You all are effing amazing!
I'm a middle school reading teacher & I love what I do. I have to work, for my own sanity. Yes, I do behavioral training 24/7 with my teenagers at school (whom I absolutely love) and with my own kid at home. I have a doctorate in my field but I chose to stay in the K-12 classroom due to work/life balance & being able to live near family to help with our son. Spouse works at a community college in IT. We both have enjoyable jobs and pretty family-friendly schedules.
Yes, we have had our son in the Early Development Network since he was 2 & in public preschool since a week after his third birthday. His teachers are my heroes.
Can you qualify for SSI or Medicaid without income limitations? We max out 2 403b accounts & 1 457 account, plus my public employee pension. Our total taxable income is roughly $40,000 annually after retirement, pre-tax savings & pre-tax deductions. I always had the (perhaps erroneous) understanding that our income was too high to qualify for SSI or Medicaid programs.
To all: have you heard the ChooseFI podcast on setting up a Special Needs trust? It was very insightful, but wow there's a lot to digest. I'd love to discuss it with those who want to know more & I'm sure there are many here who know more than I do.
I live in Lincoln, Nebraska. So far, I've resisted joining the ASD family network, mostly due to my own social insecurities. What has everyone's experiences been with joining condition-specific support groups, or family outreach groups in general?
Finally, I'll end with a few more questions for all of you:
In what ways, if any, having a special needs child affect your decision to have more children? Spouse and I are 36 (me) & 37 (him). If parenting had taught me anything, it's that so much is beyond my control. And our son's needs have genuinely affected our viewpoint on having other children. Basically, to keep our marriage functional, we need to stop with our son.
How do you deal with pitying and/or know it all comments from well-meaning but uninformed family members? I turn into an angry mama bear whenever anyone makes the comment that I'm "brave" for having a special needs child. It's just how my kid is. Yes, there was a definite mourning period when I realized that my version of parenthood wasn't going to turn out like I thought. But he's my kid, I love him & he's our little person, end of story. Take your pity & shove it, at least that's what I want to say but I don't.