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Special Needs > Cerebral Palsy
Hip Surveillance for Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Parent's Guide to the Monitoring Schedule
...protocol exists for a reason: children with CP are at higher risk for...makes a significant difference in outcomes. Here's what hip surveillance...well the hip joint is staying in place as your child grows. It's...silently. By the time a child is in pain or has visible gait changes,...muscle release surgery. Why Children with CP Are at Higher Risk....
Special Needs > Cerebral Palsy
Navigating Spasticity Treatments in Cerebral Palsy: Botox, SDR, and Orthotics Explained
...three appointments in the last month. The...treatment your child needs, whether these options...Here's the framework you needed three appointments...Spasticity management in cerebral palsy isn't...at different points in the body's system....causing spasticity in the legs. It's one-time,...underlying tone. Most children with moderate to severe...
Special Needs > Autism Spectrum
Sleep and Autism: Evidence-Based Help for Children Who Can't Fall Asleep or Stay Asleep
...autistic children have chronic...patterns in children on...patterns in children on the spectrum....struggle you're in isn't a parenting...autistic children, and the sensory...and routine needs that shape...Autistic Children Struggle With...difficulties in autism aren't...autistic children produce melatonin...melatonin later in the evening...neurotypical children, which delays...transition, and for children who find transitions...
Research > Genetics
CRISPR Gene Therapy for Rare Pediatric Disorders: What Families Need to Know
In February 2025, a medical...short answer is that most children with rare disorders won't...personalized CRISPR therapy in the next few years. But...specialized expertise at major children's hospitals, will determine...which conditions move from "in development" to "available"...caused by a single mutation in a known gene. If you can...
News > Research
When Studies Disagree: How to Make Sense of Conflicting Research as a Special Needs Parent
...decades for scientific consensus. You have a child who needs decisions now. Here's how to navigate research that...now. Here's how to navigate research that points in different directions. Why Studies Contradict Each...They mean researchers studied different things, in different ways, with different people. A study on...
Global Insights > Healthcare
Medicaid for Working Families: Katie Beckett Waivers, Dual Coverage, and Options You Didn't Know Existed
...of dollars in. You're working...your child needs. This is the...coverage for one in three children...one in three children with special...health care needs, according...child who needed hospital-level...treated at home. In 1981, the Reagan...waiver allowing children who would qualify...they were in an institution...policy is still in place. It's...Beckett waiver in most states,...Medically Needy. Here's how...
Global Insights > Healthcare
The Healthcare Transition at 21: How to Prepare Your Child (and Yourself) for the Shift to Adult Care
...Fewer than half of children with special healthcare...special healthcare needs aged 12 to 17 receive...providers with expertise in neurodevelopmental...disabilities don't exist in numbers that match...numbers that match the need. You can start preparing...milestones looked like in context, what medication...doctors, specialists in adult systems) were...historically stayed in...
Global Insights > Education
What U.S. Parents Can Learn from How Other Countries Educate Students with Disabilities
...whether your child needs a full-time aide...Countries Reduced the Need for Individual Negotiations....IEP equivalents in the way U.S. parents...flexibility built in. Schools employ resource...Infrastructure Doesn't Exist. In sub-Saharan Africa,...fewer than 10% of children with disabilities...primary education. In Nepal, 85% of out-of-school...of out-of-school children are disabled. The...
Therapies > Other
Deep Pressure Therapy and Weighted Blankets: What Parents of Children with Special Needs Should Know
...themselves in blankets during...system is stuck in high alert....Grandin's research in the 1980s laid...reductions in anxiety and...increases in calm-alert...replicated in children with...replicated in children with autism,...reduced anxiety in children with...anxiety in children with autism...benefit for children who seek proprioceptive...Pressure Works in the Nervous...mechanoreceptors in the skin and...
Therapies > Animal
Small Animal Therapy: How Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, and Cats Help Children with Special Needs
...being used therapeutically with children who are sensory-sensitive,...provide a safe entry point for children who need something less demanding....entry point for children who need something less demanding. What...doesn't jump. A rabbit sits still in your lap if handled gently....purrs at a steady rhythm. For children who struggle with sensory processing...
Special Needs > Visual Impairments
Braille and Technology: Why Your Child with Visual Impairment Needs Both
...writing skills your child needs for school and work....cognitive functions, and children who learn both have...measurably better outcomes in employment, independence,...platform, and they give children with visual impairments...faster than reading it in Braille at 100 words...essential tools. But speed in consumption isn't the...Can't. Braille teaches children to read actively, not...
Global Insights > Advocacy
Teaching Your Child to Self-Advocate: Age-by-Age Strategies from Elementary Through High School
...graduation. It starts in elementary school,...name what they need and ask for it...and ask for it in situations they...hundreds of times in lower-stakes settings....their teacher they need a sensory break....understanding their own needs and being able...able to name them in simple terms. Your...overwhelmed, and what they need when they're struggling....accommodations in low-stakes situations....