We moved to New Hampshire when my son (now 15) was 6. In our previous state, we easily qualified for the Medicaid waiver and felt that, given our son’s critical needs, he would easily qualify here too. We were quickly denied — not because of the severity of his needs, but because they told us we weren’t providing institutional care that was unnecessary in his situation.

If the system works at all, it is because of the amazing teachers, therapists, and nurses we’ve met — and because of the persistence of the parents advocating for their kids.