Tag: eparent

Child Bearing and The Challenges of Intellectual Disability

eParent Connect, Featured Topics, Intellectual Disability 01/11/201901/04/2019 admin

By Lydia Furman, MD, Associate Editor, Pediatrics In a recently released issue of Pediatrics, Dr. Hilary Brown and colleagues from Toronto, Canada ask an important question: are mothers with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) more or less likely to have their infants placed in protective custody immediately after birth compared to mothers without such a disability (10.1542/peds.2018-1416)? The authors used several large and complete national health information databases to answer their question. A total of […]

A Connecticut Cafe Provides Jobs For Adults With Disabilities

eParent Connect, Featured Topics 01/10/201901/04/2019 admin

  Adults with intellectual disabilities often struggle to find work. Over 80-percent are under-employed or not working at all, according to an estimate by the Arc, a nonprofit that assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So a group of Connecticut families started a cafe named BeanZ & Co. to tackle the problem head-on. On a recent day, Lauren Traceski took an order from a customer, then relayed it to her boss, who started up […]

Stranger Safety for Your Special Needs Child

Autism, Down Syndrome, Education, Featured Topics, Intellectual Disability 01/09/201901/04/2019 admin

When we envision a child with Down syndrome navigating the world without adult supervision, fears about encounters with strangers naturally surface. Many individuals with Down syndrome are friendly and trusting, by nature, and respond warmly to a new acquaintance, a trait that is generally celebrated by those who are privileged to meet them. But, this endearing quality creates a vulnerability that obligates parents to teach them to distinguish between acceptable, harmless exchanges with strangers and […]

Lights, Camera, Action!

Exceptional Blog 01/07/201901/05/2019 publisher

by Jessica Ebersole I wrote the following poem after the Talent show night at our Joni and Friends family retreat during my internship at Spruce Lake. Family Retreat is a time for families with special needs to come and be refreshed from the daily grind of life with a disability. I had the opportunity to share this poem with the other two talent shows at the following weeks of retreat. Lights, Camera, Action! For a […]

Down Syndrome competitor Lucas Barron to make Dakar Rally history

Down Syndrome, In The News 01/04/201901/04/2019 admin

Lucas Barron will make history on Sunday when he lines up on the Dakar Rally starting line in Peru, becoming the first person with Down Syndrome to take part in the grueling race. The 25-year-old, who will be co-pilot for his father Jacques, will tackle the world’s most demanding rally: a 5,000-km, 10-day marathon, 70 percent of which will be raced over sand. “Our aim is to finish the race and achieve our goal,” a […]