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Research > Brain Science
Brain Connectivity and Cerebral Palsy: Why More Isn't Always Better
...eventually get your child to better motor outcomes. A 2025 NIH study turned that assumption...brain connectivity had worse motor function, not better. That is genuinely surprising...and What It Found. Researchers used functional MRI to map brain connectivity in...assessments of each child's motor function. Children with more widespread connectivity,...
Research > Assistive Tech
Choosing AAC Devices Based on Research: What the Evidence Says About Effectiveness
...the Research Shows. Systematic reviews of AAC outcomes consistently find that high-tech devices (speech-generating...Still others measure caregiver satisfaction or functional independence. When researchers try to compare...often can't, because the studies don't share outcome measures. The research isn't unclear because AAC...
News > Research
When Studies Disagree: How to Make Sense of Conflicting Research as a Special Needs Parent
...showing that intensive therapy produces better outcomes. You bookmark it, ready to bring it to your child's...with different people. A study on speech therapy outcomes for three-year-olds with autism who are minimally...standardized test scores; another as parent-reported functional communication. One...
Medical > Cardiology
Helping Your Autistic Child Through Heart Tests: A Sensory-Friendly Approach to Echocardiograms and ECGs
...that preparation works. Specific strategies, executed in advance, improve outcomes for autistic children undergoing cardiac testing. Here's what that preparation...while the tech captures images from multiple positions. The gel serves a functional purpose. Ultrasound waves don't travel well through air, so the gel creates...
Lifestyle > Recreation
Screen Time and Special Needs: Evidence-Based Guidance for Parents
...sensory processing, but they also show screens improving communication outcomes for nonverbal kids. Parents need guidance that accounts for both sides,...parent makes dinner. That's the model. It breaks down when screens serve functional purposes. A child using Proloquo2Go to tell you they're hungry isn't passively...
Therapies > Occupational
Occupational Therapy
...challenge. Goals are developed to ensure that functional outcomes are met. OT's assist clients to develop...Goals are developed to ensure that functional outcomes are met. OT's assist clients to develop fine...community therapeutic activities, children develop functional skills that enable them to live more independently.OTs...
Health > Diagnosis
How to Fight an Insurance Denial for Your Child's Autism or ADHD Evaluation
...whether the evaluation is required to diagnose a condition that affects function and whether alternative, less expensive assessments could provide the same...request included the pediatrician's referral but no description of specific functional impairments, the reviewer has no basis to distinguish this request from...
Education > Accommodations
Making IEP goals that support Language and Communication: Tweaking the plan in the New Year
...long and tedious meeting. In order to maximize the opportunity to support functional goal development, the parents can be ready to suggest ways to help the...speech/language goals separated. When all goals have an expectation and outcome for interaction with, and learning of, language within them, we have created...
Special Needs > Speech and Communication Impairments
Limited Communicators: How to Open the Door to your Child's Potential
...as possible answers for why a child or young adult with limited or no functional communication shows behaviors which may not fit the situation. Although...sustaining factors for communication limitations are highly varied, the outcome is often the same. Frustration, anger, or even despondence to communicate...
Therapies > Physical
Physical Therapy
...program will focus on improving the patient's functional or educational skills. Therapy sessions may include:...discussing with the therapist what is the expected outcome of the therapy sessions. Therapy does not necessarily...sessions. Therapy does not necessarily change the outcome or course of the disability; however,...
Assistive Tech > Hardware
AAC Devices and Apps: How to Choose Speech-Generating Technology
...Here's what does help: understanding that clinical outcomes for AAC don't correlate with price. Research shows...devices over low-tech options for communication outcomes. The decision isn't about finding the "best" device....eye-tracking systems, with a decision framework based on function and a breakdown of what insurance covers. AAC...
Special Needs > Visual Impairments
Braille and Technology: Why Your Child with Visual Impairment Needs Both
...choice. Braille literacy and assistive technology serve different cognitive functions, and children who learn both have measurably better outcomes in employment,...cognitive functions, and children who learn both have measurably better outcomes in employment, independence, and literacy than those who rely on audio...