Waive Help exists because Joe and Leona Snyder spent years fighting a system that was supposed to help their son Cole — and decided no other family should have to figure it out alone.
When Cole was diagnosed with autism at age 3, Joe and Leona thought the hard part was over. They had a name for what they were seeing. They had a path forward. What they didn't have was a map.
Ohio has seven Medicaid HCBS waivers. Each has different eligibility rules, different agencies, different waitlists. The Snyders applied to the wrong one first. Then the right one — but missed a document deadline because nobody told them it existed. Then they got denied, and learned they had 30 days to appeal. They found out on day 28.
Leona started a binder. Joe started calling other parents. They discovered that every family was reinventing the same wheel — the same frantic Google searches at midnight, the same unanswered calls to state agencies, the same heartbreak of a missed deadline that pushes your child another year down the waitlist.
So they built what they wished existed: a platform that gives families the information, tools, and community they need to navigate the system — before the system buries them.
Cole Snyder is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 3. Joe and Leona begin navigating Ohio's waiver system — seven waivers, 18-month waitlists, and zero clear answers.
After a denied application and a missed appeal deadline, Leona starts a binder system to track every document, call, and deadline. Other parents in their support group start asking for copies.
Joe launches "The Waiver Way" — a podcast for parents navigating waivers, IEPs, and disability services. What starts as 12 listeners becomes a community of thousands.
The Snyders co-found Horizons of Hope, a parent-led community that pairs newly-diagnosed families with veteran caregivers who have been through the system.
Joe and Leona partner with AI Venture Holdings to turn five years of hard-won knowledge into a platform. Every feature in Waive Help exists because a real family needed it.
Waive Help launches the first A–F grading system for all 50 states' HCBS programs, built from CMS data, state agency filings, and the lived experience of thousands of families.
Joe Snyder hosts weekly conversations with parents, advocates, attorneys, and policy experts who have been through the system. No jargon. No sugarcoating. Just the truth about what it takes to get your child what they need.
When Leona got Cole's diagnosis, the most helpful thing wasn't a website or a government brochure — it was another mom who said “I've been where you are, and here's what I wish I'd known.” Horizons of Hope makes that connection available to every family, in every state.
Community features are coming to Waive Help in 2026. In the meantime, join the conversation through The Waiver Way podcast.
Caregiver, community builder, and the voice behind Waiver Way conversations with families, advocates, and policy experts.
Built the family binder and practical workflow that inspired Waive Help's document, deadline, and next-step tools.
Cole's journey keeps the product grounded in what families need at home, at school, and on the phone with agencies.
Partners with the Snyder family to turn public data, caregiver workflows, and responsible AI into a usable platform.
Medical, legal, and state policy advisors will be listed here only after roles and review scope are confirmed.
Every feature is designed for a parent at 11pm with a phone, not a policy analyst with a spreadsheet.
We write at an 8th-grade reading level. If your grandmother can't understand it, we rewrite it.
Every grade, statistic, and recommendation links to its federal or state source. We show our work.
Free tier covers research. We will never gate crisis resources, hotlines, or the newly-diagnosed guide behind a paywall.
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