Special Needs

Articles

...moment a speech-language pathologist recommends an AAC app, many parents open their app store and encounter a wall: dozens of options, prices ranging...iOS at $249.99, Proloquo2Go has the longest track record and the widest adoption among speech-language pathologists in the United States. Its vocabulary...

...medication non-adherence during these years. The problems aren't medical. They're structural. Adult clinics operate differently, insurance coverage gaps open at predictable ages, and self-management skills that weren't required at 16 become mandatory at 19. This transition doesn't have to derail care. Parents...

...SFARI remains the anchor for autism research. Their grants range from exploratory pilot studies to multi-year investigator awards. Application cycles open annually in the fall, with letters of intent...

...components, and other adaptive sports gear; Sport Expense Grants cover coaching, training, competition entry fees, and travel to events. Applications open twice a year (spring and fall cycles). The review process takes 4–6 weeks. Approval rates are high if you meet the eligibility requirements and document...

...began before age 26. As of January 2026, that age cutoff increased to 46. Millions of adults with disabilities who were previously ineligible can now open an ABLE account. If your child is between 26 and 45 and became disabled during that window, they can now use ABLE for tax-advantaged savings without...

A teacher watches a student slump forward at her desk. The girl's eyes are open but vacant, her hands making small repetitive movements. The teacher has read the file. She knows the child has epilepsy. What she doesn't know is whether...

You're qualified for your job. You know your field. But the open office is a sensory minefield, the informal social expectations feel like a second language you never fully learned, and you're burning out from masking...

...workshops? The format determines who shows up and what they expect. A facilitated discussion with rotating topics attracts different members than an open-ended share circle. Set geographic boundaries: Neighborhood-only, citywide, or regional? Distance matters when members need to get home for bedtime...

...explain the root cause. Genetic testing looks for changes in chromosomes or genes that could be driving those symptoms. Finding a genetic cause can open doors you didn't know existed. A specific genetic diagnosis may qualify your child for clinical trials testing new therapies. It can guide medical monitoring...

...adapt to that shortened position. What starts as muscle tightness becomes fixed joint restriction. The window for non-surgical intervention doesn't stay open indefinitely. This is the escalation ladder most families will navigate: home stretching, physical therapy, serial casting, botulinum toxin injections,...

...come with serving children who need more support. When the funding stopped, providers that relied on it either closed or cut capacity. The ones still open are managing skeleton crews and years-long waitlists. Children with disabilities require lower child-to-staff ratios. Many need one-to-one support....

...jeopardizing their eligibility for SSI or Medicaid. Someone tells you to open an ABLE account. Someone else says you need a special needs trust. A third...above that does affect SSI eligibility, but not Medicaid in most states. To open an ABLE account, the disability must have started before age 46. That's a...