If you live in VA or MD the commute to DC for work might not be as bad as you think if you live near bus-stops and/or the metro.

CNMC has annexes in VA and MD for outpatient treatment. INOVA Fairfax has a children's hospital, but I have no idea if it would meet your needs or not.

I have a 4-1/2 year old who is nonverbal and not walking. We live in Shaw and she attends St. C and we are very happy. It all depends on what you think is a good fit. Would I love an inclusion program? Yes. But she is medically complex and they have an awesome nursing staff and the AT specialist can't be beat. The entire staff is wonderful. Plus as you mention HSCSN means zero medical costs which can't be underestimated.

OP here - we got into the DC Medicaid waiver program (health services for children with special needs) very easily when my daughter was 9 months old but she had suffered a severe brain injury so there was never an issue of proving her needs. We did not pay a cent for health care once we were in - all copays were covered as was equipment our insurance denied (a rant for another day). We ended up in the hospital for three weeks out of state and HSCSN still covered our copays. This is one of the things that pulls me back to DC. Other states just have different types of waivers and waiting lists and I always hear people complaining. I worry we will have less support, and perhaps we should prioritize the medical as a pp suggested.

We probably will have to wait a while to better understand our daughter's cognitive skills, and while I certainly don't want to underestimate her, we are realistic. I don't know what schools do with kids like her all day long, but I certainly don't want her just sitting in the corner being an afterthought in a mainstream school. (I've even considered that we may not send her to school at all, actually, but that's more because the slightest cold can land her in the hospital, so we'll see.)

Maybe we should move to DC. In MD, we are on a waitlist for Medicaid but it is long (8 years). How long did it take to get approved in DC (after you were notified that you met the eligibility requirements)? We live in close in Montgomery County and are already paying for private school. Just wondering if we would we better off living in DC, i.e., would we qualify for an additional aide through Medicaid?

We are sending her to school and paying for an aide (we use our au pair at school with her and use up most of our week's hours). She seems to be cognitively age appropriate and she is in a regular kindergarten class and doing okay/pretty happy but needs one on one help. My child's condition caused severe physical disabilities and speech issues at age 4. We have her in a small kindergarten class (10 kids). Has anyone left MD for DC b/c of the Medicaid waiver and its benefits?

Oh more thoughts...the DC waiver will also pay for a person to come to your home each school day to help your daughter with her morning routines. Very helpful if you have other kids you need to get off to school. I would talk to other DC parents on DCspecialkids yahoo group.

There is currently no waiting list for the waiver in DC. Fro my conversations with those in VA and MD the DC waiver provides more services and benefits. VA and MD also have years long wait lists. DC schools aren't very good but if your daughter is only four maybe you need the medical side covered than the education side. The neighborhood near St. Coletta's isn't too pricy if you think it may be a good fit for her.

Anonymous wrote:Note on SWS - wonderful school, but it's admission by lottery only. It would be a perfect fit for my child, but I unfortunately didn't get lucky and there's no preference for need. I wouldn't move anywhere in DC with hopes of attending any school that was lottery-based.

Not true. If your child needs one of the specialized programs there -- medically fragile or autism -- they can be placed there through the IEP team.

Note on SWS - wonderful school, but it's admission by lottery only. It would be a perfect fit for my child, but I unfortunately didn't get lucky and there's no preference for need. I wouldn't move anywhere in DC with hopes of attending any school that was lottery-based.

Any condo buildings in the Chevy Chase/Bethesda/No Bethesda/SS area that a family with a child that uses a walker and crawls (6 year old) has discovered? We are in a split level house and it's not working for her to be independent. We like the area but don't know if we can afford to stay. We have no idea how much it would cost to gut our split level to make it accessible? It is a 1957 on a small lot, no garage. 3 bedrooms upstairs and 1 on the lower level. Welcome any thoughts. Just starting to think about moving. In MD, the waiting list for Medicaid for physical disabilities is long. My child was approved but put on a waitlist for coverage and told it would take 7 to 8 years to advance.

Anonymous wrote:Just an FYI, there are some agencies that will loan and/or give you a ramp if you need it for your front steps. Check out Lollipop Kids Foundation. I was able to find a ramp for a family that I worked with. The foundation is in MOCO but not sure if you need to live in the county to use them.

MOCO has some good programs. There is an AAC classroom. There is also a physical disabilities program, PEP classes, etc.

You may find some ramblers in the 20814 zip code
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5411-Linden-Ct_Bethesda_MD_20814_M62648-41221?row=3

Or in 20902 (Silver Spring) or maybe Kensington. Those areas would be decent for a commute into DC (though not ideal).

A ramp can only have a certain slope to be viable for a wheelchair. A portable ramp can only handle two-three steps.

Anonymous wrote:I'd look in south Alexandria off the parkway: waynewood, hollin hall, Stratford, etc. Better services, tons of one level houses, great Fairfax co schools, close to Fairfax hospital, not too far from children's or SW. As a family that recently moved from NW to Alexandria, I wouldn't even consider dc. There's no comparison

This was my thought as well (living in Fairfax with closeness to FFX Inova). You'll have a great pediatric ER, and they can coordinate care with Children's if needed. Options for good neighborhoods in Fairfax County with access to FCPS resources. Reasonable commute to SW DC.

I'd look in south Alexandria off the parkway: waynewood, hollin hall, Stratford, etc. Better services, tons of one level houses, great Fairfax co schools, close to Fairfax hospital, not too far from children's or SW. As a family that recently moved from NW to Alexandria, I wouldn't even consider dc. There's no comparison

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know there are a fair number of older ranch style homes in Arlington as well as where the PP mentioned in FFX County in Alexandria (belle haven? is that where I'm thinking?). The older communities with the 1950's homes tend to have some the older ranches still around. You may find, however, that the doorways are too narrow (in my ranch I cannot carry a laundry basket through the door without brushing my knuckles on the frame) but at least that's not too hard of a fix.

There are a lot of brick ranches in 22205 Arlington.

And in 22307 alexandria/fairfax

OP - You do not indicate what your daughter's cognitive skill levels are and what her need for related therapies in terms of her physical limitations are. I would not necessarily rule out St. Coletta School, especially if you would like to relocate to the city proper. The school is very modern, fully accessible and has all the therapies right at hand. I would at least visit the school and talk to the principal about what you would like to see in your daughter's educational plan. While St. Coletta's does not have a regular education curriculum, it definitely has a curriculum which is child centered and which would not mean a young child seated in her wheel chair all day long. There is a fully accessible playground, spacious classrooms, wonderful adaptive equipment and space to use them such as standers, bean bag chairs, mats etc.

While there should be a strong literacy basis to education, especially in the younger grades to see what students might be able to learn since they do have the speech therapists and assistive technology piece there. It might be a good school base to start out in and to see how your daughter responds to the various therapies which are right there all the time including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and adaptive PE. She is still very young and I think a key piece would be to see which school setting could give her the best communication related therapy - including using technology because she needs to learn to communicate and probably more than what a regular public school setting will offer here. If you request a literacy component in her IEP from the beginning, you would be seeing that she is working on the key skill in learning. (Math facts could wait a year or so.)

One of our daughters worked there as a therapist a while back and she loved the children she worked with, but I will admit the lack of an educational curriculum - reading especially bothered her. A program with a functional skills focus should have this as many students can learn to read over time and even basic reading skills spell the difference between a job later on or not.

Just an FYI, there are some agencies that will loan and/or give you a ramp if you need it for your front steps. Check out Lollipop Kids Foundation. I was able to find a ramp for a family that I worked with. The foundation is in MOCO but not sure if you need to live in the county to use them.

MOCO has some good programs. There is an AAC classroom. There is also a physical disabilities program, PEP classes, etc.

You may find some ramblers in the 20814 zip code
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5411-Linden-Ct_Bethesda_MD_20814_M62648-41221?row=3

Or in 20902 (Silver Spring) or maybe Kensington. Those areas would be decent for a commute into DC (though not ideal).