Family fun and disability support for families with special needs

Take a tour of our website and discover family fun and recreation, family health and wellness, family life and relationships, parenting and disability support for families with special needs.

What's new - our most recent articles for families with special needs:

•Those with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to report having poorer overall health, less access to adequate healthcare and more engagement in risky behaviors such as smoking and physical inactivity. Here is a toolkit to raise awareness about the health and safety of our disabled population from PublicHealthCorps.org.

•For too long, people with disabilities had been told that having families of our own was not an option. The truth is, though, that there have always been parents with disabilities, and as our society evolves, more and more of us will have access to that opportunity.

• Many families still embrace quality time with their senior relatives yet living in such a fast paced society this can sometimes be a challenge. These 5 fun activities to do with the seniors in your family will expose them to fun technology while still offering an old school approach that holds traditional merit for everyone involved.

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•Making music can enrich a special needs child's life in many wonderful ways. Dozens of new studies on the developing brain show dramatic lifelong improvements in language, math, spatial skills, coordination, memory and motor skills by learning to make music.

•Sign language is used to communicate with people with hearing impairments, disabilities, and preverbal infants. Despite the popular use of computerized communication devices, research suggests that teaching sign language, especially involving simultaneously produced signs and words will likely accelerate a child's ability to speak.

•Parents and teachers of children with autism often use interactive reading to facilitate interaction and social skills. It sparks their imagination and also engages them in a social activity. It also makes reading fun, which helps children to approach the learning process with enthusiasm rather than the dread they may to feel if they are struggling with reading.

•Special Education Art. Art is important to the development of all children, but it is particularly valuable to children with disabilities. When creating art, the child is building a wide variety of skills – both motor and cognitive. The various sensory experiences involved in art are positive and pleasurable. The creative process provides opportunities for expressing ideas and emotions, which can sometimes be difficult for the child with disabilities.

•Developing childrens motor skills are important when they are very young. Teaching your child these motor skills in the form of a craft or a game allows your child to learn while also having family fun. Learning these skills will help make them better prepared for when they go off to school.

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•Just as with any child, it’s important to make your home as safe as possible for your special-needs son or daughter. Not only do we have to make sure that the house is safe and secure, but we also need to find as many ways as possible to make their lives easier as well as the environment safer.

•Online education programs, whether they’re fully online or blended, can be a beneficial approach for students who have specific needs for alternative course work. These students are often homeschooled, disabled, travel frequently, struggle socially at school, or need extra support in a specific subject.

•When our children have special needs, traveling becomes more difficult to plan, but it can be full of surprises and memories you won't have wanted to miss. Get help with this free guide to travelling with special needs children.

•Family fun brings not only enjoyment but BIG family health benefits. And if you look carefully, you can find fun in whatever you do... it is only a matter of attitude. Taking time for the things that you enjoy can help you feel better about yourself and more satisfied with life. When you feel this way, you might be more likely to exercise, eat well, get regular medical care and reach out to friends and family - all of which can benefit you physically and mentally.

•Developmental age-appropriate toys - When choosing toys for your child, it is important to consider developmental age. If your child has been diagnosed with a developmental disability or delay, her pediatrician, speech therapist, teacher, occupational and physical therapists can offer suggestions on the types of developmental toys that will be most beneficial. In general, look for toys at or slightly above your child's skill level, but can be successfully played.

•Music therapy can help children on their journey of self-growth and understanding and can be an effective intervention tool for persons with disabilties. Music is effective because it is nonverbal communication, a natural reinforcer, immediate in time, and successful because almost everyone responds positively to some kind of music.

•Travel is by its very nature an adventure, but factor a disability into the family travel and things can get pretty scary. One of the biggest areas of concern for disabled or special needs travelers is air travel. People just don't know what to expect, but it doesn't have to be that way. Even though the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed years ago, many wheelchair-users going on a family vacation still have trouble finding an accessible hotel room. Disability and mobility concerns don't have to slow down your summer travel plans. Here are some tips to make your summer travel easy.

•Essential to baby development, your baby responds best to a warm, loving environment. Holding your baby and responding to cries are essential in building a strong, healthy bond with baby.

•With 20 million plus families in the United States parenting a disabled child or a child with special needs, more children with such challenges are being mainstreamed into America's public schools. Unfortunately, too often those without special needs feel uncomfortable around a classmate who seems out-of-sync. Helping youngsters become more sensitive is always important. Here are some specific ways to make kids feel more comfortable.

•Childhood is often thought of as being one of the happiest times in a person's life - a time where a carefree attitude and a worry-free life provide the environment in which a child grows and develops. For youngsters with childhood disorders, however, this isn't always the case.

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