If your loved one is more impacted, planning for their financial future and how their needs will be met into the future when you are no longer there is vital. What will their housing be, who will help take care of them and manage their benefits? Periodically you will be asked to complete re-eligibility with your County Board of Developmental Disabilities. It may be a state board or commission of developmental disabilities depending on where you live.

Think about financial arrangements and plan ahead including whether a special needs trust account, specific benefits and/or an ABLE account are right for your loved one.

If your loved one receives or might receive government benefits based on income limits, bear in mind that you cannot have more than $2,000 in assets or cash in your young adult's name (always check the current status for yourself).

Open an ABLE account, which is a special savings account for people with disabilities that does not affect needs-based benefits such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). It may have different names in different states, for example in Ohio it's called a STABLE account. This OCALI workshop video gives information about STABLE accounts and special needs trusts.

You may also want to set up a Representative Payee who manages your money and can write checks for you when you can’t. Apply through the Social Security office nearest you. The payee can be a trusted adult or a professional at an agency that provides payee services. Your Board of Developmental Disabilities may have staff who can be designated as a Medicaid representative to handle renewals. The Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities in the Cleveland, Ohio area does this, for example.

You’ll find more information in the financial and legal support section of the MAP. The Legal Resources Tool Kit provides useful information as well.

The Milestones free autism Helpdesk is here to connect you with resources and share information.

Learning Basic Money Concepts

If your loved one is more impacted and they are still in high school, learning basic money concepts could be an Individualized Education Program (IEP) goal. Those goals should be determined by your IEP team. Think about simple things that increase their independence, based on your loved one’s needs and abilities. This article in the Education section of the Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool has more information about IEPs.