Free family fun and disability support for families with special needs

Fun | Health | Finances | Relationships | Disability | Parenting | Special needs | Tour

When parents learn their child has special needs, they begin a journey filled with strong emotion, difficult choices, and an ongoing need for information and support. Parents may feel isolated and alone, not knowing where to begin.

This website offers free support resources for families with special needs. Take a tour or search to quickly find the free support resources you need.

This website is dedicated to my oldest daughter Monica who was born with cortical blindness, seizure disorder, and microcephaly due to an occipital encephalocele, as well as hand and arm deformities from Amniotic Band Syndrome. Despite numerous developmental disabilities, she is a delightful and affectionate young lady who continues to learn new skills and novel ways to enjoy life.

A sampling of recent articles:

• If your child, parent, or another loved one has a disability, eating out can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. You need not let the potential challenges stop you from enjoying a delicious meal if you follow these tips.

• While a diagnosis of mental or physical disability can cause enormous stress on a family, you don’t need to see it as a life sentence. Here are five things every parent should know about life with a child with special needs

• Today’s parents worry about a great many things, money being one of the most common concerns. That’s why putting sound financial and legal plans in place early is the best way to create a solid financial foundation.

• Teaching self care skills is a process that begins at birth and goes on into adulthood. Children with disabilities may find these skills difficult to perform, but they will need to acquire these skills as best they can to live as independently as possible.

• As caregivers to children and other family members with special needs, one of the most difficult tasks you have may be bathtime - 5 Bath Time Tips

• Recreation therapy helps children with developmental disabilities to expand physical and cognitive abilities, allowing children to partake in leisure pursuits by eliminating roadblocks that impede the pursuit of sports, arts, games and other activities.

• Financial planning challenges for parents of special needs children are many and complex, and retirement planning presents one of the toughest challenges. The core challenge is balancing the financial needs of retirement with long-term needs of a child with a disability.

• Social Security disability benefits, which are often available to children with special needs, can provide ongoing monetary support. Benefits can help ease financial worries and provide the targeted care your child needs.

• Parents' approaches are different when it comes to how they teach their children about acceptance of people with disabilities. This article offers ways to help your child think differently about people with disabilities.

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

• Thousands of children with special needs and disabilities wait for caring families to offer them a permanent home. Adoption can provide children with special needs the healing atmosphere and loving bonds that can change their lives.

• Making music enriches a special needs child's life experience. Studies on the developing brain show dramatic lifelong improvements in language, math, coordination, memory and motor skills, and music therapy can be an effective tool.

• Arts and crafts are important to the development of all children, but particularly valuable to children with disabilities. When creating art, the child is building a variety of expressive skills – both motor and cognitive.

• Photos preserve fond memories of family members and activities. Whether you have new baby pictures, portraits or photos of family activities, online photo editors can improve them, plus create collages and greeting cards. Here's a cool card maker for you to try.

•Developing motor skills is important for children. Teaching your child these motor skills through crafts or games allows your child to learn while having fun. Learning these skills will help prepare them for when they go off to school.

• Sign language is used to communicate with people with hearing impairments, disabilities, and preverbal infants. Teaching sign language, simultaneously using signs and words, will accelerate a child's ability to communicate.

• Through literature and poetry and interactive reading, children learn to cope more constructively with complex emotions like fear and jealousy, or stressful experiences, like starting school or moving to a new neighborhood.

• As with any child, it’s important to make your home as safe and secure as possible for your special needs child. Your home can also become easier to move through and maneuver around with minor home accessibility modifications.

• Ramps for wheelchairs are important for a variety of reasons. Whether at home, at an office, or anywhere in between, they can substantially increase the quality of life for someone with a disability

• Moving your family with special needs to another home can be a daunting task, so it’s important to make a list, and talk with your family about the entire process to make the transition easier.

• Family fun and games bring not only enjoyment but health benefits. Taking time for the things that you enjoy can help you feel better about yourself and you may 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 for a more balanced life.

• A container garden eliminates physical barriers to make gardening accessible, creating an area where people of all ages and abilities can grow vegetables, fruits and flowers. Learn to plant and care for plants and enjoy eating them fresh from your own windowsill or indoor garden.

• When you choose toys for your child, look at how well our children will benefit from these playthings not only in terms of having plenty of fun but also in terms of their growth and development potential.

• When choosing developmentally age-appropriate toys, they should be slightly above your child's motor skill level, but ones that can be played successfully. Her pediatrician, speech or occupational therapist, or teacher can offer suggestions on developmental toys that will be most beneficial

• Babies with vision impairment or blindness have a unique set of developmental requirements. Careful attention to the sensory input for the blind baby can be useful to help make up for visual losses.

• When our children have special needs, traveling can be full of fun and memories. Travel is an adventure, but factor in a disability and your summer travel plan can get complex. One area of concern for disabled travelers is air travel.

• When parents recognize that their child is not developing as expected, the news may be traumatic with a future of uncertainty. An early intervention program can have a significant impact on enhancing the future education of children with learning disabilities.

• Due to a disability or after an injury, one may find it difficult to perform activities of daily living. It may be necessary to use adaptive equipment to perform self care and housekeeping activities, augmentative devices to facillitate communucation, and mobility aids to get around.

• Pregnancy books tend to gloss over the special needs pregnancy, and prenatal classes may ignore the possibility that you might give birth to a baby with special needs. Depending on the mother's risk profile, special fetal tests may be ordered to detect birth defects. After diagnosis, follow safety precautions and be prepared for the birth of your special needs baby.

• Effective special needs planning requires a high degree of legal expertise. A Special Needs Trust offers a means of protecting your child's eligibility for benefits, while addressing the ongoing care and needs of your special needs child.

• The population is aging and creating a higher demand for home care. By the year 2020, 12 million Americans will need long-term care. Home care serves people of all ages who are disabled, chronically ill or in need of hospice care.

• Spending quality time with senior relatives can sometimes be a challenge. These 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.

• Many families embrace quality time with their senior relatives. 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.

Next...