Katherine Swarts – Page 36

girl wearing a mask giving a thumbs up after getting a vaccine

Straight Talk on Vaccinations

Read Time 3 Minutes August is National Immunization Month, and also back-to-school month in many parts of the United States. An appropriate combination, since preparations for starting or returning to school typically include bringing a child’s immunizations up to date.…

girl in wheelchair hugging golden retriever

A Brief History of Service Dogs | National Dog Month

Read Time 3 Minutes In honor of National Dog Month, BridgingApps dedicates this post to all hardworking service dogs past and present. Working dogs have been part of human civilization for thousands of years. Once upon a time, a wolf…

Texas Youth2Adult: Recommended-Reading Roundup

Read Time 4 Minutes “TexasYouth2Adult is an interactive tool created to empower youth with special health care needs to grow successfully into adulthood. It was created with input from parents, health care providers, educators, transition specialists, and youth. Families can…

2 adults holding child's hand between them carrying shopping bags

Shopping with and For Special Needs

Read Time 4 Minutes If August comes, can back-to-school sales be far behind? For those who like getting an early start on things and saving money as a bonus, the next tax-free weekend is just a few days away (August…

man in wheelchair sitting at table with laptop. female sitting next to him

Celebrating 32 Years | ADA Anniversary Is July 26

Read Time 4 Minutes “The Congress finds that physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society, yet many people with physical or mental disabilities have been precluded from doing…

image of hands holding a phone with laptop in background

Library Hotspots and Lift Zones: Making the Internet Universally Accessible

Written By Katherine SwartsRead Time 3 Minutes After the initial COVID outbreak of 2020 shut down public gatherings, the disadvantages of living without reliable broadband internet became obvious. School kids in low-income families, cut off from in-person education and unable…

Having Fun with ChatterPix ☀️ Summer Edition

Written By Katherine SwartsRead Time 4 Minutes Among today’s most popular apps is ChatterPix from Duck Duck Moose (and its ChatterPix Kids version for children below social-sharing age). The basic premise is simple: use the app to take a photo…

Young lady sitting at table with head resting on hand with eyes closed

988: The New Mental-Health Emergency Number

Written By Katherine SwartsRead Time 3 Minutes In the United States, over 45,000 people die each year from suicide—the country’s twelfth leading cause of death. Many of these tragedies could be prevented if prompt diagnosis and treatment were available (and…

Family Travel with a Disability

Written By Katherine SwartsRead Time 3 Minutes No exaggeration: Googling “family travel horror stories” will get you over 100 million results. If there’s a foolproof method for getting a whole household into the next state or through an airport without…

Preventing the Summer Slide in Low-Income Families

Summer is the season when children look forward to a long break from school—and parents dread the “summer slide,” aka academic skills getting flabby from lack of exercise. Well-off families often enroll their kids in programs that incorporate science, reading,…