BY KIMBERLEE RUTAN MCCAFFERTY “Come here Justin,” I say quietly, and as always my towel-clad boy obeys, happily sliding into my lap for his post-bath cuddle. We have a routine for our bed-time ritual that we adhere to religiously, and I can tell my son enjoys the familiarity, smiling at each step in our path…
Shepherds College: An Important Option In Specialized Post-Secondary Education
BY SUSAN GRIFFIS, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING FOR SHEPHERDS COLLEGE One size does not fit all. It never has and never will. Whether we’re talking about stretchy gloves, undergarments or unisex t-shirts, one-size-fits-all is blatant propaganda designed to sell to a mindless majority without considering the specific needs of the individual. So, on a larger, much…
Ten Steps: Optimizing Your Child’s Back-to-School Success
TEN STEPS BY TONI SCHUTTA “Starting a new grade, getting a new teacher, learning new classroom rules, meeting new kids in class, receiving more rigorous schoolwork, and increasing social demands can all cause stress for your child,” according to Toni Schutta, M.A., L.P., parent coach and author of the parenting book 20 Great Ways to…
A n Essential School Supply: The Hip
GENETIC ALLIANCE BY MONICA KORTSHA Discussing an individualized healthcare plan (IHP) with your child’s school nurse is one way you can prepare for the school year and make sure their special needs are addressed accordingly. It’s back-to-school time again. And whether your child will be enrolled in a traditional classroom, inclusive classroom or special education,…
Convaid Partners With Dream Foundation To Fulfill Wishes
Convaid, Inc., a Southern California-based manufacturer of lightweight, compact-folding, adaptive-assisted wheelchairs, recently fulfilled the dream of a young woman with special needs through its donation of a wheelchair to Dream Foundation, a national nonprofit that grants dreams to adults facing a life-threatening illness in their last year of life. Dream Foundation is the first and…
Genetic Alliance Applauds Major Step in Mitochondrial Disease Research
Genetic Alliance recently saluted the striking results of responses to over 40,000 survey questions concerning mitochondrial disease through the new Mitochondrial Disease Community Registry (MDCR), all in less than one week. Sponsored by the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF), the new registry employs Genetic Alliance’s Platform for Engaging Everyone Responsibly (PEER), and is being populated…
Home Renovation Resources: Help in Making Your Home Your Home
Is your home user friendly? For all the people in your family? Is it practical for your family member with special needs? Whether it needs simple changes or major ones, home renovation – rather than a move to a new place – might be the answer. And resources abound to help you make the makeover.…
Sports and Friends…What Really Counts!
COACH’S CORNER BY TOM CURRY Winning is great and championships are always fun, but the friendships you take with you will remain, long after the last whistle blast is heard. I often think how lucky I have been in my life. I have a great family, a good job and some wonderful people I am…
Revolutionary MV-1 Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle Now Available
Revolutionary MV-1 Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle Now Available in more than 100 U.S. Dealerships Sep 8, 2014 SOUTH BEND, Ind., Sept. 8, 2014 – Mobility Ventures LLC, designer and manufacturer of the acclaimed MV-1, the only American vehicle designed and purpose-built from the ground up in support of people who use wheelchairs, today announced that it has…
Blue Hens, Kitchen Tables and the Grooming of Future Leaders
by RICK RADER, MD * EDITOR-IN-CHIEF “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” –John Quincy Adams Sixty plus years ago, when the disability rights movement started to get traction, there was a common landmark for most of the pioneering advocacy organizations. The Formica…