The hardest part of living with autism may be convincing others to live (in harmony) with it. Ask any parent whose child uses an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for autism: you’ll likely hear at least one story about school representatives…
Category: Special Needs Family (page 10)
4 Perspectives on Getting the Most from IEP Annual Reviews
As the 2022–23 school year winds down, many parents’ thoughts are turning to family vacations, or to heading off the dreaded “summer slide” (the problem of kids forgetting what they’ve learned before school resumes). If your child has a disability…
Autism Awareness: How Do People with Autism Want to Be Seen?
Understanding of autism has come a long way since doctors began researching it in the 1940s. However, it’s still easier to get a job without autism; there are still schools that refuse needed accommodations; and there are still too few…
Autism Awareness: How It Started, How It’s Grown
April is Autism Awareness Month—also known as Autism Acceptance Month, Autism Advancement Month, or World Autism Month. Official name and focus are still evolving half a century after the observation was founded, but few would disagree with the goal of…
Digital House Calls for Spanish Speakers
National Doctors’ Day was March 30. This post is dedicated to all healthcare workers and the amazing work they do, virtually and in person. Our popular Digital House Calls program is now available in Spanish! For anyone who’s put off…
Watch Your Head: About Brain Injuries
We wrap up Brain Injury Awareness Month (March) with an overview of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): what causes them, how to recognize them, and how to prevent them. Causes The best-known causes of brain injury are blows received in war…
Traveling with Mobility Impairments, Part II: Destination and Stay
Welcome to Part II of “Traveling with Mobility Impairments,” based on Andi Fry’s New York trip with her family last fall. Andi is our BridgingApps Coordinator for Montgomery County Outreach; her daughter Megan is a graduate student who uses a…
Traveling with Sensory Disorders
As the year turns toward warmer seasons, thoughts turn toward vacation. And after months of COVID-19 travel restrictions, long-distance travel is particularly popular now—notwithstanding the extra work and planning involved. With disabilities in the picture, planning gets even more complicated.…
What’s So “Different” about Down Syndrome?
This Tuesday (March 21) is World Down Syndrome Day. You likely know that Down syndrome, the result of an “extra” chromosome in one’s genes, is associated with low IQ scores. Unfortunately, that’s all that many people know—and, for far too…
Traveling with Mobility Impairments, Part I: Preparations and Journey
In autumn 2022, BridgingApps team member Andi Fry visited New York City with her husband and daughter Megan, a University of Houston graduate student. Typical leisure travel adventure, except for one thing: Megan has extensive physical paralysis and limited verbal…