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For Families and Caregivers – The News You Need This Week (2/22/12)

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A Sister’s Thoughts from India

Having a Child with Special Needs has taught me a lot about myself. I think it has taught my Daughter a lot, too. Having a Sibling with a Special Need, can be a special gift.

Jeetu will be stepping into teens this August while I’ll be stepping out. Despite this sizable age gap and his condition, along the years we’ve come to share a close brother-sister bond, unlike any other. Our bond has to be different, because Jeetu is different.

Schools Must Do More to Involve Parents, Students in IEP Process

The study, published this month online in the Journal of Disability Policy Studies, found that participation in IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings varied based on the type of disability a student has, their family income, and their racial or ethnic background. Parents of students who had demonstrated “challenging” behavior at school, or who had poor social skills, reported they found meetings about their IEPs or transition from high school to college or work less than satisfactory, the authors found.

Respite Care and Family Members

For more about Respite, please check out my interview with Sandra from Respite, Inc.

Getting the help caregivers need is essential for their health, and the health of caregivers is essential to their ability to care for their loved ones.

 Emergency Preparedness Tips for Those with Functional Needs

I wrote about Disaster Preparation in this article and heard from several people that this is a big concern for them. Here is a guide I found with some excellent ideas to help you prepare.

This document has been specially developed by a team of emergency management and health professionals to help assist those with special needs to be better prepared for a disaster or emergency.

If you have found any great resources or stories, please share them in the Comments Section.

 

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For Families and Caregivers – The News You Need This Week (2/15/12)

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Worth Repeating: Speech-Based Activities for Kids with Apraxia

But you just want to know what you can do at home to help your child?

There are a few things you need to keep in mind as your “golden rules” in working with your child with CAS…

The State of Illinois and the lives of medically fragile kids with special needs.

This program provides them with dignity and independence, allowing them to live at home with their families by providing them with home nursing care and other Medicaid benefits.

Obama Plan For Special Education Leaves Advocates Disappointed

Despite a heavy emphasis on education in the president’s budget proposal this week, advocates are worried that students with disabilities are being left out.

Related Services

IDEA requires that a child be assessed in all areas related to his or her suspected disability. This evaluation must be sufficiently comprehensive so as to identify all of the child’s special education and related services needs, whether or not those needs are commonly linked to the disability category in which he or she has been classified.

Other Health Impairment

“Other Health Impairment” is one of the 14categories of disability listed in our nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, a child who has an “other health impairment” is very likely to be eligible for special services to help the child address his or her educational, developmental, and functional needs resulting from the disability.

How to Get Help at School for Your Child with a Disability

An absolute must read if you have a school age Special Needs Child!

Children’s Books on Special Needs

Explaining a disability to your child or his classmates, friends and young relatives can be a challenge for parents. These books discuss special needs in a kid-friendly way that can shine a positive light on a tricky topic.

Divorce and Your Special Needs Child

There are few challenges more difficult than going through divorce and having a special needs child. As a divorced, single parent of a beautiful special needs daughter, I can tell you that you realize immediately that the burden of future planning, well-being, and protection fall squarely on your shoulders as a custodial parent. It is the daily living and ordinary moments that test your self reliance and capacity to parent alone. When there is a special needs child involved in a divorce, issues of child custody, visitation, and support and property division are significantly more complex to negotiate. As part of your divorce, make sure your attorney knows what your child’s needs are and walk them through a “day in the life” of you and your child.

Essential Skills for Becoming Your Child’s Advocate

Learning the essential skills to become your child’s advocate and ensure your child receives an appropriate education does not require lots of money or even years of schooling. All it requires is learning five basic skills and consistently implementing them within the school community.

If you have found any great resources or stories, please share them in the Comments Section.

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For Families and Caregivers – The News You Need This Week (2/8/12)

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Look Back Plan Forward

This site has some very good resources for those of us with Family Members who are aging.

Look Back, Plan Forward was created to support individuals with disabilities and people who are aging; along with their family caregivers and service providers, by offering a resource to capture their personal stories. The tool is designed to help you capture your life stories in a way that helps others to better understand your history, values, preferences and support needs.

Do relationships with Special Education departments have to be adversarial?

I wrote about this in The Fair, Firm and Friendly Guide Method for with Your IEP Team. Here is another perspective:

There’s nothing mystical about how well we work together. Like I said, mutual respect for each other. But it’s not been without planning, tenacity, communication, and giving (on both our parts).

Ten Myths About Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

…it is not uncommon for school staff, who generally have good intentions, to misstate a regulation or to rely on an assumption about a particular regulation. When school staff rely on special education mythology, two things occur: the school risks being in noncompliance; and more importantly, the all-important relationship with parents is undermined, eroding the trust that is necessary to achieve genuine consensus.

The IEP Success Kit

If Matthew were still in school I’d pay any price for this!

We created the IEP Success Kit to give parents and service providers the tools we use every day to successfully advocate for our clients. We not only walk you through the process of how to successfully advocate for your child, but also get and keep you organized.

Lowering Expectations Made Me a Better Dad

I once read on my very good friend’s blog that “the biggest disability we have is low expectations” but in my experience the opposite also is true. Having too many expectations on myself or my children became a disability that I learned how to overcome.

 How to talk to your child about disabilities

Overall a good article, I think. You might want to share this with your child’s teachers so they can share it with other parents.

My Oxygen Mask Project

I’ve been harping on the need for Mom’s to take care of themselves and how they can do it. Here’s another point of view…

…Then, about 2 weeks ago, I came to a realization. I NEED this. I have to start thinking of myself – maybe not first, but at least some of the time.

If you have found any great resources or stories, please share them in the Comments Section.

Help make The Village Your Village but sharing your thoughts, ideas and suggestions in this short survey. It’ll only take a few minutes but I appreciate your time very much.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Information and Resources, Parenting Information and Resources, Special Education, Special Needs Caregivers
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