In case you missed it Friendship Circle launched the Great Bike Giveaway this past week. The Great Bike Giveaway is a national contest giving away adaptive bikes to children with special needs. We are partnering with bike companies from around the U.S. to provide some of the best adaptive bikes to the children and young adults [...]
With the summertime arriving shortly you may be planning your summer vacation. It can sometimes be stressful if you are planning a visit to an unfamiliar city or country and you are concerned about whether the most popular attractions will be wheelchair accessible. London is considered to be one of the most accessible cities across [...]
One of the biggest hurdles parents of children with special needs face is preparing for the future. With income restrictions on many benefit programs, it can be difficult for parents to plan for their child’s future needs. Recently, however, Congress has introduced legislation called the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which would enable [...]
My husband and I rejoiced last week when our son achieved a milestone that was years in the making – just shy of his twelfth birthday. Since our son has global developmental delays, his milestones are different from the charts published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. And besides, we have a different way of [...]
“Just because a person can’t speak doesn’t mean they have nothing to say.” A very important reminder from a parent of a non-verbal child. Communication is a basic human need, allowing people to connect with others, make decisions that affect their lives, express feelings and feel part of the community they live in. People with little [...]
Do you remember the freedom you felt, the confidence you gained, the pride you had when you received your first bike? The Great Bike Giveaway will help give give children with special needs the same feeling you had when that shiny new bike arrived at your home. For the second consecutive year Friendship Circle is holding the Great [...]
Last year, the principal at my son’s elementary school asked me to write a short essay about inclusion of students with special needs for the school newsletter during Autism Awareness Month. I wrote a 450 word piece and submitted it a week before the deadline. She never printed any part of it. I think my [...]
“Mom, I hate having Down Syndrome.” My 14-year old daughter told me this the other day. Honestly, I sat there for a minute because I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t a big surprise to me because she had implied in the past that she wanted nothing to do with Down Syndrome. Our family [...]
As a special needs planning attorney, I am often asked by clients and financial planners how family members can make gifts of cash and other financial assets to a child with special needs. Don’t Give A Gift! Generally, making outright gifts to a child with special needs is never good planning because it will jeopardize [...]
Part Five is the final post of a series that concentrates on the inherent benefits of play for children with special needs. In this post we focus on how toys and the experience of play help with social development. Part One was devoted to toys and the development of gross motor skills. Part Two of the [...]
