Tag: special needs

NIH-funded effort may help people with intellectual disability participate in clinical studies

Intellectual Disability, What's Happening 03/17/202003/13/2020 admin

What The NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery — an assessment of cognitive functioning for adults and children participating in neuroscience research —c an be adapted to people with intellectual disabilities by modifying some test components and making accommodations for the test-takers’ disabilities, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The adaptations ensure that the battery can be used to assess the cognitive ability of people with intellectual disabilities who have a mental age of […]

The Connection between Autism and PTSD

Autism, Education, Featured Topics 03/11/202003/10/2020 admin

The two conditions share many traits, but the connection has been largely overlooked until now By Lauren Gravitz Having autism can sometimes mean enduring a litany of traumatic events, starting from a young age. And for many, those events may add up to severe and persistent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Before Gabriel could even talk, his father’s girlfriend at the time told him his mother had abandoned him. At age 3, he was sexually abused […]

During the IEP Meeting The Ten Common Mistakes Parents Make

Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Education, Featured Topics, Intellectual Disability 03/06/2020 admin

by Matt Foley, M.Ed., L.P.C. & DeAnn Hyatt-Foley, M.Ed. When our son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in 1990, we found ourselves ill-equipped for our new role as advocates for our son. Our first Individual Education Program (IEP) meeting was over-whelming. We found it very difficult to follow what the educators were talking about. We certainly did not know what our role was in the process. We had the expectation that the trained educators of our […]

Individuals with Disabilities Disaster & Emergency Preparedness

Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, eParent Connect, Epilepsy, Featured Topics, Intellectual Disability, Muscular Dystrophy 02/17/202002/13/2020 admin

Get Informed Know what disasters could affect your area, which could call for an evacuation and when to shelter in place. Keep a NOAA Weather Radio tuned to your local emergency station and monitor TV, radio, and follow mobile alert and mobile warnings about severe weather in your area. Download the FEMA app, receive weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five different locations anywhere in the United States. Make a Plan […]

Adults with Special Needs Housing Alternatives

Featured Topics, Money 02/14/202002/12/2020 admin

Fifty years ago, most people with even moderate special needs were institutionalized throughout their adult lives.  Now, thanks in part to societal changes and decades of litigation, most people with special needs, including those with very severe special needs, live in some type of community setting.  In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has specifically ruled that people with special needs who receive government benefits must be housed in the least restrictive possible setting.  Here are […]