As the leading non-profit corporation focused on advocating for the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities in Ohio, Disability Rights Ohio and its partners urge the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to consider its recommendations as it formulates the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. While DRO and its partners is encouraged that Phase 1A of the present plan includes the people with intellectual disabilities, as well as those with mental illness, who live […]
Since schools closed in March, Deborah Tomai has sat alongside her son, a 9-year-old with Down syndrome, as he made gains in class, developed as a reader, and grasped concepts, such as regrouping, in math class. But she struggles to keep him focused and motivated during his remote-learning sessions. One day, she left him unsupervised in front of his computer to take a phone call. When she came back minutes later, he was in their […]
Distance learning for children with autism and ADHD: challenges and optimism Patricia Schetter’s youngest son is a high school senior, attending classes online like so many students this year due to COVID-19. Distance learning is a challenge for some students with autism, but there’s optimism, too. “He’s like, ‘Mom, I just want to go back to school. I want to be on campus with my friends,’ ” said Schetter, the coordinator of autism education initiatives […]
You’ve most likely met people with Down syndrome, but you might not know much about the chromosomal condition that affects one in 700 individuals. In honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, which takes place every October, we’ve rounded up some Down syndrome facts that every parent should know. Keep reading to learn more about the causes, risk factors, symptoms, treatment options, and more. Down syndrome is named after John Langdon Down. The British physician first […]
Approximately one in 700 babies is born with Down syndrome, making it the most common chromosomal condition in the United States. “People with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21,” says Amy Houtrow, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC’s Rehabilitation Institute and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Council on Children with Disabilities. This additional genetic material disrupts typical mental and physical development, and it may […]
