Special Needs

Articles

...afraid of the fire drill. Autistic children often understand loyalty and kindness deeply but miss the smaller exchange: friendship isn't just someone you're...over time. Spelling it out plainly works: "A friend is someone you like spending time...

From his voice, you wouldn't know Shannon Rose has a life-threatening disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. And after speaking with him, you'd know that he doesn't let this diagnosis get in his way. Rose says, "Since the age of birth, I've always had an interesting life."...

...gap isn't incidental. Philanthropy chronically overlooks disability funding for identifiable reasons. Program officers at major foundations report spending years in leadership training before making investment decisions on disability research. This lag reflects institutional blind spots, not active avoidance....

...ensure SSI serves people with limited financial means. The problem is that most personal loans are sized for repayment schedules, not for immediate spending within a 30-day window. SSDI vs. SSI:...

...program is larger than winter by every measure. More sports, more events, more athletes, and television coverage that runs in prime time rather than streaming windows that require setting an alarm. For families who found Paralympic sport through the 2026 coverage, the summer program is the next entry point,...

...injuries, blindness, deafness, and mobility impairments. If your condition substantially limits a major life activity like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working, you likely qualify. You don't need to be receiving disability benefits to use Schedule A. You just need documentation...

...mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include things like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, concentrating, and working. The definition is broad. It covers conditions that are episodic or in remission, like epilepsy,...

...change at the cellular level. Synapses form between neurons that communicate frequently. Myelin wraps around axons that transmit signals repeatedly, speeding up transmission by up to 100 times. Brain regions that handle practiced skills develop more gray matter. The reverse is also true. Pathways that don't...

...activity at all. It means the impairment makes it significantly harder compared to most people. Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. It also includes major bodily functions like immune system function,...

...history shows what happens next. The last time federal Medicaid funding dropped significantly (2010–2012), every state and Washington, D.C. cut HCBS spending. Waiting lists for developmental disability waivers grew by a median of 54%. For other waiver programs, the increase was 138%. This pattern matters...

...lined up, and knowing which sport to turn to first makes all the difference. The Platform. Peacock is your primary home for the Games. The complete streaming guide covers access options, pricing, and what NBC carries on linear TV. The short version: Peacock is where the full catalog lives, including live...

...development, communication, social-emotional development, or adaptive development. These span motor skills and mobility, thinking and problem-solving, speaking and understanding language, relating to others and emotional regulation, and self-care skills like eating and dressing. A child also qualifies if...