IN OUR SCHOOLS

5 transition tips for children with special needs

Amanda Oglesby
@OglesbyAPP

FREEHOLD – Growing up isn't easy, and it can be particularly difficult for children with developmental and intellectual disabilities and the parents who care for them.

Each year thousands of students with special needs "age out" of services provided by their schools. Their care under the New Jersey Department of Education comes to an end.

Trial in autistic man's plunge postponed indefinitely

Thirty-six percent of students between the ages of 3 and 21 had a learning disability in the 2011-12 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

By 18, people with developmental disabilities such as autism are considered adults under New Jersey, even if they need continuing care and educational services. Schools provide their services until age 21, but afterward, parents need to seek services through the state Division of Developmental Disabilities or Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

"Age 18 is an important age when thinking about transition and the future," said Anne Marie Mazzu, an attorney who specializes in trusts and estates and who works at Davison Eastman & Munoz, a law firm with offices in Freehold, Toms River and Red Bank. Mazzu also has a 20-year-old son with autism, and she is preparing for his transition from school to life after.

"The last thing you want to do is to have an autistic child at home at age 21 without getting any support," she said. "You will see regression."

Brick work-study gives kids with special needs a chance

The transition from school to adulthood involves many steps for parents whose children have special needs. These parents should begin preparing for the process when their child is 14, Mazzu said.

The attorney has five steps parents should take before their child with developmental or intellectual disabilities turns 21:

1) Have a guardianship or conservatorship in place by your child's 18th birthday, Mazzu said. This enables parents to manage their children's healthcare and financial affairs after they enter adulthood. To get guardianship, two physicians must examine the teenager and a legal assistant is usually needed to help with the process, Mazzu said. Parents can apply 60 to 90 days before their child's 18th birthday, she said.

2) After age 18, apply for Social Security benefits, Social Security Disability and Medicaid, Mazzu said. Those applications will open opportunities to get funding for programs, she said.

Trial in autistic man's plunge postponed indefinitely

3) At 18, take your child to apply for a personal identification card through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

"It's a good idea to have a state picture ID," Mazzu said.

4) Consider placing your child on a waiting list for residential placement, the attorney said. Placement can take years.

In 2003, more than 4,400 people with developmental disabilities were waiting for placement in residential facilities, according to a report by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. By 2007, nearly 8,000 were on the waiting list, according to The Arc of New Jersey, an advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The number of individuals on the current state Department of Human Services waiting list were not immediately available Wednesday.

5) Do not have more than $2,000 in assets in your child's name so they can be eligible for Medicaid, Mazzu said.

"That is crucial," she said. "If the children are not Medicaid eligible, that is their access card to federally-funded programs."

Do consider special trust accounts that can help pay for services not covered through state programs, she said.

"If you have money in their name, you need to spend it on them," said Mazzu. "You want to use it for an extra, like say therapy or a special camp, or a computer or an iPad."

What financial plans are required for special needs kids?

Amanda Oglesby: 732-557-5701; aoglesby@GannettNJ.com