Is your child between the ages of 3 and 21 and has special needs? Are you searching to find the right services for your child? You are not alone! According to the CDC,”.. 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and About 1 in 6 (17%) children aged 3–17 years were diagnosed with a developmental disability, as reported by parents, during a study period of 2009-2017. These included autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, blindness, and cerebral palsy, among others.”
Aaris Therapy is an approved provider by the Ohio Department of Education for the Jon Peterson Special Needs and Autism Scholarship. More information can be found here: ODE Autism Scholarship Program and here: ODE JPSN
Eligibility for scholarship includes:
Student is identified as a child with special education needs who has completed the testing process with a school district and has received an Evaluation Team Report (ETR)
Student has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
Student is traditionally homeschooled OR attends a tuition based school
When considering a scholarship provider, you may want to ask some of the following questions:
1. Is the program / school able to provide individualized instruction to your child?
2. What are the different services that the program can provide under scholarship? (education, ABA, Speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, music therapy, etc..) Does the program offer one service or many services?
3. If it is a school (which is different from a private provider), what is the school’s approved educational program? Be sure to get a copy of the provider’s scholarship manual that will describe the educational program(s).
4. Is the provider / school offering a single program? Example: This is our program, this is what we have to offer and your child fits “here” in our program. OR Does the provider offer “a la carte” services? Example: Here are the different programs/ therapies we offer- as a team we can decide how much of each service your child needs given his scholarship budget.
5. What is the program’s fee schedule? (what are they charging scholarship per hour or per month for the services your child is receiving).
6. Will the provider be charging you any fees should services exceed the monthly or quarterly allocation cap set by the scholarship office?
7. How often will you be convening as a team to discuss the child’s needs and progress?
8. How often can you change services with this provider? (example: less OT/ more speech therapy)
9. Will the program follow the IEP or are they able to modify the IEP in order to meet the needs of the child? (Example- your child’s IEP states 90 minutes per month of speech therapy but the child could benefit more with 240 minutes a month of speech). Under scholarship rules, providers are allowed to modify IEP services through a scholarship form called “Modify of Services Form”
10. Is this provider able and/or willing to work with another provider and split the
scholarship funding allocation so the child may receive services from 2 different providers?
We look forward to meeting you and helping you get the services your child needs. Click here for more information: Aaris Therapy Scholarship Information or please contact our office at 330-505-1606!