will give you other resources to help you and explain what is out there. Call Joann Colucci at SKIP of New York ###-###-####, ext. 191.
Lastly, I assume your son is in school. Is he in District 75? Speak to other parents of children in his class and I'm sure they could share what they know. Best of luck to you and your son, and let me know if you want more information about anything I stated in this message. I'd be happy to help.
You can try to refer your child to the CPSE program (community Preschool Special Education) This program is for children from ages 3-5. I'm not sure of your child's date of birth but they may still accept him. It is run by the board of ed. and provides services for children (free of charge)with autism. You have to contact your local district and let them know that u r interested in the program and they will send u all of the information via mail.
I also know of this wonderful day school that caters to autistic children ages 0-3 but I'm not sure if they cater to older children as well. Name of the place is Thursday's Child. Address 220 Marine Ave. Bklyn, NY 11209. Phone #: ###-###-####. They do provide bus service depending on what part of Brooklyn u r coming from. If they are unable to help u, u can ask them if they know of a place u can go to for your 5yr. old.
Hope this was helpful.
