Housing

[Guest guest]

I know it is beastly hot in MA as it is on th whole east coast right now.

So Elie is not going out. He even agreed to turnon his ceiling fan to

circulate some air.

HAd the first meeting today re housing for Elie out of our home. Was very

susrprised to learn that this particular agency had never heard of home

ownership (except willed to clients home). But they are willing to explore

the idea of home ownership. There are several " mortgage products " to help

low income, first time buyers, people with disabilities, rural area

development . I am exploring this option with the help of a person I have

meet who also has a child with ds/asd and many medical issues who is also a

REALTOR!!!!

Will let you all know how this adventure plays out.

> Thanks for all the warm welcomes....or should I say " HOT "

> welcomes....hee...hee.. Our son is our only child. At 18

> weeks gestation we had our first ultrasound and that's when they saw

> several markers and suspected DS. We had an amnio and it did confirm

> the diagnosis. He was born May 30, 2003 and he had his first open

> heart surgery at 5 weeks old and then had his complete repair of

> ASD,VSD,Tetrology of Fallot and AV Canal at six months of age. He

> has been going to our city school since age 3 and it's not been a

> good ride. It was just this past March that our pediatrician

> mentioned to us that she felt that Jake was on the autistic

> spectrum. So we got a neuro psych eval done just a couple of weeks

> ago and it did confirm that he has autism..not PPDNOS or aspergers

> but autism and that his cognitive level as at 14 months so it's

> pretty bad and my husband and I are trying to absorb it all. The

> neuro psychologist suggested intense ABA and home training as well so

> we're meeting with the school this Friday to get a plan in place for

> that. So....that's my story in a nut shell. I am the co-founder of a

> playgroup called Morning Travelers...http://www.morningtravelers.org

> if you'd like to check it out. We started in 2004 are now up to

> about 80 families but unfortunately I'm feeling very alone with this

> dual diagnosis. I've always known that Jake was different from the

> other DS kids at our playgroup and have been feeling very alone....so

> I'm glad to have found all of you.

>

>

> > > >

> > > > > waaaa waaaa you poor NORTHERNER's.....LOL!!!

> > > > > MontyMan and the rest of us are waaaayy down south, southern

> > > > > Louisiana.......ya think it's hot?

> > > > > Donna, MontyMan's Mom.....who has been Thanking God for the

> wisdom

> > > of man

> > > > > who makes air conditioning!!!

> > > > >

> > > > > **************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers.

> Watch " Cooking

> > > with

> > > > > Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

> > > > >

> > > (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?

> & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

> > > > >

> > > > >

[Guest guest]

I don't consider this a done deal. My GOAL (remember little steps to reach

a goal) is for Elie to live in his OWN house with a roommate friend AND that

he works and gets paid!! I just try to keep my eye on the big picture.

Elie went with us yesterday to see the house. He LOVES the deck - as do I -

it has a mountain view - not the ridge like we do. And I must say the house

is more upscale then our own in accoutrement's. But Elie will have his own

room, it is a lovely neighborhood of families and NOT NEAR A ROAD. Also the

back of the house runs into the Forest (as does ours) but the back is even

more steep than ours is - Elie will NEVER get to the forest. And it is

incrementally closer to my daughter's home in Metro ATL altho still very

rural.

> I have been sharing my adventures with trying to help Elie buy his own

> house. Today I got the news :`(.

>

> Unless we can get some outside grants, Elie is NOT eligible by income to

> buy a house thru the USDA, low income, etc program. HE only earns about

> $7800 in SSDI a year. USDA will increase that 20% for taxes not paid. Which

> brings him to still under the minimum cut off of $14,000. the good news:

> Once he earns enough to make the difference between his SSDi and the

> $14,000, he can buy a house thru the USDA program. So now our goal is to

> get him working for enough money to make this difference. He has some

> NON-PAYING positions. Our goal for the next year will be to turn those jobs

> and skills into paying positions.

>

> And for the very near future, he will be living with a NT friend his age

> who is buying a house where Elie and he can live together - of course

> will be paid thru Elie's waiver. A win - win. Good role model for Elie and

> will be able to finish his education much less stress free. There

> also will be another person helping with Day supports as we work towards

> supported employment.

>

> --

> Sara - Life is a journey- we choose the path.

>

--

Sara - Life is a journey- we choose the path.