United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi Louise,

Are you attempting to get assistance from social security or from the department of family services?

Thanks,
Anise

http://www.nichcy.org is a great site

this is the link for Maine
http://www.nichcy.org/Pages/StateSpecif ... x?State=ME

you may want to contact the cerebral palsy organization and ask what their families do... they also need a high level of therapy and care

here in PA we were given Medicaid - our children are called "loophole" children - they give us Medicaid as a secondary insurance to cover whatever the primary insurance doesn't cover no matter what your income is -- maybe there is something like that in Maine?

Also - there is the office for Vocational Rehab - they can help Elizabeth figure out what to do with career wise and they also help pay for some or all of her educational needs (unless that all went away with the economy issues). They also can modify whatever car she is going to drive.

There are a lot of resources on these pages.

A good OT will help Elizabeth figure out the one-handed living parts. We started Maia when she was 5 and it opened up her whole world. She can open up any carton one handed and she can even knit one-handed (pile of playdough inbetween her legs, with one knitting stick stuck in it -- righty does all the knitting. It just take a bit of instruction and practice time. Also, there are many one-handed tools. Maia has this fork that has a sharper side so it can be used to cut and eat. She has a bagel guillotine to easily cut a bagel. We have a hair dryer stand so she can do her hair. She has a cutting board with a nail in it to hold things on it. Maybe for elizabeth's next birthday you can do a "registry" at a one-armed living catalog so she can get all the gadgets that'll help her?

-fran