Lets Get On The Train

Yesterday I spent ALL day having Hanna re-evaluated at the U of M.  Her fetal alcohol diagnosis and comprehensive assessment are a few years old so no one will let us use them any more.  This re-evaluating thing bothers me because she has the same Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder she has had since birth, the same intelligence, same impulsive behavior, with poor judgement, the same concrete thinking, essentially the same alphabet soup so why are we doing this again?  I really do not understand why there can not be a system in place where some persons who are permanently disabled can be given that information so they would not have to go through this re-evaluation nonsense over and over again.  Seriously this would save lots of money and time for everyone.

I do understand that there are persons who have disabilities which are temporary and those persons would need to be involved in this re-evaluation process. When a person has prostetic eyes they are not going to suddenly get their vision back.  When there is a traumatic brain injury, that is not going to go away.  When a person has lost limbs they are not going to grow back.  The Cerebral Palsy or Down Syndrome is not going away so lets just call things as they are and get rid of this re-evaluating thing and move forward.

All I want from this nonsense is a clear statement that addresses the fact that Hanna needs structure, supervision, and routine and her need for these things will be on-going for life.  Services need to stay in place for her when she is doing well, because if they are taken away we have a downward free fall which leads to major issues and then we have to go about getting those services re-instated which leads to more re-evaluations, paperwork, interviews, and on and on and on.  We need to stop this roller coaster and get on a calmer, more consistent train ride in the country and then maybe we can actually take some time to enjoy the scenery.