worried my young children will be addicts as well

[Roxona]

There is an answer. We need better and more affordable treatment programs.

Rehab for my son cost $25,000. J has insurance coverage through his dad and his step-dad. Dad has BCBS and it paid for all of his treatment. Step-dad had UHC and it would pay for virtually none of it. I am so thankful J's dad has continued to cover him even though he is an adult. Without it we could have never afforded to send J to rehab.

We have an epidemic. However, instead of dealing with it, the world has decided to turn look the other way and pretend it isn't their problem.

 

[InsaneCdn]

We have an epidemic. However, instead of dealing with it, the world has decided to turn look the other way and pretend it isn't their problem.

We have multiple epidemics. Substance abuse/addiction is only one of them.

Mental health is another.
And then there are the developmental disorders.

And yes, for all of them, the answer currently is to look the other way and pretend the problem doesn't exist.

 

[A dad]

No the solution is way smaller bureaucracy so more very kind and altruistic people can help and stop the epidemics that is the solution. If the state enters more problems will appear because of way to many rules that get people to be scared to do their job.

 

[InsaneCdn]

so more very kind and altruistic people can help and stop the epidemics that is the solution

If you can tell me where in North America these people actually exist, I would like to know.

In reality, unless you have an incredible extended family... NOBODY helps families with complex, multiply-challenged kids especially if there are mental health or development disorders.

 

[A dad]

If you can tell me where in North America these people actually exist, I would like to know.

In reality, unless you have an incredible extended family... NOBODY helps families with complex, multiply-challenged kids especially if there are mental health or development disorders.

What about those countless non profit organisations that are in USA and Canada and who knows maybe in Mexico also maybe doubt it but who knows.

 

[InsaneCdn]

If I had a kid on the Autism Spectrum ... and NOTHING else... There are a couple of good organizations where I live. If I had a kid with cerebral palsy, or missing a limb, or Down's Syndrome... lots of help. These are photogenic kids - the kinds of situations where people look good for and feel good about helping.

A kid who is "a mess"? It's the parents' fault. ALWAYS. Therefore, NO help.

 

[Copabanana]

What about those countless non profit organisations that are in USA and Canada and who knows maybe in Mexico also maybe doubt it but who knows.

These are either money making operations (even fronts, with no services offered what so ever) or there is some agenda, typically where the ticket to ride is to accept a religious worldview. Often times who is helped is the giver, not the recipient.

I found that the best source of "support" was the school system because they were bound by a legally enforceable contract, the IEP.

My son receives services (when he is open to them) from governmental agencies, like community mental health, and he receives a stipend from the government, SSI. Without these I do not know what he or we would do.

I believe that without a government that sees health care and public welfare as basic rights, the more vulnerable among us as Donald Trump says, die on the street.

But here I am verging on the political which is prohibited here.

COPA

 

[InsaneCdn]

We got almost nothing from the school system. A tiny bit from the mental health system - part of which was detrimental, part of which helped.

We have some good NGOs here - true do-gooder organizations that have a genuine focus on helping a particular cause. Down's syndrome, for example. They really do good things for and with these kids. Without a separate agenda. What the do-gooders get from what they put in, is that they ARE SEEN as really good do-gooders. Lots of approval and appreciation and pats on the back. Some use their work in these organizations to build political contacts for later use; most of us don't mind this either as long as they keep politics out of their do-gooder activities.

But if your needs can't be met by a single-cause organization... there is nothing.

 

[Copabanana]

But if your needs can't be met by a single-cause organization... there is nothing.

I sure am glad there is here.

COPA

 

[BusynMember]

Chsritable organizations, the few we have in the u.s., are often chuch based with no real understanding of our kids. I found little else, other than school interventions, to help my son. Thank god for them.
The fact is good samaratins cant help our kids. Medical professionals and facilities are their best hope and we have precious little of them.
That is why so many disabled adults are on the streets. There are few cost effective helpful options, at least in the U.S.
Our jails are caring for our mentally ill, brain damaged, and other complex disabled adults who cant or wont live at home.
The situation is beyond critical. Shame on us for not offering safe, inexpensive options for our most vulnerable citizens. Shame on us for giving money to millionaires yet letting our most needy suffer.

 

[InsaneCdn]

That is why so many disabled adults are on the streets. There are few cost effective helpful options, at least in the U.S.

Make that "at least in North America".

Our jails are caring for our mentally ill, brain damaged, and other complex disabled adults who cant or wont live at home.

Ditto here.

The situation is beyond critical. Shame on us for not offering safe, inexpensive options for our most vulnerable citizens

This is the challenge, though.
Inexpensive options? I'm not aware of very many proposed solutions that are not expensive. They may be less expensive than using the jails to deal with the problem, but... there is a definite cost.
The next challenge is "rights". We are not ALLOWED to lock up our mentally ill family members who do not want treatment. We can't force them to do anything. So we can provide all sorts of options and open doors, but ... often even where they exist they do not get used because of mistrust.

Unfortunately, there are no good answers right now.

 

[Copabanana]

With the seeming liberalization of the electorates in several countries *Canada and Britain, and the US, this may change a bit. I hope so.

This is the first time in my voting life that I see this here in the States. A demand by a large swath of the people for candidates to speak to health care, justice, peace, racism, systemic abuse of the vulnerable.

Even the academy awards dealt with it to some extent.

COPA

 

[InsaneCdn]

** this is not a political statement **

Our current Prime Minister is no stranger to mental illness. He grew up with it, his mother fought it for years. He has more natural insight than most. He does know that his profile enables him to help reduce stigma. Which is the first step to changing how things work for the mentally ill.

 

[Roxona]

We got almost nothing from the school system.

Good help via the school system is out there. It's just not everywhere. J spent all of his elementary and part of his middle school career in Texas, and the help we received from the school was phenomenal. I didn't realized it then. When I look back on those years, I was so hard on all of his teachers because I always expected more...demanded more...

Then we moved to New Mexico...all they do here is jettison the special needs kids out a side door. We had one really very exceptional teacher who advised J his last two years of high school. She got J her very first year as a teacher...she's leaving the Special Education program after only three years as a teacher. It was a huge disappointment on all sides of the fence for her.

Many days I wish I had never left Texas...hindsight is a "female dog".

 

[InsaneCdn]

Good help via the school system is out there

In our (forsaken) corner of Canada, there IS good help, too... as long as you don't have too long a list of challenges, and as long as you have one single primary "driver" diagnosis. Asperger's? sure, we know what to do for that. Ditto... a couple dozen diagnoses. Ten diagnoses of which seven don't overlap, and no one single diagnosis is the driver? Sorry. If he isn't severe enough to have a "driver" diagnosis, then he doesn't need help. <end of discussion> In 14 years of school, we had a total of TWO teachers who understood even PART of it and truly did their best to help, and they were not classroom teachers. Add in one vice principal. And one "technical" teacher (practical arts area).

Hindsight. If I could have home-schooled. But we needed my income (living in a LARGE city at that point). And there were very few resources out there for on-line at the elementary level - lots more now. And how do you do enrichment for a hands-on learner without having access to things like technical classes? And I'm NOT a teacher type. But... school was toxic. Totally toxic.

Post script: The US has one advantage, in general, over Canada. And that is an IEP process that has some kind of teeth. We have a process, alright. Just no teeth.

 

[BusynMember]

In our (forsaken) corner of Canada, there IS good help, too... as long as you don't have too long a list of challenges, and as long as you have one single primary "driver" diagnosis. Asperger's? sure, we know what to do for that. Ditto... a couple dozen diagnoses. Ten diagnoses of which seven don't overlap, and no one single diagnosis is the driver? Sorry. If he isn't severe enough to have a "driver" diagnosis, then he doesn't need help. <end of discussion> In 14 years of school, we had a total of TWO teachers who understood even PART of it and truly did their best to help, and they were not classroom teachers. Add in one vice principal. And one "technical" teacher (practical arts area).

Hindsight. If I could have home-schooled. But we needed my income (living in a LARGE city at that point). And there were very few resources out there for on-line at the elementary level - lots more now. And how do you do enrichment for a hands-on learner without having access to things like technical classes? And I'm NOT a teacher type. But... school was toxic. Totally toxic.

Post script: The US has one advantage, in general, over Canada. And that is an IEP process that has some kind of teeth. We have a process, alright. Just no teeth.