Family Voices Indiana

By Elizabeth Erwin, Ed.D. Montclair State University And Leslie Soodak, Ph.D. Pace University After you have identified what triggers challenging behavior in your child, you can use that information to respond more positively to your child's needs. Here are some tips for how to get started: Change the setting . Change the room, activity, or people involved, so your child feels supported. For example, if your child becomes over-stimulated when playing games with her friends, you might recommend she limit the number of activities going on at one time ("Why don't you turn off the TV while you're playing your game?") or try a different activity (such as painting or playing outside). Respond calmly . Respond to the situation calmly and without your own anger — adults may need quiet time too. If your child's behavior has made you angry, take a few minutes to calm down before deciding how to respond. Teach alternate behaviors. Teach your child alternate

By Elizabeth Erwin, Ed.D. Montclair State University And Leslie Soodak, Ph.D. Pace University Almost every family has experienced a time when their child behaves in ways that seem very different from her usual behavior. There are many types of challenging behavior that may seem confusing, inappropriate or even frightening. Some children may act out in violent ways, like biting, kicking, or hitting themselves or others with objects. Understanding why this behavior occurs and addressing it in a positive way can help prevent future occurrences. All behavior is a form of communication. Everybody communicates through behavior. An infant may cry when she is hungry or wet, just like an adult may yawn when he is bored at work. Adults and children are communicating something through their behavior during every moment in every day, even if they are not aware of it. A child's problematic or inappropriate behavior is a sign that he is upset and that something is not right. There is

Did you write a letter to your Representative or Senators about Health Care? Sharing your family story made a difference! The AHCA bill and proposed Medicaid cuts was pulled by House leadership.   THANK YOU, advocates, for your efforts to protect healthcare.

by  Tricia Brooks As House leaders scramble to get enough votes to send the American Health Care Act to the Senate, there is a lot of horse-trading going on. None of it to the benefit of kids enrolled in Medicaid or private insurance. The most recent Affordable Care Act provision on the chopping block is the Essential Health Benefits package. As my colleague, Joan Alker wrote, the new  Medicaid block grant option would allow states to gut benefits for kids  – even those critical development screening and treatment services that help nip problems in the bud before they turn into learning disabilities or other struggles in school. Now it appears that House leaders are willing to do that with private insurance by eliminating the requirement that plans cover the 10 basic categories of coverage, known as Essential Health Benefits (EHB). Notably, one of the ten categories is “pediatric services”, but what’s at risk is broader than that. So what’s at stake? Preventive Care  –

from  Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The White House and House Republican leaders are  reportedly negotiating  with House Freedom Caucus members to eliminate federal minimum benefit ( “Essential Health Benefits” ) standards for individual and small-group market plans as part of the House health bill. That would leave many people with pre-existing conditions unable to find the coverage they need at any price , much less an affordable one; would result in women being charged more than men; and expose many people  with health insurance  to unaffordable bills, and possibly even putting them at risk for medical bankruptcy. What’s more, eliminating Essential Health Benefit standards could weaken the ACA’s core protections even for people with coverage from large employers. The ACA’s prohibition on annual and lifetime limits is tied to the  definition of Essential Health Benefits.  Thus,  repeal of Essential Health Benefit standards could make this protection meaningless , p

from National Family Voices: ACA Repeal and Medicaid Restructuring Last week, the House Budget Committee merged two committee-approved pieces of legislation into a "reconciliation" bill, the  American Health Care Act  (AHCA), H.R. 1628 . (See the March 15  Update  for a description of the legislation.) On Wednesday, March 22, the House Rules Committee will meet to decide how the bill can be  amended . The bill is expected to move to the House Floor for a vote on  Thursday, March 23  (exactly 7 years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law). If the bill passes the House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), hopes to bring it up for a vote next week. If it passes the Senate, any differences between the House and Senate bills (theoretically) could be resolved the following week, and the bill could become law by  April 8 .   IMPORTANT:  On Monday  evening, the  House Energy and Commerce Committee  and House  Ways and Means Committee  rele

from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The updated House Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) takes an already damaging plan – the previous version of this House GOP legislation – and  makes it even more harmful  for the  tens of millions of children, seniors, people with disabilities, and other adults  who rely on Medicaid. By effectively ending the Medicaid expansion and converting Medicaid to a per capita cap, the previous version of the House Republican plan would have cut federal Medicaid spending by $880 billion over the next ten years and reduced Medicaid enrollment by 14 million people in 2026, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated. The updated version makes additional changes to Medicaid that are  even more damaging overall. The bill would: Give states the option to convert the Medicaid programs into block grants; Impose onerous work requirements on adult beneficiaries; and Freeze enrollment in the ACA’s Medicaid expansions starti

By Sophia Jan, Ahaviah Glaser, Rebecca Kim of  Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Policy Lab Current proposals to simultaneously repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reform the federal Medicaid program would be devastating to children and young adults with disabilities and complex medical needs. Even if the final ACA replacement plan continues to allow young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 26 – which is a benefit largely supported on both sides of the political aisle – the most medically complex among them rely on Medicaid because of the extraordinary level and cost of care needed. Today, Medicaid covers  10.2 million adults and children with serious illnesses or disabilities  whose health needs create significant financial burden for patients and their families. For example: Medicaid pays for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy that children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities may receiv