Planning ahead seems daunting – but if you take it step by step, it is really not so bad! First you organize, then you decide what you want, and then you sign the appropriate documents. Get Organized! Below are some specific strategies for gathering and keeping the information you need to make a thorough plan. If you don't gather this information, it can take weeks if not months for someone else to make sense of your organizational system (or lack of a system). Some of this information you need to make a plan and some of this information you will…
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Across the country, according to U.S. Census figures, 20 percent of adults below age 65 have developmental or physical disabilities – and almost 70 percent of the families of special needs adults in a recent MetLife survey said they worried about their offspring's future. The Alta California Regional Center, which serves 18,250 people with developmental disabilities in 10 counties, has about 5,000 adult clients who still live at home with their parents, just as Jessica and Lori do. "And every one of those clients will age," said Phil Bonnet, the regional center's executive director. "People who grew up in our…
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As children with disabilities enter adulthood, more parents are joining forces to create independent housing that is more "home" than "facility." Baruch and Joyce Schur were out of options. They couldn't find anywhere for their physically and intellectually disabled 26-year-old son to live, at least nowhere that met their criteria or didn't have a years-long waiting list. The 55-year-old couple made plans to move out of state. Uprooting themselves from their native Chicago and leaving friends and a family business was the only way to give Josh a home – not an institution – that offered independence, a kosher kitchen,…
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For too long, too many hard working Americans paid the price for policies that handed free rein to insurance companies and put barriers between patients and their doctors. The Affordable Care Act gives hard-working families the security they deserve. The new health care law forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition. And it includes substantial new benefits for Americans living with disabilities.If you’re living with a disability, private health…
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Depression is a common problem in seniors, but it is rarely diagnosed. Even though those over the age of 65 account for 16 to 25 percent of all suicides in the country, there is very little treatment or services geared towards seniors. How can you make sure your aging parent isn’t in danger? Some Common Causes of Senior Depression Adapting to a move from home to an apartment or retirement facility. Chronic pain. Feelings of isolation or loneliness as children move away and their spouse and close friends die. Loss of independence (problems getting around, caring…
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Until the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), the only health care coverage available to persons with disabilities was Medicare or Medicaid. For persons with disabilities who have a limited work history, unless they became disabled before age 22 and later qualified for Medicare upon the worker parent’s retirement, disability or death, Medicaid has been the only available source of health care coverage. Consequently, the ACA eliminates the option for health insurance companies to deny coverage for a preexisting condition. Therefore, the new health insurance provides options for people with disabilities. Since September 23, 2010, health insurance…
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