Question about Early Intervention (BCW) in GA.

[Guest guest]

Recently my 2 year-old son had a BCW evaluation and was determined eligible

based solely on his severe apraxia.

BCW offered me a special education teacher who had little to no experience with

apraxic kids and she was not a speech therapist. After about 45 minutes with her

on the phone, I quickly realized that she was going to just " play " with my child

on a limited service basis every week or I think twice a month. The knoledge and

the service that she was bringing to the table was significantly less, if you

even call that service (?), than what I give my son and less than optimal.

I decline to have " her " come out because I felt that bad service was worse than

no service. (Kinda like offering me an orthopedic surgeon for a cardiology

problem.)

Yesterday, I received a phonecall from the service coordinator wantng to dash up

here (she's an hour away) to get me to sign " a decline for services " . (I do not

wish to declineappropriate service, but I only wish to decline inappropriate

service.)Her persistence led me to believe that if I signed that form, then she

and BCW was relieved of obligation to help me, but he persistence made me feel

that I " had " to sign that form. I told her I was getting ready to go out of town

and would be leaving Wednesday and se was insistant on coming (my schedule is

really full with appointments and I felt I did not need to do that action so

hastily. Something felt wrong.) I made an appt. with her for when I come

back,but now I am beginning to wonder.

Is she asking me to do something that I should not do? And shouldn't I file a

complaint with BCW that they have offered me an inappropriate service? I never

even received a matrix list of speech providers at all. She simply stated,

" There are no speech therapists in this area that we have, and I cannot make

someone come to Toccoa. "

Yet, she has not even offered to pay for any services either and statesthat

there are no Amerigroup Providers in my area to do the service of speech

therapy. I thought BCW was supposed to pay for services? What if I did not have

insurance? And besides, just like the school system, I do not have to let BCW

use my son's insurance, do I? Whatif my son were already using his two sessions

per week at another ST, which he soon will be? I thought BCW " had " to fund

" appropriate services " . Does something sound wrong with all of this to ya'll?

[Guest guest]

I live in Forsyth county and was told the same thing. I ended up accepting the

services and at the last minute they found a speech therapist in my area that

had apraxia experience. I would ask for your case workers supervisor, and then

hers, ect. ect. Also call the governors council for disabilities. If you can't

get a speech therapist why not an o/t ? If properly trained they can help with

oral motor and fine motor.

-------------- Original message from " " <agirlnamedsuess@...>:

--------------

Recently my 2 year-old son had a BCW evaluation and was determined eligible

based solely on his severe apraxia.

BCW offered me a special education teacher who had little to no experience with

apraxic kids and she was not a speech therapist. After about 45 minutes with her

on the phone, I quickly realized that she was going to just " play " with my child

on a limited service basis every week or I think twice a month. The knoledge and

the service that she was bringing to the table was significantly less, if you

even call that service (?), than what I give my son and less than optimal.

I decline to have " her " come out because I felt that bad service was worse than

no service. (Kinda like offering me an orthopedic surgeon for a cardiology

problem.)

Yesterday, I received a phonecall from the service coordinator wantng to dash up

here (she's an hour away) to get me to sign " a decline for services " . (I do not

wish to declineappropriate service, but I only wish to decline inappropriate

service.)Her persistence led me to believe that if I signed that form, then she

and BCW was relieved of obligation to help me, but he persistence made me feel

that I " had " to sign that form. I told her I was getting ready to go out of town

and would be leaving Wednesday and se was insistant on coming (my schedule is

really full with appointments and I felt I did not need to do that action so

hastily. Something felt wrong.) I made an appt. with her for when I come

back,but now I am beginning to wonder.

Is she asking me to do something that I should not do? And shouldn't I file a

complaint with BCW that they have offered me an inappropriate service? I never

even received a matrix list of speech providers at all. She simply stated,

" There are no speech therapists in this area that we have, and I cannot make

someone come to Toccoa. "

Yet, she has not even offered to pay for any services either and statesthat

there are no Amerigroup Providers in my area to do the service of speech

therapy. I thought BCW was supposed to pay for services? What if I did not have

insurance? And besides, just like the school system, I do not have to let BCW

use my son's insurance, do I? Whatif my son were already using his two sessions

per week at another ST, which he soon will be? I thought BCW " had " to fund

" appropriate services " . Does something sound wrong with all of this to ya'll?

[Guest guest]

I thought they were supposed to pay for outside services if they do not have any

of their own providers available. Your insurance should not be involved with

paying for what the school should be providing. Something does not sound right ,

I would not sign anything and would file a complaint ASAP. Do not absolve them

of what they are supposed to be doing and let them take the easy way out.

[ ] Question about Early Intervention (BCW) in GA.

Recently my 2 year-old son had a BCW evaluation and was determined eligible

based solely on his severe apraxia.

BCW offered me a special education teacher who had little to no experience with

apraxic kids and she was not a speech therapist. After about 45 minutes with her

on the phone, I quickly realized that she was going to just " play " with my child

on a limited service basis every week or I think twice a month. The knoledge and

the service that she was bringing to the table was significantly less, if you

even call that service (?), than what I give my son and less than optimal.

I decline to have " her " come out because I felt that bad service was worse than

no service. (Kinda like offering me an orthopedic surgeon for a cardiology

problem.)

Yesterday, I received a phonecall from the service coordinator wantng to dash up

here (she's an hour away) to get me to sign " a decline for services " . (I do not

wish to declineappropriate service, but I only wish to decline inappropriate

service.)Her persistence led me to believe that if I signed that form, then she

and BCW was relieved of obligation to help me, but he persistence made me feel

that I " had " to sign that form. I told her I was getting ready to go out of town

and would be leaving Wednesday and se was insistant on coming (my schedule is

really full with appointments and I felt I did not need to do that action so

hastily. Something felt wrong.) I made an appt. with her for when I come

back,but now I am beginning to wonder.

Is she asking me to do something that I should not do? And shouldn't I file a

complaint with BCW that they have offered me an inappropriate service? I never

even received a matrix list of speech providers at all. She simply stated,

" There are no speech therapists in this area that we have, and I cannot make

someone come to Toccoa. "

Yet, she has not even offered to pay for any services either and statesthat

there are no Amerigroup Providers in my area to do the service of speech

therapy. I thought BCW was supposed to pay for services? What if I did not have

insurance? And besides, just like the school system, I do not have to let BCW

use my son's insurance, do I? Whatif my son were already using his two sessions

per week at another ST, which he soon will be? I thought BCW " had " to fund

" appropriate services " . Does something sound wrong with all of this to ya'll?

[Guest guest]

My twin grand sons were served by BCW here in Georgia several years ago. I

have been a part of their stake holder's meeting as well.

You might try to contact Moss, Part C Coordinator-BCW

404.657.2721 or 888.651.8224

Her email is _skmoss@..._ (mailto:skmoss@...)

You might find more information on their web site.

_http://health.state.ga.us/programs/bcw/_

(http://health.state.ga.us/programs/bcw/)

I am not 100% certain Ms. Moss is still with BCW, but the phone numbers are

for the main BCW offices in Atlanta.

We live appox 50 miles north of Atlanta & struggle with services. We often

drive 30 miles or more to obtain

services.

Best of luck!

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[Guest guest]

to the original poster- I really hope someone in GEORGIA can help you with this

info. In NJ if I decline a person providing a service- I can ask for another

one- the qualifications and methods used can VARY a little. But a DI/teacher

will be a DI/teacher and yet may have a tiny bit different approach. So maybe if

one was not sounding good- the county will find you someone else EVEN IF THEY

HAVE to go to another organization- outside of their group.

You know your child best..but I want you to be open that SOME (as mine) LOVE to

work with people that come to the house. He has more fun than playing with plain

ol mom everyday! I do fine-motor and speech trials with him- but this " teacher "  

that comes twice a week -he looks forward to- and she gets loads outta him! His

attention span, his fine motor skills and perhaps cognition skills have

improved. You know your son best...but I would let this woman stop by for a

trial. She may not work on speech directly- like mine- but she gets

approximations out of him better than I can!

and our teacher is sooo nice and fun that the speech therapist is now sitting in

on sessions to see and learn what she is doing- so she gets participation from

my son!!

DO NOT sign that form, tell the service coordinator NOT to come- to find you

someone else..SPEECH therapist- if that is what you want and he qualified

for..or another teacher OR give this one a try and still fight for a speech

therapist!!

You may have to take the group to due-proccess/mediation- there are complaint

number and on-line forms they probably gave you --and USE THEM if you aren't

getting cooperation. (I have done this- they weren't giving me speech for a

looong time!- and I cpmplained!!) If you succeed- they will have to pay for a

private speech therapist that you find!

I wish you luck- it is a long road of standing up for our kids rights for as

long time ahead! If you start now- you will be prepared for later!

Iveta

From: DEBORAH ZEMIETRA <dzem@...>

Subject: Re: [ ] Question about Early Intervention (BCW) in

GA.

Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 10:41 AM

I thought they were supposed to pay for outside services if they do not

have any of their own providers available. Your insurance should not be involved

with paying for what the school should be providing. Something does not sound

right , I would not sign anything and would file a complaint ASAP. Do not

absolve them of what they are supposed to be doing and let them take the easy

way out.

[childrensapraxiane t] Question about Early Intervention (BCW) in GA.

Recently my 2 year-old son had a BCW evaluation and was determined eligible

based solely on his severe apraxia.

BCW offered me a special education teacher who had little to no experience with

apraxic kids and she was not a speech therapist. After about 45 minutes with her

on the phone, I quickly realized that she was going to just " play " with my child

on a limited service basis every week or I think twice a month. The knoledge and

the service that she was bringing to the table was significantly less, if you

even call that service (?), than what I give my son and less than optimal.

I decline to have " her " come out because I felt that bad service was worse than

no service. (Kinda like offering me an orthopedic surgeon for a cardiology

problem.)

Yesterday, I received a phonecall from the service coordinator wantng to dash up

here (she's an hour away) to get me to sign " a decline for services " . (I do not

wish to declineappropriate service, but I only wish to decline inappropriate

service.)Her persistence led me to believe that if I signed that form, then she

and BCW was relieved of obligation to help me, but he persistence made me feel

that I " had " to sign that form. I told her I was getting ready to go out of town

and would be leaving Wednesday and se was insistant on coming (my schedule is

really full with appointments and I felt I did not need to do that action so

hastily. Something felt wrong.) I made an appt. with her for when I come

back,but now I am beginning to wonder.

Is she asking me to do something that I should not do? And shouldn't I file a

complaint with BCW that they have offered me an inappropriate service? I never

even received a matrix list of speech providers at all. She simply stated,

" There are no speech therapists in this area that we have, and I cannot make

someone come to Toccoa. "

Yet, she has not even offered to pay for any services either and statesthat

there are no Amerigroup Providers in my area to do the service of speech

therapy. I thought BCW was supposed to pay for services? What if I did not have

insurance? And besides, just like the school system, I do not have to let BCW

use my son's insurance, do I? Whatif my son were already using his two sessions

per week at another ST, which he soon will be? I thought BCW " had " to fund

" appropriate services " . Does something sound wrong with all of this to ya'll?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I am not from Ga. But from NH. My nephew who is two (March) receives our local

Early Intervention services . When he first was enrolle dint he program he was

receiving OT and Pt . When he no longer required those services due to he was

making good progress with reaching  the milestones late but now has caught up in

those areas. Then they decided he qualified for St services they told my sister

they did not have a ST on staff currently. They contracted with our local 

hospitals rehabiltation dept for a speech therapist. My nephews medicaid covers

the therapy. My sister pays nothing out of pocket. The services are arranged

through EI. My sister also was having  a lot of trouble with the coordinator and

decided to tell him that she no longer wanted to work with him. My nephew is

still receiving ST through EI although the therapist is a private one.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jeanne

NH

From: DEBORAH ZEMIETRA <dzemembarqmail (DOT) com>

Subject: Re: [childrensapraxiane t] Question about Early Intervention (BCW) in

GA.

@groups. com

Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 10:41 AM

I thought they were supposed to pay for outside services if they do not have any

of their own providers available. Your insurance should not be involved with

paying for what the school should be providing. Something does not sound right ,

I would not sign anything and would file a complaint ASAP. Do not absolve them

of what they are supposed to be doing and let them take the easy way out.

[childrensapraxiane t] Question about Early Intervention (BCW) in GA.

Recently my 2 year-old son had a BCW evaluation and was determined eligible

based solely on his severe apraxia.

BCW offered me a special education teacher who had little to no experience with

apraxic kids and she was not a speech therapist. After about 45 minutes with her

on the phone, I quickly realized that she was going to just " play " with my child

on a limited service basis every week or I think twice a month. The knoledge and

the service that she was bringing to the table was significantly less, if you

even call that service (?), than what I give my son and less than optimal.

I decline to have " her " come out because I felt that bad service was worse than

no service. (Kinda like offering me an orthopedic surgeon for a cardiology

problem.)

Yesterday, I received a phonecall from the service coordinator wantng to dash up

here (she's an hour away) to get me to sign " a decline for services " . (I do not

wish to declineappropriate service, but I only wish to decline inappropriate

service.)Her persistence led me to believe that if I signed that form, then she

and BCW was relieved of obligation to help me, but he persistence made me feel

that I " had " to sign that form. I told her I was getting ready to go out of town

and would be leaving Wednesday and se was insistant on coming (my schedule is

really full with appointments and I felt I did not need to do that action so

hastily. Something felt wrong.) I made an appt. with her for when I come

back,but now I am beginning to wonder.

Is she asking me to do something that I should not do? And shouldn't I file a

complaint with BCW that they have offered me an inappropriate service? I never

even received a matrix list of speech providers at all. She simply stated,

" There are no speech therapists in this area that we have, and I cannot make

someone come to Toccoa. "

Yet, she has not even offered to pay for any services either and statesthat

there are no Amerigroup Providers in my area to do the service of speech

therapy. I thought BCW was supposed to pay for services? What if I did not have

insurance? And besides, just like the school system, I do not have to let BCW

use my son's insurance, do I? Whatif my son were already using his two sessions

per week at another ST, which he soon will be? I thought BCW " had " to fund

" appropriate services " . Does something sound wrong with all of this to ya'll?