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Special Needs > Hearing Impairments
Classroom Accommodations That Work for Students with Hearing Impairments
...weight. Some are foundational. Others are helpful but secondary. If you're working with a teacher who's never had a student with hearing loss, start with...instructional area. For students with hearing aids or cochlear implants, it means distance from noise...
Special Needs > Learning Differences
Executive Function Strategies That Work: A Parent's Guide for Students with Learning Differences
...we start tasks, hold information in working memory, plan multi-step assignments,...activities. When these systems aren't working smoothly, school becomes harder than...continue developing. Here's what works. Working Memory Support: Making Information...Support: Making Information Stick. Working memory is the mental workspace where...
Social Engagement > Dating and Relationships
A Parent's Guide to Supporting Your Teen with Special Needs in Their First Relationships
...safety, creating space for social connection while staying present enough to intervene: none of this has a template, and most parents find themselves working it out as it arrives. Start the Conversation Before Puberty. The mistake most parents make is waiting until their teen shows interest in dating. By...
Research > Funding
Private Foundations Funding Disability Research: A Guide for Advocates and Families
...to 2023. Only 2.3% of that went to lifespan or adulthood research. The rest focused on early intervention and pediatric care. Private foundations working in these spaces are scarcer, and the grants they offer tend to be smaller and more narrowly targeted. The structural gap isn't incidental. Philanthropy...
Research > Brain Science
Brain Connectivity and Cerebral Palsy: Why More Isn't Always Better
For years, you've probably heard that more is better. More therapy, more repetition, denser neural networks, under the assumption that a brain working harder to recruit more pathways would eventually get your child to better motor outcomes. A 2025 NIH study turned that assumption over. Children with...
Research > Assistive Tech
Choosing AAC Devices Based on Research: What the Evidence Says About Effectiveness
...studies don't share outcome measures. The research isn't unclear because AAC doesn't work. It's unclear because the field hasn't aligned on what "working" means. Why Consensus Is So Hard to Find. Three factors make AAC research especially difficult to synthesize. First, the populations studied vary widely....
News > Research
When Studies Disagree: How to Make Sense of Conflicting Research as a Special Needs Parent
...therapy intensity, medication timing, classroom inclusion models. The disagreement isn't a sign that science is broken. It's a sign that science is working exactly as designed: testing ideas, refining methods, and slowly building toward answers. But parents don't have the luxury of waiting decades for...
Global Insights > Healthcare
Medicaid for Working Families: Katie Beckett Waivers, Dual Coverage, and Options You Didn't Know Existed
...you're already thousands of dollars in. You're working full-time and still can't afford the care your...the care your child needs. This is the gap where working families fall through. Medicaid is the only source...health care needs, according to KFF. But most working families assume they don't qualify because their...
Global Insights > Education
Inside Inclusive Classrooms: What Co-Teaching Models Actually Look Like
...Understanding which model you're seeing, and whether it's being used effectively, gives you the language to evaluate whether your child's placement is working. The Six Co-Teaching Models. These models come from educational research on collaborative instruction. Schools implementing inclusive practices train...
Global Insights > Advocacy
Teaching Your Child to Self-Advocate: Age-by-Age Strategies from Elementary Through High School
...their own needs and being able to name them in simple terms. Your child isn't negotiating yet, but they're learning to recognize when something isn't working and how to communicate that to a trusted adult. Start with self-awareness. Help your child notice what helps them focus, what makes them overwhelmed,...
Financial > Government Benefits
Medicaid Waiver Waiting Lists: How to Access Services While You Wait (and How to Jump the Line)
...services: the supports that make community living possible. Without them, families piece together what they can afford or rely on aging caregivers working past retirement. The wait is real. But most families don't know there are three ways to access services faster, and one of those ways applies to 80%...
Education > Higher Education
College Programs for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: What CTPs Offer
...years, that combines academic coursework, career training, and independent living instruction. Students aren't pursuing a bachelor's degree. They're working toward a certificate or credential that documents specific skills. Academic components might include auditing college courses alongside traditional...