Special Needs

Articles

...funds on their behalf. What you might not know is that this role has a formal name, specific legal responsibilities, and reporting requirements. You're...covered by insurance, adaptive equipment, and recreational activities that support your child's development. What you cannot do is use benefits for expenses...

...the skill they need. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. The format forces specificity about what happened, what needed doing, what you did,...specialists, advocated for accommodations in an educational setting, led a support group, or solved logistical problems that required adaptive thinking, you...

...disability. The tasks must be directly related to the disability. Emotional support animals, therapy animals, and comfort animals are not service animals under...employer must engage in what the EEOC calls the interactive process. That's a formal term for a two-way conversation about whether the accommodation is reasonable,...

...the new building, and unless you know exactly what to advocate for, those supports slip away before the ink dries. This is the version of transition planning...version of transition planning nobody tells you about early enough. Not the formal post-secondary kind that kicks in at age 16 under IDEA, but the school-to-school...

...designed to identify whether your child qualifies for support. Here's how to request an evaluation, what happens...and what to do if the school says no. Write a Formal Evaluation Request. Start with a written request....Any observations from teachers or tutors that support your concern Your contact information You don't...

...years, the assumption was that high school graduation marked the end of formal education for most students with intellectual and developmental disabilities....businesses. Students practice job skills in real work environments, with support from job coaches or program staff. The goal is paid employment after program...

...fully intend to follow through. Then life happens. The week gets away from you. By the next session, you're apologizing for not doing the exercises. Formal practice sessions aren't what moves the needle. Research shows that two 5-minute interactions embedded in your child's day are more effective than...

...goals: improving communication, building motor skills, reducing anxiety, or supporting emotional regulation. Sessions are goal-directed and measurable. They're...accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship. That's the formal definition from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). In practice,...

...signals something specific: your other children need formal support structures designed for siblings, not just...something specific: your other children need formal support structures designed for siblings, not just better...distress as something to manage at home. But sibling support programs, therapists who specialize in sibling...

...verbal summaries, even if the clinician walked you through everything in detail. You'll want the exact language they used, the specific scores, and the formal recommendations when you're talking to schools, therapists, or insurance. Most providers will email PDFs within a few days if you ask at checkout....

...guardianship and no legal support at all, and disability...option is called supported decision-making....decision-making. What Supported Decision-Making...Decision-Making Is. Supported decision-making...decision-making (SDM) is a formal agreement in which...appoints a team of supporters to help them...decisions. The supporters don't make decisions...legal rights. The supporters are there to...

...or attending school. These individuals are perhaps the most in need of formal support and activities, yet they are the ones not receiving care. Additionally,...attending school. These individuals are perhaps the most in need of formal support and activities, yet they are the ones not receiving care. Additionally,...