Indiana Info

October 15, 2005

Hello to all!

Do we have any families from Indiana on this list serve? If so, how

are the State funded Medicaid programs and Early Intervention

programs? Compared to North and South Dakota (where they didn't

exist until Laikyn's Law was brought into effect), or Oregon, which

is extremely underfunded, I know that Virginia although tricky does

have waivers available for children like my son. Are there any RSS

families getting this type of help from the State of Indiana?

There might be a relocation in our future to this state. Our

decison will be based largely in part to the type of care we can get

for Connor, in addition to distance from a major children's hospital.

Can anybody help me out? Also, I guess another major concern would

be what is the cost of living like in that state; Gas prices, home

prices, groceries, etc? Is there a sales tax and if so, how much is

it? What are property taxes like? We have so many things to

consider right now and my head is just spinning. I hope if any of

you have the answer you can let me know right away. Connor's care

is our priority before any move is made.

Thanks so much!

in Virginia; Mom to -

Graham 8; Cameron 5; Connor 3 RSS, G-Tube, Nutropin AQ,

October 17, 2005

Hi !!

I have lived in Indiana for almost 2 years. We moved here from Virginia

Beach! Where are you? We love it here so much, really weren't too fond of

Virginia, we lived there 3 years. Now we're in a suburb of Indianapolis,

Plainfield. Which is Hendricks county, and is known for having some of the best

schools in the state. It is much less expensive than Virginia. We haven't bought

a house yet, but we have looked, and prices are reasonable. We are in the First

Steps program of Indiana where Dasia gets PT, OT, and sees a nutritionist, all

state funded. This home program is up to age 3, then they have a developmental

preschool 3 hours a day, which will include PT and OT along with learning,

during the school year. We have been so happy with the program. They have 2

other RSS kids, who see the same devel. ped., Dr. Escobar, who is also a

geneticist at St. 's Hospital, an excellent major hosp. I would recommend

it over Riley's Childrens Hosp. One very scary thing happened over

there concerning Welfare, and feeding tubes, which has turned legal, and they

do not acknowledge RSS. I've been lucky that there is another family here, in

Hendricks Co. who I got a lot of info from, and so, the best docs have been

treating other children with RSS. I haven't been to an endo yet, Dasia is 20

months, and our Dr says when she is 3 she'll start GH, but I'm going to take her

to an endo sooner than that, to see what he says. This family has highly

recommended one they love here. So I feel comfortable that we're in good hands.

We're really considering a visit to Dr H, just to be sure we start GH at the

right time. As for the medicaid program, I know they have a division for

special needs children. Which, actually while I'm thinking about it, I'm going

to start inquiring, because we don't have very good insurance, and am pretty

sure it won't cover GH when that time comes. I will post as soon as I hear back,

and I'm going to call Amy, the one who lives nearby, and ask if

she has any advice about insurance. I've been meaning to ask her. Dasia was

just diagnosed mid-August, so we're very new to this! Just thankful for the

internet!! I can't imagine being all alone. I've already learned so much! It

would be great to have another family here! I haven't met Amy yet, just talked

on the phone with her once.

Have a great day!

Malcolm

Kearns wrote: