Resources for families with special needs - page 5

Costumes, Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and spooky decorations are fun for most kids, but for a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Halloween celebrations can be overwhelming. A child with SPD processes input from the five senses differently. What is background music to others may be…

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Eight-year-old Hailey Dawson set a goal to throw the first pitch at every Major League Baseball stadium—and she’s doing just that without a fully developed right hand. Hailey was born with Poland Syndrome, which causes underdeveloped or missing chest muscles on one side of the…

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Nerves and butterflies don’t just happen to school-bound students once autumn approaches and the streets fill up again with big yellow buses. Nope. We parents get the jitters, too—especially parents of kids with special needs. We worry: Will his new teacher “get it?” Will the…

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Your teen is heading off to college—congratulations! It’s a really exciting time for all of you, but it’s also one that requires extra planning. That’s particularly true if your student needs accessible housing. You know your child’s abilities and limitations best, which means you’re in…

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When I was 8 or 9 years old, I saw a production of The Nutcracker on TV and fell in love with the idea of ballet. I pirouetted around the house night and day, with dreams of pink slippers in my head, until finally my…

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There are two very important early childhood windows that parents should be aware of from the moment a child is born: the 0-6 month window and the 0-6 year window (sometimes referred to as Birth to 5). The two windows set the stage for how…

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Studies show that kids with special needs spend less time outdoors than typical children. Barriers like inaccessibility and the need for additional supervision might keep them from enjoying the incredible benefits of the natural world. Outdoor spaces provide a feast for the senses—billowing breezes, crunchy…

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When I tell friends I was recently diagnosed with autism, some of them scoff and call it nonsense. They say I function fine, that I smile, laugh and socialize. I’m a mother who is active in the lives of my three sons; I have published…

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There are many variables involved in obtaining prescription medications during times of disaster, including the overall state of the emergency, type of medication, federal regulations, insurance authorization, corporate pharmacy policies, transportation issues, electronic access, phone communications and more. The best way to prepare is to…

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Imagine the courage it takes for children to try outrigger canoeing. That’s the situation for some visually impaired kids who have participated in an adaptive program run by the Nā Koa Kai Canoe Club, a Hawaiian outrigger canoeing program for kids in San Diego. “The…

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