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 [...]
Image courtesy of: navy.mil There has been much focus in the media and elsewhere recently on “sequestration” and the impending budget cuts. What does it all mean? How will this affect access to programs and services for people with disabilities? These are not easily answered questions because at this point, no one knows how the cuts [...]
Parents of a child with special needs understand the difficulty in having to care for a special needs child and work full or part time outside the home. Unfortunately many employers do not understand these challenges and do not provide flexibility for carers of children with special needs. Thankfully for parents there are certain protections to ensure [...]
People with severe mental illness and others with severe behavior problems can become disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system. Due to a lack of awareness, a lack of preventative measures, and a lack of understanding about mental illness, often times, the criminal justice system is ill-equipped to respond to the needs of this special [...]
Psychiatrists, psychologists, and medical doctors use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association to diagnose mental disorders and intellectual disabilities. The DSM is an important tool not only to diagnose, but having a DSM diagnosis is often required for insurance coverage, and to access special education and/or state-sponsored programs. Asperger’s [...]
“Retarded.” For some, the word carries a tremendous sting. For others, it is simply a colloquial word akin to “silly” or “ridiculous.” A campaign by the Special Olympics, “Spread the Word to End the Word” asks people to pledge to stop using the word, “retarded.” The project has taken hold in several schools as peers [...]
When someone turns 18, they become an adult and are expected to make the right to make decisions about their medical treatment, finances and life. In order to make these decisions binding (in a legal sense), the person should be competent to understand the decision being made and the consequences of that decision. What is Guardianship? Guardianship is [...]
A child’s financial future is daunting enough but adding in a child’s special needs can create additional anxiety. Parents often wonder who will care for the child and how the child’s needs will be met once they the parents are no longer around. Often times, parents of children with special needs consider a Special Needs [...]
By now, you have probably heard about the Supreme Court’s highly anticipated ruling on President Obama’s health care reform legislation, the Affordable Care Act. Much discussion has focused on what this ruling means for the general public; however, little attention has been devoted to what it means for people with disabilities. Below is a summary [...]
Health insurance can be an invaluable resource for families with children with autism to help make the often high-cost and high-frequency treatments for their child more affordable. However, making sure that services and providers are covered can be confusing and time-consuming. Below are some tips for how to make the process more manageable and to [...]
