Resources and help available: Get on the waiting lists now

[MUSIC PLAYING] PRESENTER: If you're in the state of Texas, and you think your child is going to need some kind of support, whether it's attendant care, respite care, home modifications, you have to get on a Medicaid waiver list. Call your local authority. We used to call them MHMR. Now, their local authority or local IDD authority. If you don't know where it is, go to the school and ask. Call them and tell them you want to be on the waiting list for Medicaid waivers. You don't have to qualify yet. When your name comes up on that list, then they'll see if your child qualifies or doesn't. But here's the thing. In Texas, those lists are years long, sometimes over a decade. You cannot afford to wait until your child is 17 and think, you know, we're going to need this support. You're behind the eight ball by then. So you have got to deal with that now now. You have got to get yourself connected with other people who know this system, have navigated this system, and can tell you the ins and outs of what works and what doesn't. I've met so many families who think there's time-- and I was there. I get that. I used to be so afraid of the future that I thought-- I took the Scarlett O'Hara approach. I'll think about that tomorrow. No, you can't afford to take the Scarlett O'Hara approach. Tomorrow is today. Your kid is going to grow up much faster than you anticipate. It's going to be harder at times, and you want every available resource at their disposal when you need it. [MUSIC PLAYING]