Imagine

Imagine all the people coming together as one
All to discuss a child that needs them
To collaborate and plan
What's best for that child for the next months
And make sure it gets done
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one!

Imagine no medical insurance
No authorization needed
To get the treatment for a child
No money changing hands
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one!


Yes today we (Annabelle and I) went to a meeting, all in the same room together at the same time, all the people who will be working with Annabelle for the next 6 months.
Physical therapist
Occupational therapist
Speech and language therapist
Pediatrician
Key worker
Portage
Head teacher of her new school
Me and Annabelle
I couldn't believe it! And each took turns in speaking about what they are going to be doing for Annabelle over the next 6 months, and how they can work together to achieve this, and what equipment Annabelle needs. It was wonderful and the pediatrician was right there too, so if any medical tests or referrals were needed she was right to hand. Not like in California it would take months before a report was sent to the pediatrician before we could get him to sign off on things then months for it to be sent back. There was no insurance authorization to wait for. And I didn't have to pay a single penny to any of them not even a co-pay for the doctor!

Simple as this Annabelle needs help with feeding she first needs a supportive feeding chair - OT is organizing chairs, OT and SLT will then observe Annabelle in new chairs (note 1 for school and 1 for home) and then devise best plan for helping Annabelle with feeding.

Then I had a chance to ask any of them any questions or bring up anything that I thought Annabelle needed. Such as Annabelle is in a crib/ cotbed at the moment and the other night she wriggled her foot between the bars and couldn't get herself free she started crying in the middle of the night I had to help her get free and help her get back to sleep. Also now that she can pull herself up to kneeling we are afraid she will tip out of the crib, anyway the OT is coming out on a home visit next week to help us find a solution. Wow I wish things were like this in California!

So the school that we had the meeting at is the pre-school we hope Annabelle will go to in September. She is eligible for 15 hours a weeks preschool at the moment but unfortunately all the spaces are full up until September. Until then we are going to their Smart Start group which is a parent accompanied class, which I am happy about because we both get a chance to settle in and get to know the school and hope the separation anxiety won't be too bad in September for both of us.