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I To Life!

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COVER STORY

The Power Of Love from page 17

NORTH FACE
PATAGONIA
ARCTERYX
MOOSEJAW

MY BROTHER AND I FIGHT
A LO'T. I GAVE HIM A
BLACK EYE ON THE WAY
TO DINNER ONCE. ONE
TIME I SMASHED A POOL
BALL ON HIS HEAD.
ANOTHER TIME I HIT HIM
IN THE HEAD WITH MY
GOLF CLUB. BUT, WE'VE
GROWN SO CLOSE AND I'LL
NEED HIM TO DRIVE ME
TO SCHOOL IN A COUPLE
YEARS. SO WILL MY BIG
BROTHER PLEASE COME
LIGHT CANDLE 12, THE
CANDLE OF COMPASSION?

Mooseitme

MOOSEJAWCOM

GROSSE POINTE EAST LANSING
517-333-4000
313-331-9999

BIRMINGHAM
248-203-7777

ROCHESTER
248-375-5800

ANN ARBOR
734-769-1590

18

December 15 • 2005

AM

David and Sandy Loeffler:

"That's just how he is,"

they heard at first.

"I said that would never happen," David
says. "He's my kid, and I couldn't give him
up."
David had heard stories about abused
foster children. "I couldn't handle the
thought of not knowing what was hap-
pening to my son. Besides, who would
take him in?"
Because of his commitment to Zev,
David faced his own challenges at work.
Zev was in school in the morning, but
required afternoon care. David would
come home at 2 p.m., then return to the
lab when Zev was asleep. He eventually
lost his job, though he later found work at
Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where
he continues in his position today, doing
research on Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
diseases.

Help Is On The Way
The longer the Loefflers lived in
Michigan, the more they learned about
services that could help with Zev.
Thanks to government funding, work-
ers would sometimes come to the house
to care for Zev a few hours at a time.
Usually, they were inexperienced,
untrained, people off the street who need-
ed a job, which meant you never knew if
they would be great or just awful. Once,
Sandy found a gun in the coat pocket of a
worker; another announced he was head-
ed to a meeting with his pfobation officer.
One woman, sent to develop a behavioral
program for Zev, said, "I don't know any-
thing about autism, and I don't like kids."
Their best discovery was the Medicaid
waiver. Medicaid provides financial assis-
tance not just for the elderly and indigent,
but for those unable to care for them-
selves, like Zev. .
Zev Loeffler was, in fact, the first child
in Michigan with developmental disabili-
ties able to receive a Medicaid "behavior
waiver." The waiver, which pays for respite

help and training for Zev, actually saves
the state money because in-home care is
less costly than institutionalization or fos-
ter care. Still, the annual care for Zev is "in
the six figures:' his parents say.
When Zev turned 18, he also became
eligible for Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) and food stamps.
-
Zev continues to live in the Southfield
home where he grew up, which is decorat-
ed with posters and awards and drawings
by his grandmother. It's a charming little
house, with lots of apples and boxes of
peanut-butter cereal, Zev's favorite. When
not in school, Zev is cared for by staff
from a private respite company. David
works regular shifts with Zev twice a
week.
The staff employs a technique called
"gentle teaching:' which means giving
praise for positive behavior and ignoring
the negative when possible.
"Thanks to this approach and to careful
use of medication, Zev's behavior has
improved greatly over the past few years:'
David says. "He handles transitions more