- L
- R
After being very concerned that our two and half year old was still not talking, we started the process of early intervention therapies. We had speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists in our house five days a week. A few therapists mentioned to us that we should look into Autism.
Our sweet Bentley was diagnosed with Autism just after turning 3 years old. We then began the search for getting him ABA therapy, which the psychologist recommended 30-40 hours a week of! I was a stay-at-home mom at the time, so we spent 5 days a week, driving him 45 minutes away to the closest center that provided ABA therapy services. In December 2018, the company opened up an ABA center that is only 15 minutes away from our house, so Bentley continued doing preschool and ABA therapy four days a week. He has made so much growth over the past year and half! I will never forget the day I picked him last April and the therapist told me, "You aren't going to believe what happened today! Bentley said over a 100 words!" Up until this point, Bentley was mostly non-verbal. In a given day, he might have said 10 words total. He walked up to me at the center and started repeating any word the therapists would tell him to say. Tears were falling from my eyes, as well as every therapist there! The other clients (4-16 years old) where cheering with us as well! At 4.5 years old, I heard my first "I love you" from my handsome Bentley!
Bentley continues to receive ABA therapy 4 days a week, and anyone who knows Bentley can see a huge difference in him. Thankfully our health insurance covers the bulk of these costs, but we are still responsible for paying the daily "specialist" copays for his therapy sessions. We are billed approximately $500 a month for his therapy sessions. My husband is a Park Ranger, and I have since gone back to teaching, which means having to pay for childcare for Bentley's younger sister and twin brother as well as these ABA therapy costs.
We do have a hard time asking for help with these costs. We pay what we can each month, but the monthly invoice makes me sick to my stomach each time a new one comes in. We have applied for grants to help with these costs, but many of the companies are currently putting applications on hold because of lack of funding. I am asking for help to get us caught back up with the copays. The thought of decreasing therapy sessions because of financial reasons is not an option to me. I will do whatever I can to make sure Bentley is receiving what he needs.
Our sweet Bentley was diagnosed with Autism just after turning 3 years old. We then began the search for getting him ABA therapy, which the psychologist recommended 30-40 hours a week of! I was a stay-at-home mom at the time, so we spent 5 days a week, driving him 45 minutes away to the closest center that provided ABA therapy services. In December 2018, the company opened up an ABA center that is only 15 minutes away from our house, so Bentley continued doing preschool and ABA therapy four days a week. He has made so much growth over the past year and half! I will never forget the day I picked him last April and the therapist told me, "You aren't going to believe what happened today! Bentley said over a 100 words!" Up until this point, Bentley was mostly non-verbal. In a given day, he might have said 10 words total. He walked up to me at the center and started repeating any word the therapists would tell him to say. Tears were falling from my eyes, as well as every therapist there! The other clients (4-16 years old) where cheering with us as well! At 4.5 years old, I heard my first "I love you" from my handsome Bentley!
Bentley continues to receive ABA therapy 4 days a week, and anyone who knows Bentley can see a huge difference in him. Thankfully our health insurance covers the bulk of these costs, but we are still responsible for paying the daily "specialist" copays for his therapy sessions. We are billed approximately $500 a month for his therapy sessions. My husband is a Park Ranger, and I have since gone back to teaching, which means having to pay for childcare for Bentley's younger sister and twin brother as well as these ABA therapy costs.
We do have a hard time asking for help with these costs. We pay what we can each month, but the monthly invoice makes me sick to my stomach each time a new one comes in. We have applied for grants to help with these costs, but many of the companies are currently putting applications on hold because of lack of funding. I am asking for help to get us caught back up with the copays. The thought of decreasing therapy sessions because of financial reasons is not an option to me. I will do whatever I can to make sure Bentley is receiving what he needs.