Any ideas on how to earn extra money from home?

[spanannie]

DS needs occupational therapy (fine motor skills issues). Although we can definitely afford it, DH (D could stand for many things right now) is against it. He says that he thinks it's a crock, but I think it's more the cost that he's against. DS is already in speech therapy at $80/week, and DH thinks that it's pretty useless too.

Anyhow, the OT is $120/hr twice a week. Insurance won't cover a red cent. This means that I need to come up with $1000/mo. I'm not sure how I am going to do this. I definitely don't have that much that I can sell on ebay! I anticipate having him in OT for at least 6 mos. I can't get a job out of the home, since he'd be against that, too. I've got to figure out something, as I'd do anything to give my son what he needs.

Thanks!

[o_mom]

Where do you live? Are there no services available through your school district?

[spanannie]

Austin, TX. I have talked to other moms about this. We would not qualify for their services. I went through ECI before we started speech therapy, and he no longer qualified for that program either. DS's not a severe case in the speech or the OT, but the problems are enough that I think they will affect him in school, long term, if not addressed now. Our income also disqualifies us from many things offered; as I said, we can afford it, my husband just doesn't want to.

Thanks for your input!

[kochh2]

I wanted to second the school system rec. - I have worked in schools, as a PT, and I would not go by what other parents tell you in this case, because the Ot may administer specific tests, and if they don't, you can inquire about standardized tests, and even so, I know there are some children who receive OT outside of school, but not in school but most do get it at both. Pt is a different story, I know more kids who dont qualify for my services in school, but they do at home...
so, I'd say, give a try, and know your special ed law. If your Son is not receiving special ed, check out the 504 laws, which entitle children in regular ed to receive services if needed. Ask your administrator for a PPT and testing/evaluation in Speech and OT and any academic testing you want done. Its a shame when parents know their child has needs, and they seem to fall through the cracks... good luck!

[o_mom]

ECI only covers ages 0-3, after age 3, the local school district is required to provide services. If he has a diagnosed delay they should provide services, regardless of income. Having slight delays in more than one area can qualify you for services, even if each one individually would not. I'm not saying it will be easy, since you will have to apply and work with the school, but it will be vastly cheaper.

For our ECI, the copays start at $5/visit and $10 per month when you reach 350% of poverty (around $64K for a family of four here) and they max out at $20 per vist, or $40 per month.

[spanannie]

I called the office of the school district and they were discouraging. She said that he needs a diagnosed developmental delay or learning disability. According to his speech therapist, she feels that he would fall in the school district's range of "normal". I will have to investigate more.

Thanks!

ETA: I'm currently looking into changing health plans before I get DS's offical eval, so it won't be pre-existing. I'm a medical nightmare, on paper, though, so I don't know if we'll be able to get better coverage without the rates skyrocketing!

[mamato1]

I also want to encourage you to go through your school system. That is what they are there for. I know this is not the question you asked, but I really think you could be throwing your hard earned money away.

I am a school counselor and work in a school and am fairly well versed in special ed law. Admittedly I work in a middle school and don't know much about pre-k. But I would sure be happy to try to answer any questions you might have. I know there are other mamas here who have PT and PT experience who could probably chime in too.

Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/16/04


http://b3.lilypie.com/FnI6m5/.png

[jadamom]

Sorry, I don't know too much about this, but I think I've heard of people doing typing jobs or medical transcription at home. Could you do babysitting or in-home daycare at your house? Tutoring at your house? Making a scrapbook for someone who doesn't have the time or talent for it? Teaching piano lessons or a foreign language? Preparing meals for other families?

[Raidra]

Lydia had really great ideas. I think the point is to find something you like doing and try to make money with it. There are a lot of professional scrapbookers out there that just turned a hobby into a good source of income.

As for the therapy, has he been evaluated by one of the school department's therapists? If it's free, you should get him evaluated even if you don't think he'll qualify. For Colwyn's first assessment for Early Intervention, he didn't qualify for services based on the standard test, but the speech therapist gave him a special test later to help him qualify. At his 6 month followup, he definitely didn't qualify, but she filed a waiver and he got approved. So you might get someone who's willing to go the extra mile to get him to qualify for services.

If you get him evaluated and he doesn't qualify, the therapist may be able to give you ideas of what to do with him to help him progress on your own. At Colwyn's reassessment, we talked about what would happen if he didn't qualify, and our therapist said she'd give us lots of instruction on how to keep him on track with his development.

[spanannie]

Thanks for all of the ideas; they are great.

Fortunately, I think my husband is on my side now (reluctantly, maybe, but he's agreed to the therapy, if the eval. shows that it's necessary). We're going to have the eval. at a private group, after the holiday, and we'll see how that comes back.

He was in ECI when he was younger, and his therapist considered him in the realm of normal, even in regards to these areas (as well as speech, which he was being seen for). I contacted her for her opinion this year, and she thought he was normal. Her definition of "normal" is very different than mine, though. She sees so much worse than I could even imagine. I hear that our public school district is much the same way; I have a friend whose child goes to speech at the same therapist as DS, and she had her son tested by the public school as well. This 4 yr old child is incredibly difficult to understand (even after a yr of speech therapy), and they considered him normal, and would not qualify him for services.

[brittone2]

As you already know, navigating the school system is tricky and much more difficult (from what I've heard/experienced on the other end) than early intervention.

Schools are sooo swamped right now with Autism, ADHD, etc. that it is hard to get them to take more "mild" delays very seriously, unfortunately. I did a small amount of public school system work (mostly did 0-3 early intervention and some work at a special needs preschool), but IIRC they don't have to cover it unless it impacts your child's function in school, and what they consider to be significant enough may be very delayed, unfortunately.

I would start w/ the independent eval. The therapists at a private outpatient clinic may be able to guide you a bit on navigating the school system, as they probably know a lot of the local information from other parents, etc. School districts really vary quite a bit in my experience. You certainly have a right to request a school eval and see if he qualifies.

Another avenue to pursue would be to find out if your school district has a support group for parents of children in special education (which would include kids receiving various therapies). I've seen them spring up in loads of districts now because navigating the school system, and the legal issues, etc. is so difficult for parents. It would be great if you could connect with some other parents that have BTDT and they can help walk you through how your district works, what the challenges are, and the best way to proceed.

I hope you can get some help for your DS. YOu might consider talking with the financial person at the therapy place and see if they can offer you a payment plan, some type of sliding scale, a discount of any type, etc. It never hurts to ask.

HTH.

[spanannie]

Thank you for your insight; it really is helpful.

We are going to go the private therapy route. I would feel wrong asking for sliding scale or a break, since we really can afford this, and there are others who need the financial help worse than us. DH goes to a private preschool, and will probably go to private school, so it would be wrong to try to get a break, in my opinion. My husband is just so shocked by the price, that it makes him not want to get the therapy...that, and the fact that he thinks, well, no one did this when I was growing up...My response to that is: yes, and you always struggled throughout school. It will cost $120/hr 2 times/wk ACK! I will just cut back on other extras, and try to sell more things on ebay, to help offset the costs.

Thanks again!

[brittone2]

Yes, therapy can be very expensive, but there is a lot of overhead. The therapists themselves actually don't make all that much money (figure $30-40ish per hour maybe?). The clinic itself has to make some money, there are administrative fees, there is time needed to document what happened in therapy that day (so an extra period of time in which the facility is paying the therapist to write up notes, etc.), time to write up more detailed evaluations and progress reports as time goes on, insurance costs for the facility itself, equipment, etc. If patients are going through their insurer, the facility spends time on the phone getting visits authorized, billing the insurance company, etc. I just thought I'd explain where the $$ goes...maybe that would help your husband?

You could also possibly ask about whether they'd be willing to treat for 45 mins 2x a week to see if that would lower the cost. They might say that would be enough time although it depends on the child and therapist and the clinic's policy. It would also be a somewhat subtle way of mentioning that this is a bit of a financial strain without asking for a "discount" per se, kwim?

[spanannie]

You make a good point. I would actually do much better to find an occupational therapist that is not part of a group...possibly in their home, don't file insurance, etc. Our speech therapist is like this. We pay $80/hr ($40 each visit, which is 30 min, twice/wk). She operates out of her home, and doesn't file insurance. I feel like she's a great deal. Now, where to find an OT like that...I don't know? I found her through the school. She doesn't know any OTs that operate like her. Maybe I should check the phone book.

I like the 45min 2x week idea, too. I will run that across them. I'm also hoping that we can hit the ground running with 2x week, and then, after school starts, cut back to 1x week. I am going to be running my tires off between OT and ST both twice weekly, gymnastics, soccer, picking kids up from school...at least my DD doesn't have any extracurricular activities yet!

Thanks again!

[brittone2]

You could try calling early intervention (office of mental health/mental retardation in most places, and yes, a terrible misnomer but that's how things are funded usually hence the name). Explain that your DC is now school age but you are looking for an OT that is an independent contractor from their home. You never know, they might know someone...

If your SLP doesn't know any OTs that do this in your area, there truly may not be any. Most therapists do work for a clinic or contract with someone for their services. The phone book may have some leads as you said.

I also agree that decreasing to one time per week depending on progress may be an option as time goes on. You could tell the therapist that you are VERY willing to do specific activities, etc. at home if s/he can demonstrate them for you, etc. Again it all depends on the child and therapist...some kids *need* the reinforcement that 2x a week provides in my experience.

Good luck!

[spanannie]

I am going to look into all of this.

You bring up another good point...I can try to work at home with DS, but I really don't think it's as successful as a therapist working with him. I tried and tried to get him to correctly hold a fork this morning, to no avail. He just wouldn't cooperate. I know, if it were someone else working with him, he'd be responsive. He always cooperates with his speech therapist, and is much less responsive, when I do drills with him. So, 2x week may be more beneficial to him for now.

[brittone2]

Well, I totally agree sometimes kids do much better for someone that isn't a parent. However, as you already know from SLP, the OT can hopefully give you "fun" things to work on...games, etc. that they are doing in therapy that you can carry on with at home. Doing things at home (I know you already realize this) makes a HUGE difference IMO.

Maybe they can just give you a handful of activities each week that are really fun for him to do at home. Anything you can do to reinforce what he's doing in therapy is wonderful :)

You sound like such a caring and involved parent...your new therapist will love you for it I'm sure :)

[spanannie]

Yes, we have "homework" from speech each week, and, as you said, I anticipate him having "homework" from OT also.

Thank you so much for your kind compliment. That means a lot. I just want to do everything in my power to help him succeed in school and life; I feel that a good start at this age is very important to his success later.

[JElaineB]

>I am going to look into all of this.
>
>You bring up another good point...I can try to work at home
>with DS, but I really don't think it's as successful as a
>therapist working with him. I tried and tried to get him to
>correctly hold a fork this morning, to no avail. He just
>wouldn't cooperate. I know, if it were someone else working
>with him, he'd be responsive. He always cooperates with his
>speech therapist, and is much less responsive, when I do
>drills with him. So, 2x week may be more beneficial to him
>for now.

I'm curious as to what is the correct way for your son to be holding his fork? At this age, I don't care if my son is using the American method or the European method, as long as he is getting the food to his mouth! ;-)

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[Lynnie]

You could be a seller on e-bay for other people. I paid someone to sell some of my stuff once, because otherwise it would have just sat there. I dropped it off at her place, and she photographed it, listed it, and shipped it out, then gave me an itemized receipt with all the costs, took her fee out, and gave me the remainder. I think I paid her 20-25% (and covered all of the listing fees and whatnot). Its not a ton of money, but it could be something. (and if you lived near me, I would definitely hire you ... hmmm, you might be near my sister.....)

[spanannie]

He holds it with a fist, much like how he holds a crayon or pencil, which is incorrect. I don't know what you call the proper grip for the fork; I think they call the grip for the pencil three-point. All I know is that he should be holding the fork, like you and I do, and that the majority of his peers naturally do this...even his just turned 2 yr old sister does. I'm sure that Beth might have a better explanation about how the fork should be held by this age.