Help Keep Medicaid Benefits For Our Kids
Congress vs. Medicaid: Make Your Case
From a Parent
| Tell Congress How Medicaid Values People | |
| The MVP 20,000 Challenge: ANCOR Members to Send 20,000 Contacts to Capitol Hill by December 23 | |
| The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (a.k.a. the “Super Committee”) has been charged with cutting $1.2 to $1.5 trillion from the deficit over 10 years and must propose specific federal spending cuts by November 23. Entitlements, especially Medicaid, and other disability discretionary spending are marked with targets for the Super Committee to slash. (about the committee) Following the November 23 proposal, Congress must take a vote by December 23 on whether to implement the Super Committee’s recommendations.
To win this battle, we must show that Medicaid is not just a number on a ledger to be slashed, but is an essential part of the lives of people in every community across America. We must challenge our elected leaders to respond not to the “prize” of billions cut from a budget, but to the human stories we know all too well. This is the time for each of us to reach out to our networks—providers, individuals with disabilities, Direct Support Professionals, families, donors and other allies—and enlist their support in making the case that Medicaid Values People (MVP). How? Personalize a letter to your member of Congress. ANCOR is challenging its members, Direct Support Professionals, and individuals with disabilities and their families to send 20,000 messages to Congress by December 23. This is your first opportunity to makes steps toward that goal. Use the letter below to talk about Medicaid. Personalize and be specific! Members of Congress have asked that ANCOR members talk about what cuts would mean to individuals with disabilities access to services and the job loss that would befall your community. Send the message that Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of individuals with disabilities, and cuts would result in less jobs and spending right in your state and Congressional district. Make sure the country knows how close to home Medicaid is. Our Message Medicaid funds make possible vital, life-transforming supports and services to people with disabilities. Cutting these funds will have devastating effects on individuals with disabilities, their families and their local economies. |
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Olivia Pilgrim will graduate First Step’s Preschool program and enter public kindergarten in the fall of this year. She is active and happy and is anxious to start school. However, the first five years of her life have been a real challenge.
Olivia was born with a heart defect and had her first open-heart surgery when she was one week old. She was also born with DiGeorge Syndrome, a rare congenital disease that affects an infant’s immune system. She has no thyroid or parathyroid glands. In addition, she has scoliosis.
At 18 months, Olivia was still not walking. We took an aggressive approach to her treatment and upon our pediatrician’s referral placed her in the First Step program. In addition to being a part of First Step’s Preschool program, Olivia has received physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy at First Step. Olivia underwent her second open-heart surgery at three years of age and because of the scoliosis has to have a surgical procedure on her back every six months.
Olivia was a full-term baby and weighed 7lbs-11 oz. at birth. We did not expect any problems, and it was a shock when, just after birth, she had to be put on oxygen. Within hours she was med-flighted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. We didn’t know what to do.
Medicaid has seen us through the last five years. We don’t know what we would have done without it. Today, Olivia still has some delays, but she is so much farther along than we ever thought she would be. Please contact our President, Senators, and Representatives and ask them not to make cuts in the Medicaid program. There are other children out there just like Olivia, and I hate to think where they would be without the help of Medicaid.
— Amber Pilgrim, Olivia’s mother
Way to Go First Step…by Suzie Downen
Recently, I was invited to the Ardmore Complex for a Birthday Party for one of your clients and my relative. I was so impressed with their teamwork between staff and clients. I used to be the case manager there and really enjoyed visiting the staff and clients. The group appeared so happy and shared in responsibilities for party and clean-up. Had most enjoyable time. Smiles were everywhere. Kathy Betz should be very pleased. I know I was impressed with their most impressive respect of others. I left the party with such a great feeling and just wanted administration to know that On Our Own has a great Case Manager in Amanda Patrick. Her Direct Care Janie Smith has a great relationship with her clients as well. Way to go Ladies!
A Story of One Man’s Triumph
On Monday, July 19, 2010, David Allen Williams began a new job. It wasn’t just any new job, it was his first job. Congratulations David, but why does this make the news? “If you could have seen from where he came, you would be totally amazed!” said Brett Chancellor, Operations Director at First Step’s Petty Center in Malvern. “When I first saw David, he was nonverbal, made no eye contact, and gave only minimal indications of his needs and wants.”
David, now 35, has a form of autism spectrum disorder, a term used to describe one of many different sensory disorders. When an individual has trouble processing information received from one or more of his/her senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) he or she is said to have a sensory disorder. Although autism is the most common and most pervasive sensory disorder, and the numbers of children diagnosed with autism is on the rise, little is known about its cause and treatment. A person with autism may indeed be extremely intelligent, but something short circuits the information received by the brain and does not allow the brain center to process it accurately.
David’s story began in 1978, when he entered preschool at First Step’s Petty Center in Malvern. “David came to us when he was about three years old,” said Linda Kemp, First Step Associate Executive Director. Susan Smoke, another First Step staffer, remembered David’s early years, “He was a beautiful child with brown hair and big brown eyes. He was nonverbal but very observant. He would stand and watch the children play but was very tentative about joining in.” David’s early classroom instructors were Jan Kirk and Hester Hopkins who spent a great deal of time with him, singing songs and teaching him to sign the ABC’s. Even with regular speech therapy his instructors never heard David speak. First Step continued to serve David after he began public school. His teacher, Martha Hurst, reported that he would walk around with his head down and his eyes narrowed to slits or closed altogether. He did begin speaking in short phrases, but would only talk to certain people and kept to himself. His family moved to Hot Springs and upon graduation, David was admitted to First Step’s Hot Springs Adult Development program and remained there for several years. In 2003, his family moved to Bismarck and David transferred back to the Petty Center. With the smaller adult population at the Malvern center, David began to open up and talk to more consumers and staff. He became friends with another male consumer who did not talk much and was difficult to understand. Staff observed them sitting together and laughing.
When David told Linda Kemp that he wanted to live in one of First Step’s adult apartments, she couldn’t believe her ears. “I knew I needed a witness for this one,” said Kemp. “Before I left to find someone, I told David that I was going to bring in a person to confirm what he had told me. I told him to speak up and talk plainly so that the witness could understand what he was saying. I came back with Debbie Meeks, Adult Development Supervisor. I asked, ‘David, do you want to live in an apartment?’ He answered me loud and clear. ‘“Yes,” he said, “I want to live in an apartment.”’
Chancellor remembers, “David had no social skills and was considered nonverbal. After moving into the apartment, he stayed to himself. When anyone entered, David would run to the bathroom and lock the door. Once, when I was with him, David stayed locked in the bathroom for two hours, screaming incoherent words at the top of his lungs. I finally talked him out, and he calmed down a little. That was a pretty tough one.”
Chancellor continued, “About a year ago, different staff members began commenting to me about the words they had heard David say. Our maintenance staff even mentioned things he had said to them. That’s when I began to take notice of the change in David. I had never heard him say anything, and all these people were telling me what they had heard. I’ll never forget the first time I heard David speak. We had taken the group of adults to a local fast-food restaurant, and David was sitting next to me. We had been there a while, and the group was having a great time. Johnny Brown (not his real name) is the class clown. He’s always having a good time and trying to make the others laugh. Well, out of the blue, David turned to me and said ‘Johnny Brown’s gettin’ on my nerves.’ I just about passed out, but I held it together long enough to comment, ‘Well, he’s kind of getting on my nerves, too.’ At that point, I knew David’s life was changing in a major way, and that change was for the better.”
Just a few weeks ago, Chancellor was standing in the hall of the Petty Center’s adult development facility, “David came up to me and said, ‘I want a job. Can you get me a job?’ I couldn’t imagine that was even a remote possibility, but I thought that if David wanted to work, we would find him a job. We arranged for David to assist the janitorial staff at the center as part of First Step’s Supported Employment program. When he heard the news, David was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to start to work. “
The weekend before David was to begin work, Chancellor and other staff took the group on a trip to Branson and the Silver Dollar City theme park. While waiting in line at one of the rides, the operator turned and asked David, “Are you excited?” meaning, of course, about the prospects of the ride. David said, “Yep. Got a job; start Monday. I’m excited.” That evening the group ate at a Branson restaurant. Chancellor said he was prepared to order David’s meal for him, but when the server came to David, he looked up and said, “I want a rib eye, medium well, and a baked potato.” “I couldn’t believe it,” said Chancellor. “I just couldn’t believe it! That was more than we were prepared to spend, but I thought if David could order a rib eye, I was going to buy him a rib eye.
Now, we’re back to where this article started. Chancellor said, “David started work this morning. He’s part of our Supported Employment program, working as a janitor’s assistant at the Petty Center. This first day, he’ll only work for an hour, we don’t want to overwhelm or stress him. He’s got the vacuum, and he’s running it around the baseboards of our hall areas, zapping bugs and dust and such. It’s a bright day here at the Petty Center! One of the women in my office has been crying all day.” After a laugh, Chancellor said, “I may have to send her home; she’s so overjoyed with David’s success. We’re all just amazed and thrilled.” After starting his new job, David has shown progress almost daily. He now speaks to just about every co-worker and others he meets in the hall and is engaging them in a meaningful conversation. According to Chancellor, “He’s a long, long way from the boy who would not speak or even look at anyone.”
The life of David Allen Williams is not the only success story at First Step. There are many others, but to be honest, not every story is one of such accomplishment. Sometimes we have to look through many dark clouds to find one silver lining. This is particularly true for a parent of a child with autism and for those involved in treating children with the disorder. Some children respond quickly and easily; for others, it may take years for a bright spot to appear, and still for others … well, that bright spot has to be diligently sought, and every leaf has to be turned over and over until one learns to appreciate even the smallest accomplishments. The therapists, teachers and staff at First Step are too well acquainted with the search for triumphs, but they are there.
First Step has recently opened the Ann and Nick Tillman Project for Children with Sensory Needs. Teachers, therapists and other workers are trained in a variety of methods and approaches because what works for one may not work for another. This is a cutting-edge project and is the brain child of First Step Executive Director Pam Bland. According to Bland, “The Ann and Nick Tillman Project brings the latest in treatment for children with autism to our service communities. Within a few months, this project will be implemented in all of First Step’s seven service centers. This is the most up-to-date treatment for autistic children, and we are able to offer it right here in our own community.”
First Step’s motto is “Making a Difference in Your Community.” First Step has lived up to this motto once again.
