Medicaid is a life for my imperceptible autism of an adult son. He grew up in the 11th district, and in the age of 22 it is more than a resident of our neighborhood Bay Ridge. He has a symbiotic relationship with his surroundings. People can recognize his smile and even know his name. Because he ages outside school, he uses the self -regulation program through the Modern York Development Disability Office, which provides him with an annual budget. He buys locally, often at the Bay Ridge Business Improvement district facilities, in which both his face and the SNAP card are welcome. He is a talented athlete, one of the regulars at the Local Fitness Center, whose monthly fee pays through social insurance insurance.
At the age of 20, he began to learn how to draw and paint skills to fight the cabin fever so many of us when blocking Covid-19. His initial skills of self -esteem art also helped him express himself when he had no words for it. Every morning with my husband and I went downstairs and found a picture on the easel of something that he missed from the routine before the grip, school bus, subway or local pharmaceutical sign. Routine is his friend, but he understood that a great change had appeared in his life and he seemed to control it. Soon, each of his statements ended with the words “I want to live without parents.” A week after graduating from school, my husband found a former art professor who lives in the NY11 district to give him formal lessons.
My son rents a room in an ordinary house near his father and me. Based on the model of home and social services (HCBS), which is a golden standard for adults with its high level of support, his Medicaid budget allows 24/7 of direct services specialists who support him balance his life independently, with the flowering of the community with known people. The more he grows as a person, the more focused. His first solo art show took place last year. His paintings hung next to other artists at a group show.
Even in normal times, services such as MedicaidSocial insurance and SNAP insurance are not basic to get or maintain. But these are not normal times. At the federal level there are connections to limit the services themselves that maintain a handsome life that my son creates with the support of his family, teachers and direct life specialists, which balances safety with self-determination. Everything that worked so demanding to build can disappear with the pen. Our own congress representative, Nicole Malliotakis, talks about the fear of withdrawing services for our much disabled adult son and people in his position. Unfortunately, her voting record does not match her words.
Speaking is so tough for my son that he does not waste energy, denying his words with his actions. Our member of the Congress would imitate him well.