Posted on Sep 18, 2007 7:48 PM
Hi, you were both awesome and inspiring today on Oprah's show. I am the mother of a 5 year old boy with autism and he is making great progress through all of the therapie I have found that work. My problems come in the form of paying for these therapies, they are very expensive to maintain. My husband and I recently separated and I am struggling to take care of my son and find a way to keep paying for his therapies. We live in South Florida and I have him on Medicaid which thankfully pays for his Speech and OT but I have to pay for his ABA therapy and horse therapy and swimming therapy and music therapy. Right now I can't even pay my bills nevermind his therapies, his father is broke and has no money, my mother-in-law and my parents have been trying to help but they are running out of money, and my house is mortgaged to beyond what it is worth in today's market. I meet a lot of parents down here who would love to do more for their kids and give them more therapies but they can't afford it. I can't work a normal full time job because I pick my son up from school at 2pm and I run him around all afternoon to his different therapies. Most of the Autism organizations I have looked into raise money for research and I can't find any that directly help the families afford the therapies for their kids. I have just started looking into trying to start a non-profit organization that will raise money to help pay for therapies for the families down here. Even maybe like a sponsor a child's therapy program. As I am looking into starting this endeavor I see that it is going to take a lot of work. I was wondering if you had any advice for me in starting this type of organization or advice on how to keep paying for these extra therapies that I know have made a difference for my son. He is awesome! I also related to your story Jenny about feelilng alone after your husband left and feeling like you were never going to meet anyone who could love you and your son. That is how I feel right now and hearing how you have met someone and are happy has given me hope. Thank you for that.
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