BY LAUREN AGORATUS, M.A. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) affects children with special needs and disabilities in many ways. This article provides an overview of some ACA-related topics relevant to children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families. It is based on a series of posts in the ACA blog published by the National Center for Family Professional Partnerships (NCFPP). The NCFPP is a project of Family Voices, operated through a […]
HEALTHY CHOICES, HEALTHY LIFESTYLES BY BARBARA B. MINTZ, MS, RD Stay active when you are traveling! It is a good way to stay on your fitness track and it can help you connect with the local culture. It’s the time of year when people are traveling more. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, it can be difficult to keep to healthy exercise and diet behaviors. It’s easy to fall into the trap of […]
BY KIMBERLEE RUTAN MCAFFERTY Recently I posted a piece in my various venues talking about what I’d learned about autism in the almost 12 years since Justin’s diagnosis. There were the usual variety of comments, some positive, some definitely less receptive (to put it mildly,) and although I usually don’t respond to criticism with a “rebuttal post,” this one has been ruminating for a while. So here it comes, people. In the piece I wrote […]
BY JENNIFER WOODWORTH, PSY.D. Suicide is “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior” (Center for Disease Control). According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 40,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year. On a larger scale, there are 25 suicide attempts for every completed suicide and many others, approximately 9.3 million people in 2014, who have serious suicidal thoughts. […]
A MEMOIR OF LOVE, HOPE AND LOST DREAMS BOOK REVIEW BY JOSEPH M. VALENZANO, JR. AND PATRICIA A. VALENZANO As the President, CEO & Publisher of Exceptional Parent (EP) magazine — our 46-year-old journal that provides information and practical advice for families as well as the physicians, allied health care professionals, educators and caregivers involved in the care and development of people with disabilities and chronic life-long conditions — I have the privilege of meeting […]
