Accessing state services

My journey into DDD, ALTCS and the state system hasn't been as long as some people but it sure is tedious.

DDD
I applied for DDD back in May. DDD stands for Department of Developmental Disabilites. They are essentially the support coordinators for all state services. You must get approved through them before ALTCS will call you.

I met with Che, a DDD representative June 16th at their office downtown. He approved Joey as an at-risk for Autism candidate (being on the Spectrum doesn't count, but they really don't need a diagnosis of Autism until they're 6). Then, Derek got a hold of me and came out to the house July 16th. He will be Joey's support coordinator. He was here for 2.5 hours and asked a lot of questions. He observed Joey in his "natural habitat" which was a little stressful. Having a stranger just stare at your son was unnerving to both me & Joey.

He said I would be receiving a large packet from him, which I did two weeks later.

ALTCS
ALTCS stands for Arizona Long Term Care. They get their funding from the federal government and coordinate with DDD to get kids services. With ALTCS, you get approved for AHCCCS, which is the state medical plan. You can use it as primary or secondary coverage.

The medical assistant from ALTCS came to the house on July 30th. She asked a lot of questions and observed Joey. Since then, we've been waiting for her answer but now that Joey has been diagnosed with Epilepsy, he should automatically be approved. If people don't get approved for ALTCS, then they automatically don't get services.

TO BE CONTINUED...