two's Story
Brittany Kruger is the mother of two young children with profound autism and complex support needs who rely on Kentucky’s Home and Community-Based Waiver program and Medicaid services every day.
Her 7-year-old son, Robert, is nonverbal and has profound autism, an intellectual disability, ARFID, stereotypic movement disorder, developmental delays, and receives all of his nutrition through a feeding tube. He requires constant supervision and depends on others for nearly every aspect of daily living.
Her 5-year-old daughter, Emily, is also nonverbal and has profound autism, ARFID, stereotypic movement disorder, and significant developmental delays. She requires extensive assistance with communication, eating, daily living skills, and personal safety.
Participant-directed services allow Brittany’s children to receive care from people they know and trust—an essential part of maintaining stability for children with profound autism. Each week they attend speech, occupational, and feeding therapy that help them build communication skills, eat safely, and gain greater independence. Every milestone they achieve is the result of tremendous effort and consistent support.
Brittany worries that Medicaid reimbursement reductions will make it even harder to recruit and retain qualified providers in a system already facing significant workforce shortages. Reduced access to therapy and support services could jeopardize the progress her children have worked so hard to achieve and increase the risk that families like hers may one day have no choice but institutional care.
For Brittany, protecting Medicaid waiver services means protecting her children’s opportunity to continue learning, growing, and living safely at home with the people who love them most.