Counting my many blessings!

So on Sunday I was in the bathroom and a lady in my ward came up to me and we started talking. She is older and is actually Porter's individual primary teacher to help him. She is a retired kindergarten teacher and has two grandsons with autism. She is super sweet and has been really good with Porter. Anyways she was talking to me about her grandsons. They are in the same family, the oldest is seven and does not even speak and the younger is two. Her daughter also has two girls who are fine and had a baby boy this last year, that as you can imagine they have been on pins and needles about. They live in Montana and I frequently ask how they are doing. She was so excited to tell me on Sunday that her daughter was given a grant through the state for 42,000 to use towards therapy for her boys. I guess they only gave this grant to 25 kids in the whole state. She was so excited and was telling me how already with therapy the 2 year old is starting to speak and so maybe he will be higher functioning. This for me brought on a whole bunch of questions about the boys. I started asking if the oldest had any therapy when he was young. She told me that in the state of Montana the only services are offered through the schools and that you can pay out of pocket for some therapy but they have never been able to afford much. She said he was able a couple times for a few months to have a little therapy but it wasn't until he started school that he really had anything. After we talked I walked away feeling so humbled. 

I have at times thought why the Lord wanted us in Idaho. Our job search process was so weird the Lord literally closed every door, we were surprised many times when things did not work out. When the job at BYU-Idaho came up it was weird  how quick and how well the doors were open. It was very apparent to us that this is where the Lord wanted us. I have often wondered why here. I think every time we are in Utah Dallin and I have looked at each other and wished that we could be there with so much family around us. Well I have felt there have been many reasons why we are here, but this one is more than most. In the state of Idaho we have a wonderful thing available to us called the Katie Beckett bill. What it does is take autistic and some other types of special needs children, and if you qualify you can receive up to 22 hours a week of therapy at no cost to you. They do not look at your income and do not take from it. Not everyone meets the qualifications to be able to receive this but Porter does. This last week having to deal with therapists and insurance problems and calling around etc... I was really not thinking of my blessings. I was just frustrated. On Sunday when I heard this I was overcome with gratitude. I am not sure why the Lord wanted Porter to have so much early intervention to help him, and why other kids may not have this chance. But the Lord has put us in a place where we have so much opportunity for Porter. Because of this he continues to grow and develop at a pace that I almost thought impossible. There would be no possible way without this available to us that we could receive this much therapy. In fact for what he receives now it would costs us 60,000 a year. Even if we made a whole lot more money than we do now we still could not afford those costs. I think at this time only 5 states have this program and most states are like Montana and services cannot be received for children until school, but by then their window for learning is closing and chances are, not much progress can be made by that point. They can still progress but your chances are so much higher the earlier you start.

So why am I posting this on my blog? Well for two reasons 1 I have been blessed so much I know because of the faith of all of you. Dallin and I constantly pray and put all our faith into this but I know how weak we are and how at times we can be weary and can feel discouraged, every time that happens I feel the prayers of those around us praying for our son. Every time it strengthens us so much and we get right back in and keep fighting. 2 I said earlier I am not sure why Porter has been so blessed when many other children have little if any opportunities available to them. The only thing I know for certain is that if the Lord wants Porter to have a skill he has provided a way. So I know it is what the Lord has in mind for Porter, but I talk all the time with families from all over. I will get phone calls from families who were given our number through someone who knows us and knows what we have been through with Porter. They find out someone just going through it and give them our number. I love these phone calls and I love these families. Every time it blesses me so much to be able to lift their burden and to bring in some of the light we have found. In fact if you ever wonder if you should give someone our number please do. But this has also shown me how much work in other states needs to be done for these kids. Right now in Utah they are going to be voting on Chase's law. This would require insurance companies to cover therapy for autistic children. Right now insurance companies get away with not paying anything for autistic children in fact you have to be careful what you say because a lot of times they can refuse coverage if they feel it is in any way autistic related. They get away with this mainly because there is no medical reason that can be proved as of now on what  has caused autism. They can put it as a educational problem and that puts all the burden into our schools and tax dollars. I have really wonderful insurance through the church, I have complained for two years that we receive no speech or OT in our area. I have called them and voiced myself about this. This year in January I got a letter telling me that this year they will pay for half of both. That was huge. Before this they would give us no help. Anyways if you are in a state where they are trying to pass a law like this, I just hope you take the opportunity to think about it, and if you decide to support it please contact your representatives. So often we think that if we call or e-mail they will not even know and it will not make a difference. Twice I have written my governor about certain things with autism in this state and both times I received a phone call the next day. I know how much your faith has blessed our family and am so grateful for it. I am grateful for the numerous doors that have been opened to my son. I pray daily that other kids can have this chance. Thanks for all the love and support our family gets from all of you! I have been blessed beyond anything and I am tremendously grateful!