Friend of NAA-NY Metroand friend to the Autism Community, theElizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy (EBCALA), is an excitingAutismOneinitiative to provide a voice to the Autism Community on legal/advocacy issues, to educate professionals, and to help families facing legal challenges. Kim Mack Rosenberg, VP and Treasurer of NAA-NY Metro, and an attorney, also is proud to serve on the EBCALA steering committee.
Clickhere to learn more about the work of EBCALA and here to learn more about Elizabeth Birt, a tireless autism advocate, and, among other things, a founder of our national parent, the NAA, who was taken from her family and our community too soon.
There will be a cocktail reception to benefit EBCALA and to honor Mary Coyle, John Gilmore and Robert Krakow for their years of service and dedication to the Autism Community.
Monday, May 3, 2010 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Presentation begins at 7:15 p.m. Cosmopolitan Club 122 East 66th Street (near Lexington Ave.), Manhattan Please reserve your space by April 20th $150 minimum donation* *Donations are tax deductible less $50 per reception ticket
Event Host Committee:Kevin Barry, Lisa Colin, Louis Conte, Daniele Gerard, Louise Habakus, Jimmie and James Holland, Mary Holland, David Kirby, Kim Mack Rosenberg, Lisa Rudley, Sabeeha and Khalid Rehman, and Katie Weisman
“Imagine” was the theme of the 2010 Learning Spring School Benefit. Peggy Becker, NAA-NY Metro Secretary, and Kim Mack Rosenberg, NAA-NY Metro Vice President and Treasurer, attended the March 8, 2010 benefit to show NAA-NY Metro’s support for Learning Spring’s unique program.
Learning Spring imagines creating an environment in which each child’s potential can be realized to the fullest and where each child’s unique needs can be met and unique gifts appreciated. However, Learning Spring does not just “imagine” -- it brings what it imagines to fruition, from the bricks and mortar of building a new, state-of-the-art school building into which the school soon will move to nurturing social and academic success in its students through its integrated curriculum. The latter was evident in the two recent Learning Spring graduates who spoke at the benefit. These young people were poised and articulate, despite standing on stage with a microphone, facing hundreds of adults! Each spoke with great affection and respect for their Learning Spring years and the staff who supported them there. I cannot imagine a finer testament to the school than those graduates. They truly personified the “imagine” theme -- imagine what our kids are capable of!
Kim and Peggy enjoyed the opportunity to meet many Learning Spring staff and families, to chat with Director Margaret Poggi, and to share NAA-NY Metro’s mission with those they met.
Ms. Craner reminded the audience that “time flies and before we know it; our children on the spectrum have suddenly grown up” and that it is critical to plan – and plan early - for “Life After High School.” “In the eyes of the law, anyone who is 18 years old is an adult regardless of any disabilities. The transition from a child to an adult brings with it a whole special set of challenges for the young adult and his or her parents,” she said.
Ms. Craner explained the transition from the educational system to adult services – which, depending at least in part on the type of diploma a student achieves – occurs, at the latest at age 21. Ms. Craner walked the group through the period of transition and discussed how to prepare. While discussing the federal Individuals with Disability Education Act (“IDEA”), she outlined the rights and entitlements of transitioning students. She highlighted the mile posts on this timeline to adulthood and pointed out things that need to be done for a successful transition.
Ms. Craner explained that, “The parents should start to address work and career goal before middle school. If possible, the child should be given an allowance and be taught money management. By the age of 12-14, the student and family should participate in level I vocational assessment. Student should learn about different types of high school diplomas offered in NY State during the middle school years. At the age of 15, transition goals should be part of the IEP and from then on, transition should be discussed at every annual IEP meeting. A valuable gift is the gift of travel training and other transportation options that parents can give to their teenager.”
After leaving the educational system and the protections afforded by the IDEA, a young adult must prove that he is disabled to be eligible for public services. To prove eligibility, records such as IEP documents, psychological and physical evaluations, and disability determinations come in handy. She emphasized the value of good record keeping starting when your child first begins to receive services.
Ms. Craner explained that the intake to the N.Y.State’s Office of the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) in order to receive adult services is facilitated through its contracted agencies and borough wide offices.The child and the family must get through a long waiting list, psychological tests, reviews, and lot of paper work to establish eligibility for OMRDD services.She distributed contact information for various offices in the department of education, OMRDD, article 16 clinics, adult mental health services, independent living services, and tools for planning for employment.
She went on to explain that, because a child legally becomes an adult at age 18, there are additional safeguards parents need to address for children with disabilities. For example the parents should have planned for guardianship by that time. Financial planning, including applying for Medicaid and SSI also should be in place.
NAA-NY Metro thanks Ms. Craner for providing this important information to our families.
Ms. Craner can be reached at Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc located at 116 East 16th Street, 5th Floor, NY, NY 10003. Tel: 212-677-4650. email: hcraner@resourcesnyc.org.The organization’s website www.resourcesnyc.org. details the many services the organization provides to New York City residents, including training sessions. Further, access to a database of approximately 8,000 programs specific to special needs individuals can be found at www.resourcesdatabase.org.
On Feb. 23, Pierre Fontaine gave a fascinating lecture on homeopathy. The audience was riveted as he demonstrated his history taking methodology, and how he elicits key information that leads to the root state. Pierre Fontaine explained how homeopathic remedies are different from biochemical treatment. We are bio-dynamic, and homeopathy directly supports the bio-dynamic system. He explained that illness always manifests itself on the physical, mental and emotional plane simultaneously.
In his first session, Pierre Fontaine interviews the mother or father in a session that can take up to three hours. Yes! Three hours! With targeted questioning Pierre brings one of the parent to a expressive state that brings out the root state of the child. This is a way for Pierre Fontaine to bridge into the child’s problem. Once the root state is determined, the relevant remedy is recommended. Two children presenting with identical symptoms, might be prescribed two entirely different remedies, because their root state is not the same. The remedy is just one pill; or a diluted drop of liquid. The goal of the remedy for ASD children is to achieve spontaneous eye contact, spontaneous speech, and spontaneous interaction. According to Pierre Fontaine, this is the core that needs to be addressed.
The remedy may take effect quickly or may take time. According to Pierre Fontaine, finding the remedy can be the easy part; case management is the hard part. You have to watch and observe the child carefully to achieve reversal. Once the child starts to recover, he or she may display some emotions such as hugging too strongly or speaking inappropriately perhaps because they are unable to deal with their new-found awareness of the external world. These issues generally disappear over time.
On March 3, 2010, NAA New York Metro invited Mark L. Berger, CPA, and Kim Mack Rosenberg to present on this timely topic. We had a standing-room only.
Mark Berger is the President of M.L. Berger & Company, Ltd, is a CPA with 20 years of experience, and a parent of a special needs child. Kim Mack Rosenberg is an attorney, is Vice-President and Treasurer of the NAA-New York Metro Chapter, and a savvy mother of a special needs child, who has done extensive research in this area and has many years of experience in developing a system to organize and document one’s deductions. Mark outlined the tax laws that pertain to individuals with special needs and highlighted the many (sometimes unexpected!) expenses that may qualify as medical tax deductions. Kim translated those principles into the techniques of organizing, documenting and substantiating an effective case for tax deductions.
The discussion was highly interactive with attendees raising key issue of particular concern to them. Mark and Kim provided very comprehensive handouts. Mark prepared a list of potential deductions that are relevant to special needs families and Kim provided a write up of her organizational strategies. Mark also provided copies of IRS Publication 502 – a great resource on medical deductions. Kim shared the basic form she uses to track her deductions as well as an annotated copy of an insurance explanation of benefits (“EOB”), showing where to find amounts that insurance might not have paid that may be deductible.
Mark explained that only medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of a family’s adjusted gross income are potentially deductible. The IRS has defined medical expenses in its Publication 502. Many parents were excited to hear that, besides the straightforward medical expenses like doctor’s visits, items like therapeutic schools, therapies, biomedical treatments, transportation related to medical expenses, and a number of other things may be deductible with appropriate substantiating information. Mark discussed with parents some of the limits on these deductions as well as what you need to show that your deductions are appropriate. Parents learned that a number of surprising things might be eligible as medical expenses.
Mark elaborated on Flex Accounts – which, he explained, for some families may be better than the 7.5% deduction. He also emphasized that one has to be careful not to take a second deduction, i.e. any expense credited to a Flex Account cannot be itemized as a tax deduction. Mark also discussed that married couples discuss with their own tax professional whether “Married Filing Separately” status made sense for them – he explained that for some families, this worked out better.
Kim offered a prescription for “how to prepare for your tax return” and tackle the mounds of documents and receipts that parents amass. The first rule of business: Get a record-keeping system that works for you. Next, file regularly. It doesn’t matter whether you use Quicken or a similar computer program or plastic files from the Container Store – file regularly. And then, back it up, be it on a hard drive, a flash drive, or in cyberspace.
Kim uses a pair of colorful plastic files that she has used for years (they are nice and sturdy) – but she reminded us that, while this worked for her, it was just an idea – we need to experiment to find what is right for each of us, otherwise, you won’t use it. Her large file is compartmentalized for Flex Spending to be submitted, Flex pending, Flex reimbursed, Insurance to submit, pending and paid as well as categories for medical deductions relevant to her family. The small file is for ‘small’ receipts like tolls, cab, groceries, prescriptions, etc. She explained how she processes flex spending and insurance claims -- as each file is processed, the paperwork moves from one compartment to the next, until the item is closed. She can then use these organized documents to make tax time more efficient for herself and her accountant. She also discussed ways to track mileage, public transportation and taxis, and even ways to figure out whether the deduction for special foods – if available to you – is worth it for your family, since it is a lot of work figuring out the deductible amounts. Hands shot up! Attendees offered their tips – great tips! And there were more questions, tips, and ideas that the audience shared.
and friend to the Autism Community, the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy (EBCALA), is an exciting AutismOne initiative to provide a voice to the Autism Community on legal/advocacy issues, to educate professionals, and to help families facing legal challenges. Kim Mack Rosenberg, VP and Treasurer of NAA-NY Metro, and an attorney, also is proud to serve on the EBCALA steering committee.
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