Private Health Insurance
Wisconsin passed legislation which requires some private insurance companies to cover autism-related services. If you have insurance through your employers, check with your Human Resources Department to determine your benefits. You can also contact your insurance company. There are a couple of fact sheets available to help you:
Navigating Austim has a family friendly page on health insurance as well.
Public Assistance Programs
The Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) Waiver Program is a Home and Community-Based Service (HCBS) Waiver that provides Medicaid funding for children who have substantial limitations in their daily activities and need support to remain in their home or community.
Children under the age of 22 with a disability and meets CLTS criteria may be eligible to be Children’s Community Options Program.
Wisconsin Medicaid might be available because of disability or level of care needed.
The Katie Beckett Program is a special eligibility process that allows certain children who are residents of Wisconsin with long-term disabilities or complex medical needs, living at home with their families, to obtain a Wisconsin Medicaid card.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a monthly cash benefit paid by the federal Social Security Administration (SSA) and state Department of Health Services (DHS) to people in financial need who are 65 or older or people of any age who are blind or disabled and residents of Wisconsin.
The Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) waiver program recognizes that many individuals at risk of being placed in these facilities can be cared for in their homes and communities, preserving their independence and ties to family and friends at a cost no higher than that of institutional care.
The Children’s Long-term Support Program has some information sheets on:
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) Services
Consultative Behavioral Intervention (CBI) Services
Community Integration Services
The Family Support Program provides individual services and supports to families that include a child with severe disabilities. The Program recognizes that meeting the needs of children who have severe disabilities may place hardships on a family’s emotional, physical and financial resources.
Informal options
- Civic organizations (Lions Club, Optimists, Kiwanis, etc)
- Bridge the Gap offers financial support to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and guidance, education and awareness to families, individuals and communities.
- Faith-based community organizations
- Community based non-financial lending organizations (clothes, adaptive equipment, etc).
- Contact your local autism chapter for more ideas