Thankful for a Day that Feels Like Parenting, Not Paperwork
Plus: Sixty percent of teachers say they use AI for IEPs, raising legal concerns; Florida halts therapies for thousands of kids after audit; North Carolina court sides with parents on Medicaid cuts
What are you thankful for this year? Personally, I am grateful for my family, friends and community. That includes all of our subscribers and everyone else who recognizes the extraordinary work and unique needs of family caregivers. Happy National Caregiver Month to you!
On the second Sunday of every month, we feature Where is the Manual for This?!, an editorial cartoon about the medical mom life from Lenore Eklund.
Medical Motherhood’s news round up
Snippets of news and opinion from outlets around the world. Click the links for the full story.
• From NC Newsline: “Wake judge temporarily reverses NC Medicaid rate cut for autism therapy”
A Wake Superior Court judge on Tuesday agreed to pause North Carolina’s Medicaid rate cut for autism therapy in response to a lawsuit brought by the parents of affected children.
Judge George Collins Jr. granted a temporary restraining order to stop the 10% cut in Medicaid rates paid to providers of autism therapies after parents argued that the state illegally targeted those treatments for deep reductions.
[…]Michael F. Easley Jr., a former U.S. Attorney representing the families, in a statement, called the court’s decision “a victory for every North Carolina family fighting to give their child with autism a far start in life.”
The state Department of Health and Human Services started paying Medicaid health care providers anywhere from 3% to 10% less on Oct. 1.
[…]The lawsuit was brought by 21 children through their parents or guardians. The children are benefiting from or are on waiting lists for ABA therapy.
[…]The state Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that it will comply with the temporary restraining order, and is waiting for the court to put it in writing.
But the court requirement to reverse the rate cut means Medicaid will run out of money sooner, the statement said.
“This order makes the need for the General Assembly to fund Medicaid even more urgent,” the statement said. “Any reinstatement or reversal of the provider cuts without additional funding from the General Assembly means the program will run out of funding sooner, putting the entire state Medicaid system at risk. Without additional funding and implementation of the October 1 rate cuts, North Carolina could run out of NC Medicaid funds as early as April 2026.”[…]
• From K12 Dive: “Heightened AI use in special education brings elevated risks”
Nearly 60% of special education teachers reported using AI to develop an IEP or Section 504 plan during the 2024-25 school year. That’s an 18-percentage-point increase from the previous school year, according to polling by [Center for Democracy and Technology].
This use of AI is a good idea, according to 64% of parents of students with an IEP or Section 504 plan and 63% of students with either plan, the polling found.
Furthermore, about a third of special educators said they used AI to perform specific tasks during the 2024-25 school year, including:
• Identifying trends in student progress and helping determine patterns for goal setting.
• Summarizing the content of IEP and 504 plans.
• Choosing specific accommodations while creating IEP or 504 plans.
Fewer special educators said they used AI to write only the narrative portion of an IEP or 504 plan (21%), or to fully write either plan (15%).
Saving time was the main benefit for special educators using AI, according to CDT. The center cited research showing that teachers who use AI tools weekly may save up to six weeks over a school year.
[…]But along with that potential comes certain risks, specifically legal and privacy liabilities, CDT said.
For instance, IDEA requires each IEP to be unique and tailored to each students’ disabilities, goals and process for achieving their goals. An AI tool that develops IEPs based on little student-specific information and that is not significantly reviewed and edited by a teacher likely would not meet these IDEA requirements, said the CDT paper.
Educators and school systems should also be aware of privacy rules under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, IDEA and other state-level privacy policies when using AI tools, CDT said. Any student information included in a query to a chatbot can be collected and likely stored by the chatbot company, the center said.[…]
• From the Tampa Bay Times: “Therapy halted for kids across Florida after audit reveals bogus therapists”
Thousands of disabled and autistic children in Florida are losing medically-prescribed therapy after an audit revealed that unqualified therapists were being paid through Medicaid.
On Dec. 31, Sunshine Health, the company contracted by Florida to run a children’s Medicaid program, will terminate its contract with MTM Health, the company it hired to recruit and manage a network of therapy providers across Florida.
The network included music and art therapists and centers where children can interact with horses and pets. Known collectively as expressive therapies, numerous studies have shown they benefit children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other developmental and emotional issues.
Sunshine officials said they ended the company’s contract with MTM after learning that some therapists it was paying did not meet Medicaid standards, including holding a Medicaid ID, passing Level 2 background checks and possessing proper field certifications.
The upheaval has thrown Florida’s Medicaid therapy network into chaos, leaving most children without therapy sessions until next year as providers are no longer being paid. MTM also owes tens of thousands of dollars to some practices, multiple providers told the Tampa Bay Times.
[…]Florida Music Therapy, which has studios in Melbourne and Fort Myers, served almost 300 children on Medicaid and is owed about $160,000 said CEO Courtney Arndt.
Its 21 employees have taken a pay cut and the practice is using money it saved for a down payment on a new studio to pay salaries and continue therapy sessions for free.
[..]Katie DeNapoli’s daughters, Serenity, 8, and Savannah, 5, are prescribed equine therapy for their autism spectrum disorder.
Serenity, who was non-verbal until she was 5, has improved her communication skills since being around her horse. It took Savannah four months before she was comfortable sitting on a horse. The skills she gained have made her more confident, her mother said.
[…]DeNapoli didn’t think her daughters would understand the disruption so she told them that the horses needed a rest. The girls have asked over and over again why they can’t be with the horses.
“My children are very routine orientated; they get confused,” she said. “It messes up their emotional regulation; it’s been a constant spiral.”
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