Special Needs
Find support for parents of children with special needs. Learn how to advocate for your child, raise funds for needed equipment and find helpful organizations.
Filter by: Adoption, Advocacy, Assistive Technology, Schools for the Blind, Support
Assistive Technology
Feelif is making photos and the environment more accessible for kids who are blind!
Feelif just released two applications that will help blind and visually impaired users have a better understanding of their surroundings and of photos.
Parenting, Special Needs
Home Sweet Group Home?
When is the right time to move your special needs child out of the house and into a group home?
Education, Special Needs
How Statewide School Testing Discriminates Against Special Needs Students
Is it always appropriate to test students, even those with severe disabilities? And can standardized tests be considered discriminatory, even when alternative testing options are offered to special needs students?
Parenting, Support
To the Mother Whose Life Isn’t Taking the Path She Expected
The path of a special needs parent is hard, but you need to choose happiness. You feel countless emotions, each and every one of them, and at some point you...
Parenting, Special Needs
I Lost My Daughter. Even though She is Alive, I Lost Her, and I Grieve Her all the Time
Having a special needs child is a lifelong grieving process. Each new milestone that does not happen is a painful reminder of what you've lost.
Parenting, Special Needs
Something Happened While I was Waiting for My Daughter to Tell Me She Loves Me
If your child is nonverbal they may not be able to say, "I love you." But they can express their love in so many other ways!
Advocacy
How to Work with Difficult Doctors & Therapists
As the parent of a disabled child you probably have to meet with quite a few doctors and therapists. What can you do if you just don't agree with their...
Advocacy, Parenting
Family vs Ableism: What I’ve Learned As a Mother of a Child with a Disability
Is it more important to be worried about how you're presenting yourself and your family to the outside world and the wider disability community, or to focus on the needs...
Assistive Technology, iPad Apps and Accessibility
Feelif: The Accessible Tactile Tablet for Kids who are Visually Impaired
Feelif is a tactile tablet that is able to combine native features of the Samsung tablet, like vibrations and the built-in screenreader, with a tactile surface to create a whole...
Parenting, Special Needs
My son will not read this post
For a special needs parent, being realistic does not mean losing optimism. It means finding peace with what is.
Support
When Your Special Needs Support Group is Anything but Supportive (and 5 Tips to Get it Back on Track)
Moms yelling at each other certainly isn't a new thing, but online support groups can take it to a whole new level! Find tips on how to keep your special...
Parenting, Special Needs
What does it really take to make a home accessible?
What really makes your home an inclusive space for your special needs or blind child? Is it the furniture? Or is it the way you think?
Support
What can you do for the special needs mom who doesn’t feel anymore?
Sometimes it seems like I don't have the time to feel, and I know this isn't a new thing. I've been not feeling for a long time. Is it OK...
Parenting, Special Needs
When my family accused me of using my special needs child as an excuse
We make decisions for our medically fragile kids every day, but sometimes family members just don't understand our reasons.
Advocacy, Orientation and Mobility
Make Your Own White Cane Lapel Pin for White Cane Day
Celebrate White Cane Day with your very own white cane lapel pin! Show your white cane pride with this hand-made bead pin.
Support
The hidden truth about special needs resources: It doesn’t need to be this complicated
Do you ever feel like you're tied up in knots looking for support and resources for your special needs child? Maybe it doesn't have to be this way!
Support
Do you have the courage to redefine disability?
What does disability look like to you? How do people with disabilities interact with the mainstream world? What can you do to help?
Support
I’m tired of being “the special needs mom”
Are you the parent of a special needs child? Do your friends also have kids with disabilities and that's all you ever talk about? Maybe it's time for a change!
Parenting, Support
Dear Grandparents of Visually Impaired Children
Being a grandparent is so important, maybe even more so for grandparents of blind children. Here are some tips to help you relate to your family and give them the...
Support
They told me feeling sad made me a bad mother
By admitting that my child's disabilities make me sad, I am saying that my child's existence brings me grief. By writing this in a public space, I am telling the...
Advocacy, Parenting
I’m Raising My Special Needs Child with Dignity – Are You?
Special needs children deserve honor and respect. As parents, we need to maintain their dignity and help them present themselves at their best in public.
Advocacy
Learning Advocacy When You Have Low Vision
L. Penny Rosenblum is a TVI, a parent and student advocate, and has a vision impairment. She writes about what it was like learning to advocate for herself as a...
Special Needs
Positive Eye: Training and resources for practitioners working with children with vision impairment
Positive Eye was established five years ago to offer a consultancy and training service to professionals and parents on meeting the educational needs of children and young people with visual...
Education, Special Needs
Thoughts from a Preschool Teacher About Teaching a Blind Student
Heidi interviews her son's mainstream preschool teacher and asks her how she prepared to introduce a blind student to her classroom.