Special Needs

Articles

...or to be used by parents, the book helps teach about the typical behaviors of autism, and it includes everything from inattention, playing alone, wandering, and little sense of fear to sensory overload and finger flapping. Told in rhyming lines with a cheerful lilt, the story is ideally read aloud and...

...understands the dangers of swimming alone, especially in areas with surf or currents. Despite best efforts from concerned family members or caregivers, wandering incidents will occur. Traditionally, once a child is reported as missing, caregivers will give rescue personnel a description of the individual and...

...nearly 30% of children with autism engage in wandering behavior – a rate that is eight times higher than...In addition to having a higher incidence of wandering, children with autism may be in greater danger...can take to prevent children with autism from wandering away from home and to locate them quickly and...

...questions. At midnight you're lying on the floor next to their bed hoping your presence will help. At 2:00 AM you're awake yourself, exhausted and wondering what you're doing wrong. You're not doing anything wrong. Two-thirds of autistic children have chronic sleep problems, according to multiple studies...

...matters. But here's what gets confusing: you're hearing it in three different contexts (cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, pediatric stroke) and you're wondering if it means the same thing across all of them. Can a brain damaged by oxygen deprivation at birth rewire the same way a brain does after a stroke...

Your child's IEP says "general education classroom with co-teaching support." You agreed to it at the meeting. Now you're wondering what that means in practice: what it looks like when it works, and what it looks like when it doesn't. Co-teaching isn't one thing. It's six distinct...

The appointment is scheduled. You've been told your child needs a speech therapy evaluation, and now you're wondering what that means. What happens in the room? What will they ask your child to do? What are you supposed to bring? Most parents walk into a first speech...

...therapy through the IEP. But at home, your child still struggles to button their coat, hold a pencil without pain, or use utensils at meals. You're wondering if you need private OT on top of school services, or if that's overstepping. You might worry that pursuing outside therapy sends the wrong message...

...something feels off. The label feels too broad, or it doesn't match what you see at home, or the evaluator missed details you thought mattered. You're wondering if you should get a second opinion, and if that makes you difficult, paranoid, or both. It doesn't. Seeking a second opinion isn't about doubting...

...said "we're recommending genetic testing" and handed you a referral to a geneticist. You nodded, took the paper, and now you're sitting in your car wondering what you just agreed to. You're not alone in that confusion. In early 2026, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its guidance on genetic testing...

...an interview, and the hiring manager asks if there's anything that would prevent you from performing the job. Or you got the offer, and now you're wondering if you need to mention your condition before you start. The disclosure question isn't one question. It's a dozen questions wrapped in anxiety: Will...

...All of them said roughly the same thing: you have protections, discrimination is illegal, reasonable accommodations exist. And all of them left you wondering which law applies to your situation, what you can demand from your landlord, and what happens if they say no. This isn't another overview. This is...