Parents & Caregivers

By Karen Kain, Lorrin’s World I was at a block party with my new neighbors last week. It surprised me that every neighbor who attended was either a parent of a child with a disability or working in the field. As we stood in the street comparing our experiences, all completely different, one neighbor of…

By Julie Keon Julie is the mother of a child with disabilities and shares her wisdom and experience in this powerful essay. I sensed someone watching me as I comforted my daughter after a particularly traumatizing dentist appointment at the Children’s Hospital. I looked up and saw you staring at us from across the waiting…

By Dr. Darla Clayton, PsyD, The Mobility Resource 1) You are not alone.There may not be anyone else with the same constellation of symptoms as your child but there are people with similar challenges. Find those people. I have never met anyone with all of these same challenges as my kid but I have a strong network within…

By Chris Kain, kellisaspath.com It’s a constant battle; I have to dig deep not to hurt someone who is hurting Kellisa. I understand why so many families with children with disabilities stay home. It’s easy. It’s safe. My rage was on full display last Friday evening. After we passed through security at the Sacramento airport, I…

By Dr. Margueritte Dunitz-Scheer, NoTube Eating School As a senior pediatrician and developmental child psychotherapist, my expertise and passion in my professional life are helping children who have been tube fed since birth or for most of their lives to earn to eat. I love observing the diversity of tastes and textures of foods in various…

By Jenny Wise There are so many thoughts and emotions that whirl through your mind when you learn your baby has a disability. Once the initial surge of emotions has passed, it’s time to think seriously about how you’ll prepare your life for a child with a disability. These are the five things every parent…

By Patrick Paul, Anderson Center for Autism For the 1 in 59 diagnosed with Autism, there’s an entire family impacted as well. From the moment that the words “Autism Spectrum Disorder” are said by a developmental pediatrician who has taken a child through a host of tests and parents/caregivers through a journey of seemingly endless interview…

By Tamara Simmons, The Funding Guide for Children with Disabilities Parenting a child with special needs is a unique, fulfilling, challenging and heartwarming experience. But, let’s face it—it’s not cheap. And, as we all know, there are devices that your kid absolutely needs to enhance their quality of life that your insurance won’t cover. The Funding Guide…

By Katie Wilson, Cordbloodbanking.com In the last two decades, hematopoietic stems cells (HSCs) drawn from the umbilical cord blood have thrown the doors open to scores of medical breakthroughs and they are used in treatment for more than 80 different diseases, including certain types of cancer. Since the first successful cord blood therapy in 1988, more…

By Lisa Wells, Cure Medical Parents often arrive at the Abilities Expo looking for resources and services that can help their child who has a disability or special needs. That’s why we are so excited to share a free, new resource from Cure Medical designed especially for children by pediatric nurses! The Cure Medical Pediatric Education program is…

By Kristin Hartness, Canines for Disabled Kids Why yes, it is true you may indeed see service dogs in school. One of the most asked questions about service dogs working with children is do they have access to school. Does a school have to allow a service animal in with a student? The short answer is…

By Caroline Linne, USC Rossier Recent changes to the California Department of Education’s teacher education curriculum is ushering in a new age of inclusion in today’s public school classrooms. In the fall of 2017, they introduced a significant change that will include special education into all general education programs. Before this, the two teacher preparation programs…