Alternatives To Out-Of-Home Placement For Families

BY LAUREN AGORATUS, M.A. Families and individuals need to visualize what they want as goals to see if the program is a good “fit” and if they can picture the person in that environment. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) just published “Out of Home Placements for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities.” This document provides compassionate but incomplete guidance on a difficult decision for families, and presents out-of-home placement as a last resort. Some placements […]

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

BY KIMBERLEE RUTAN McCAFFERTY Dr. Margaret Souders called the author regarding participation in a study whose goal was to see if kids with ASD sleep better with a home-based program adjusted to their individual needs. I will share with all of you that for a long time I was in pursuit of this elusive dream, first with my eldest son who is severely autistic, and then with my youngest son, who is on the mild […]

Have You Heard About Hearing Screening?

Hearing screening is both part of Newborn Screening and is one of many Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs that tries to identify anyone with hearing loss as soon as possible in order to prevent further loss of hearing and assist the child in his or her development. BY JESSICA HANDY Did you know that one to three out of every 1,000 children are born with some degree of permanent hearing loss? This is […]