Should Taiwan Be Eliminating Babies With Down Syndrome?
A report in the Taipei Times last week revealed that prenatal testing has significantly reduced the number of babies born alive with Down syndrome in Taiwan. While 70 percent of pregnancies positive...
View ArticleWhen Strangers Stick Up For People With Special Needs
The story of the man with Asperger’s who got berated by a customer at the supermarket for checking her out too slowly went viral after his big sis posted about it on Facebook. Jamie Virkler, 43, asked...
View ArticleHow Moms Of Kids With Autism Can Reduce Stress
Moms of kids recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder can get seriously stressed—but they have the power to control it, finds a new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers...
View ArticleMore Cases of ADHD—But Kids Are Missing Out On Treatment
There’s been a 42 percent rise in reported cases of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, per new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 6.4 million children 4 to 17...
View ArticleHow The Brains Of Kids With Autism And Other Special Needs Work
If you’re the parent of a child with autism or other special needs, you may often wonder just how their brains work. Obviously, any kid’s brain is somewhat of a mystery, as you may well know when your...
View ArticleBlatant Disability Discrimination vs. Cowardly Discrimination: Which Is Worse?
Obviously, any kind of discrimination against kids and adults with disabilities is troubling. But two recent headline-making incidents have me mulling over blatant discrimination vs. the cowardly...
View ArticleWould You Cure Your Child’s Special Needs?
Lately, there’s been lots of news about “curing” special needs—scientists pinpointing the gene for autism or discovering it’s possible to switch off the genetic material responsible for Down syndrome....
View ArticleWhen Laws Are Made To Be Broken For Kids With Special Needs
J.J. Hart, a three-year-old boy with autism, used to sit around staring into space a lot. He barely spoke, and had temper tantrums. Then his dad started looking into animal therapy for kids with...
View ArticleDescribing Disability: If You Use These Terms, Think Again
These are some descriptions that regularly come up in my Google feed: “Wheelchair-bound” “Cerebral palsy sufferer” “She suffers from Down syndrome” “Cerebral palsy victim” Before I had a kid with...
View ArticleMore About The Girl Who Signed Her School Concert For Her Deaf Parents
Kindergartner Claire Koch of Clearwater, Florida, wanted her mom and dad to fully enjoy her holiday concert. So she did one thing: She signed it for them. Both her parents are deaf. The video her mom,...
View Article7 Fun Tips For Kids With Autism During the Holiday Break
This is a post in the weekly Autism Hopes series by Lisa Quinones-Fontanez, a mom who blogs over at AutismWonderland. School breaks are always a bit of a challenge for our family, especially during...
View Article7 Ways To Entertain Kids With Special Needs Over Winter Break
Winter breaks are rarely a vacation for parents, but they can be even harder on ones who have kids with special needs. Children can be thrown by the lack of their familiar school schedule. Meanwhile,...
View ArticleWishing You Naps In The New Year!
I have one running fantasy in my life, and it does not involve my husband, a larger home, chocolate cake or exotic travel. It involves me, a bed and a nap. I want one. Bad. It’s not just finding the...
View ArticleHome Is Where The Special Needs Heart Is
Our family loves going to hotels. Any will do, but it’s a major treat when it’s one like the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel in California. We splurged on a stay after our trip to Disneyland. I expected...
View ArticleKnowing When To Push A Child With Sensory Issues
Here’s Max peering into the Disney Junior—Live On Stage! show at Disney California Adventure Park. We were there on vacation over the holiday break. While we spent a whole lot of time in the wondrous...
View ArticleMore Parents Trying Alternative Medicine For Kids With Special Needs
An increasing number of families are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for children with autism and other developmental delays, finds a new study from the University of...
View ArticleA Boy With Down Syndrome And A Dog: Sweetest Video Ever
Have you seen this viral video? It’s about Hernan, a little boy in Buenos Aires with Down syndrome who meets up with a Labrador named Himalaya. His mother posted the video on YouTube, noting that her...
View ArticleA New Test That Diagnoses Developmental Delays
A new blood test will detect chromosomal variations that may be responsible for a child’s developmental delay or intellectual disability. Called the Affymetrix CystoScan Dx Assay, it can do a complete...
View ArticleNighttime Potty Training Your Autistic Child
This is a post in the weekly Autism Hopes series by Lisa Quinones-Fontanez, a mom who blogs over at AutismWonderland. It’s the third week of the New Year and my son, Norrin, just turned eight years...
View ArticleTeaching Kids With Disabilities To Safely Cross The Street
Practically every single day, I get a Google alert about a wheelchair user struck by a vehicle. Like the woman in a wheelchair in Memphis hit by a FedEx truck last week and a hit-and-run in...
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