Washington State Resources

Education   Low Income-  Treatment, Prescription & Medicaid     

Summer Camps

Education Issues Washington State

Washington P.A.V.E.: Parent resource detailing rights of children with disabilities to a free and appropriate education. 1-800-572-7368.

Learning Disabilities Association of Washington promotes and provides services and support to maximize the quality of life for individuals and families affected by learning and attention disabilities.

Office of the Education Ombudsman is an agency within the Governor's Office created to help elementary and secondary public school students and families in Washington understand how the public school system works, how to find education-related resources and how to resolve conflict with schools. This organization is independent and neutral and not a part of the state public education system. 

Kristin Hennesey, Special Education Ombudsman from Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction or OSPI, can help in dealing with your child's special needs to be successful in school (504 or IEP). She can be reached at 360-725-6075.

Other helpful education resources:

http://highschoolnetwork.net/washington/
http://www.allhighschools.com/state/wa
http://nces.ed.gov/
http://elementaryschools.org/washington.html
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/education.html
http://high-schools.com/washington.html
http://www.nea.org/

Northwest CHADD- Offers quality information through www.help4add.org. They host a number of local support local support groups and list other state CHADD groups not affiliated with them.  (But not ours) Groups are mostly for parents, but there is now an adult group in Seattle. Their site does have a find a Professional section- mostly for the Puget Sound area. http://www.nwchadd.org/

.Low Income Help

Diagnosis and Treatment for Children

 Catholic Community Services in Whatcom and Skagit Counties offers specialized ADHD assessment, counseling, and case coordination for children of families with low income. Treatment includes collaboration regarding medication evaluation and management with primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and community clinicians. The clinic also provides parent education, behavior management classes, school consultation, and parent/teacher education. http://www.ccsww.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage

Children and Youth  University of Washington -Department of Psychology provides low-cost individual, couples, family and child psychotherapy in their Training Center Clinic. They focus on underserved populations (e.g. ethnic minorities, and un-insured clients). Website: http:/ / web. psych. washington. edu/ clinic/

Help with prescription costs 

Washington State's Prescription Drug Discount Program- Tries for 20% reduction in name brands and 60% of generics. No income level requirement, but their formulary for ADHD medications is weighted towards generic forms of

www.rx.wa.gov/consortium.html

Oregon State Prescription Drug Program - for both individuals and employers- No income requirements

http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OPDP/index.shtml

Medicaid or additional medical help

In Washington state, the Department of Social and Health Services oversees Medicaid programs, see: http://www.dshs.wa.gov/ . They provide a number of resources to help the low income client.

See their Eligibility Calculator to find out if you qualify for their services- http://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/TEC/ 

In Washington, if you're over income for Medicaid, you may be able to get Basic Health Insurance at reduced price. There is a waiting list however http://www.basichealth.hca.wa.gov/

Note: DSHS won't discuss over the phone what programs you may qualify for. Only an appointment can bring an answer. There will be paperwork. If you get overwhelmed, ask a friend or relative to help. Be prepared to document everything you own, your monthly expenses, your income and proof of medical expenses.

If your income doesn't qualify for Medicaid, but is less than 200% of poverty level, you may still qualify for health benefits, if you can show that your medical costs are consuming an inordinate amount of your income. 

Summer Camps (in the NW)

Summer Camp Directory
Children's Hospital- 2010 summer camp directory for children with special needs is online at http://cshcn.org/resources-contacts/summer-camp-directory.

Summer Adventure Camp for Teens with ADHD and Autism Spectrum

Blue Compass helps teens with Autism, Asperger's and ADHD learn to face some of their greatest challenges in a fun, adventurous and safe environment. Blue Compass believes that overcoming challenges builds self-confidence. When teens with Autism, Asperger's and ADHD lead themselves and others through a challenge, they establish an important sense of confidence and self-efficacy, perhaps for the first time. Go to the website at http://www.bluecompasscamps.com/.