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A
Checklist of Tax Benefits for Parents of Special Needs Children
(Special Needs Answers - Oct. 2007)
Unique tax benefits are available to families with individuals
who have special needs.
A
Primer for Parents with a Child With Special Needs (EP
Magazine - 11/07)
As the parent of a child with special needs with a lifetime
of financial requirements, you can't ignore wealth management
issues and public benefit preservation techniques.
Aid
for Haiti - Childhood Disability (Bella Online)
As we reach out to the people of Haiti who are suffering from
the loss and devastation of the 2010 earthquake, we are learning
more about religious and secular organizations specifically
dedicated to children with disabilities and their families
that were already 'on the ground' providing housing, education,
medical support and other essential services.
Adopting
a Special Needs Child (Filthy Lucre - 1/6/09)
A review on the literature on the topic of parental adoption
of children with special needs.
Automotive
Safety Program (Nat'l Center for the Safe Transportation
of Children With Special Health Care Needs)
Regardless of whether or not a child's medical condition presents
short-term or long-term challenges, a child should travel
in a restraint system that provides optimum protection. Oftentimes,
a conventional child safety seat will meet the safety and
positioning needs of a child with special health care needs.
Other times, an adaptive or specialized restraint will be
necessary.
Car
Seats for Children with Special Needs (American Academy
of Pediatrics)
For children with special needs finding the right car seat
can be difficult and expensive. Pediatric occupational and
physical therapists can help to determine what seating systems
may work the best for a specific child. In addition, therapists
may want to remind parents to evaluate the car seats when
there is an upcoming surgical or medical procedure scheduled.
Casts or new braces may restrict the use of a current car
seat.
Children
and Sign Language (Bella Online)
More preschoolers, kindergarteners and primary grade children
are using sign language today than ever before.
Children's
Books About Kids with Disabilities (Easy Stand Blog)
There are a lot of great books available that can educate
kids about others like them who have a disability.
Creating
a Path to Employment - (Office of Disability Employment
Policy - 9/08) - Tips for parents with children with disabilities.
Exceptional
Parent Magazine
The family and professional site for the special needs community.
Guidelines:
Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities
Horses
Help Youngsters Cope With Disabilities (SI Live.com)
Children suffering with disabilities like autism and cerebral
palsy can find therapy through a program called H.O.O.P.H.
operated by the Staten Island Recreation Association.
Impact
of Early Intervention on Outcome After Mild Traumatic Brain
Injury in Children (American Academy of Petiatrics)
A basic article on mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and early
intervention.
Make
sure you protect your special needs child!
You're taking care of your disabled child and hopefully, you're
doing okay. But what will happen when you're gone? If you
plan ahead, you should be able to make sure your child is
protected.
Movie
Highlights Kids with Disabilities and Art as Therapy
A new documentary is coming out that highlights kids with
disabilities and how art therapy can help. It is an inspiring
and heartwarming movie about a wonderful art teacher and some
pretty amazing students.
Nintendo
Wii Therapy Rehab for Children and Teens (Bella Online)
Children and teens who have physical, sensory or intellectual
disabilities find the same benefit in playing games with the
Nintendo Wii game system as their mainstream peers. The Wii's
wireless remote control rather amazingly detects directionality
and the speed of acceleration in movements, and the game can
provide non-judgmental feedback on physical moves and performance.
Occupational
Therapy Briefs
A collection of critically appraised topics (CAT) in occupational
therapy.
Orthotics
and Shoe Inserts for Children (Bella Online)
There are few magazine articles that mention these commonly
used shoe inserts that do make a difference to children with
cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or other disorders; those who
have challenges related to injury or serious illness; and
teens who have pain or discomfort due to walking differently
during early childhood and beyond.
Parent
to Parent Helps Families with Special Needs Kids (9News.com)
A parent initiated, parent controlled organization that builds
inclusive communities, supports its members and takes effective
and constructive group action on behalf of family members
with disabilities and special health care needs.
Parents
of Children with Special Needs Entitled to Income Tax Benefits
(2/10/09)
A PowerPoint presentation by Cynthia Sharp with Academy of
Special Needs Planners regarding tax issues for parents who
have taxable estates and children with special needs. Audio
of this presentation and others can be found on ASNP
website.
Service
Dog Etiquette (Bella Online)
The first thing we should consider when teaching adults and
children service dog etiquette is that it develops naturally
from respectful and considerate behavior toward the dog handler
who is a person with a disability. While none of us would
presume to handle or interfere with a person's wheelchair
controls, white cane or hearing aide, our first impulse may
be to respond to or interact with service dogs as if they
are pets. Children can often recognize and remember rules
associated with working service animals better than adults,
and may remind their parents that a working dog has a job
to do that requires concentration and interaction only with
its handler.
Sexual
Assault of Kids with Disabilities
Sexual assault of kids w/disabilities in k-12 schools is a
serious problem. As with colleges and universities, it is
often intentionally swept under the rug. Although the study
USDOE was forced to commission pursuant to NCLB showed molestation
of disabled kids at staggeringly high rates - see Educator
Sexual Misconduct (whole report) and Disability
and Sexual Abuse: Reported Cases, to the best of my knowledge
- USDOE thereafter did absolutely nothing at all about this
serious problem.
Tax
Benefits for Parents of Kids with LD: 2009 Update (Great
Schools.org)
Parents of children with a severe learning disability may
be eligible for valuable tax benefits.
Thousands
of Kids with Special Needs are Living in Nursing Homes
(Wall Street Journal - 7/07)
While the Medicaid program guarantees long-term care for the
disabled, many states have insufficient resources to pay for
care at home. As a consequence, families with children who
have severe disabilities are often forced to place their children
in nursing homes primarily meant for the elderly in order
for the children to get the care they need. A free online
subscription to the Wall Street Journal is required to read
the full article.
Voices
of Disability: 'Relentless' Parents Help Deaf Son Build Successful
LIfe (Oakland Press - 3/15/09)
Martin Levin, an optometrist, and his wife, Mollene, an artist
and former teacher, said they helped their son, now 32 and
who will be married June 6 to Hillary Fisher, by “trying
to take on the burden of what was going on.”
Patti's Comments: Congratulations to this family. Relentless
parents are challenging clients, but I love to help them in
their support of their kids.
What
is Dwarfism?
There’s been a lot of discussion over the years about
the proper way to refer to a child with dwarfism.
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