Child with Autism needs safe sleep
My son Christopher is 3 and diagnosed with autism. He is non-verbal. He doesn't understand how to stay safe at night but understands how to climb child gates, open bathroom doors, turn on the hot water, open locks etc. So to keep him safe we have kept him in a crib in hopes he would learn to start sleeping through the night (he wakes up 2-3 times each night still for some reason). He hasn't learned those things. We are able to lock the kitchen door up high enough he can't get into there but he has siblings that need to be able to access the bathroom in the night so that can not be locked.
He is well past outgrowing the crib. We tried to transition him out of the crib in the past before he knew how to open the lock on the bathroom and that was a complete mess. He had broken his crib so the transition went from slow to immediate. He did not sleep for 2 days. We have tried slower transitions but again to no success because he just wants to jump on beds and has broken 3 cribs, and 3 toddler beds along with one twin sized bed. Now that he knows how to unlock the bathroom door even trying again is not an option.
We spent from March to December trying to work with his therapists (who all agreed he needed a safe sleep bed ASAP), a durable medical equipment provider and our insurance to get my son what is called a "Safe bed." These are beds that are designed for children like him to not only keep them safe at night but to hold up to the abuse that they can dish. Only they come with a steep price tag from $3,600 to $12,000. Insurance coverage seemed to be our only option.
Our insurance has denied the claim because they "don't cover beds" we appealed trying to explain this is not a typical bed but a medically needed bed and I have 2 Drs. 8 therapists and a Nurse Practitioner that work with kids with special needs all agreeing he needs this bed now. Yet 9 months later the verdict is we have lost our final appeal.
My family is already tapped out paying our share of his therapy, paying medical costs the insurance was supposed to pay and then didn't and now this.
I recently learned that one of the beds I have looked at is having a Holiday sale on 2 models. It just so happens one is the model we were looking at. They are also offering sale prices on the accessories needed to make sure it is exactly what he needs (such as stabilizing straps to help make sure it is secure with his jumping, and frame pads for his banging etc...). The bed alone is typically $3,789.29 but if ordered before Christmas we can get the bed and accessories and options we need for $2960.
I have added a little to the fees.
