Ask Roz---Assistive Technology Devices

WHO WILL HELP YOU GET THEM
WHO WILL HELP YOU PAY

1) Private insurance companies like HMO's or health plans have policies concerning coverage for Assistive Technology Devices (A.T.D's). Get their policy and learn what it is they cover.

2) The Department of Veteran's Affairs provides A.T.D's to veterans and their eligible children and spouses. Also available to eligible children is restorative training such as speech and voice therapy, language retraining, auditory training, training in Braille for reading and writing, and vocational training. Other resources available are prosthetic appliances under certain circumstances and visual impairment devices. Current information can be obtained at VA Regional offices.

3) Special Education under The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) provides services to children from infancy through age 21.

Services are defined by what you have written on your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and through Independent Educational Evaluations. Determinations can be made regarding the needs of your child and what the school will provide.

4) Vocational rehabilitation services such as The State of New Mexico Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) help those people with disabilities who are found eligible for their services in reaching goals & learning skills for employment.

A person who is legally blind or who has a condition that will lead to blindness is eligible for services provided by the Commission for the Blind . You can find out what the eligibility rules are for these agencies by contacting them.

5) Medicaid in the State of New Mexico provides certain optional services. Among those services included in the funding of assistive technology are physical therapy; speech, hearing & language therapy, intermediate care facility services; intermediate care facilities for persons with developmental disabilities; skilled nursing facilities for persons under the age of 21; and prosthetic devices. The state determines the amount, duration, and scope of the service to be provided. You must have "prior authorization" or "prior approval" to gain such services. This approval requires that you must meet a medical need.