Special Needs

Articles

...leadership training before making investment decisions on disability research. This lag reflects institutional blind spots, not active avoidance. Small patient populations don't generate the donor urgency that cancer or heart disease do. Academic prestige doesn't cluster around disability research the way...

...applications follow institutional capacity. Larger patient advocacy organizations generate political pressure,...follow institutional capacity. Larger patient advocacy organizations generate political pressure, which...funding hierarchy that correlates more closely with advocacy infrastructure than medical need. Within each...

...life. Overcoming Obstacles. Parents of blind children face many unique challenges, but they also have unique strengths. They are often incredibly patient and resourceful, and they have to be. They have to advocate for their child in a world that is not always designed with them in mind. But they do it,...

...about her experience going from a pediatric clinic to an adult clinic. This patient explains to us her common concern that so many others experience. Lisa Greene...new doctor didn't care about me as a person and that I was just another patient to her…I'm naturally a shy person and after that first disaster of an appointment,...

...how to find providers who will take your call. Start at 14: Build Self-Advocacy Skills Before You Need Them. The work of transition starts years before...change to a provider who doesn't know their history? Adult medicine assumes patients can answer all three. If your young adult can't yet, start now. At the...

...common medication challenges: pill swallowing refusal, liquid medicine battles, and sensory-driven medication resistance. These aren't generic "be patient" tips. They're techniques with clinical backing that you can start using today. The Pill-Swallowing Progression That Works. Many children refuse to...

When your child's therapist recommends music therapy, you might picture piano lessons with a patient teacher. You're thinking of the wrong thing entirely. Music therapy is a clinical intervention. A board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) uses rhythm,...

...exam. Two days later you see the practice advertising openings for new patients. According to a 2022 Urban Institute study, 32% of disabled adults report...denied. Strategic denial of care. A practice says they're not taking new patients, but you find out later they accepted someone without a disability that...

...slowly and loudly to you even though your disability has nothing to do with hearing or cognition. Someone compliments your colleague for "being so patient" with you. You know something is wrong, but when you name it, you're told you're being too sensitive. You're not. These are microaggressions, a specific...

...speak your child's progress report aloud, or tried to navigate a healthcare patient portal that collapses under keyboard navigation, you've run into a system...for smaller ones. This includes school district websites, IEP portals, patient portals at public hospitals, and telehealth platforms used by government-funded...

...and families already fighting insurance denials face a new barrier. What's Getting More Expensive. Durable medical equipment: Wheelchairs, walkers, patient lifts, adaptive seating, positioning devices. Manufacturing is concentrated overseas; tariff costs pass through distributors and land on retail and...

The siblings of children with special needs are often described as resilient, patient beyond their years, or unusually empathetic. They may well be all of those things. They are also, frequently, children who have learned that the family's...