A microenterprise, as the name implies, is a very small business, typically employing only the owner or one to two other employees. Microenterprise is fast becoming a viable and attractive option for adults with a wide range of disabilities, including those who have very significant disabilities. The best way to decide if microenterprise…

No one likes to think about their own serious illness or death. As a result 75 percent of American adults fail to plan for the care they might require when these events eventually occur. Even more difficult to contemplate is the final illness or death of one's parents or children. For special needs families, such difficulty should not stand in the…

When the author was a boy growing up in Van Nuys, California, during the 1950s and 60s, he remembers waiting patiently by the curb so he could help his mother, who suffered from polio and was on crutches, get up on the sidewalk. The world they lived in back then certainly was not designed to meet her special needs, but a lot has changed since…

When it comes to education from K-12 and into the college years, the literature is replete with stories of the accomplishments of youngsters and adults with any number of disabilities who surpassed the expectations of their families and teachers. Similarly, there are an increasing number of examples of young men and women with a range of…

The physically disabled author makes a plea that parents consider the quality of life of their handicapped children. She asks that parents remember that handicapped children have normal desires and aspirations. (PHR)

The journey children make from tube feeding to oral feeding is personal for each child and family. There is a sequence of predictable plateaus that children climb as they move toward orally eating. By better understanding this sequence, parents and children can maximize the development, learning, enjoyment and confidence at each plateau. The…

This article describes how The Children's Home of Pittsburgh provides unique, specialized services for infants, children, and their families and seeks to improve not only the range of services available to these special patients, but also the way in which those services are provided. Their innovative healthcare programs have been developed in…

The authors stress the need to design an individualized living plan for handicapped individuals which would protect the needs of this special population and create a variety of programs to foster alternate living arrangements. (PHR)

In the fall of 1995, Cindy Cook and her husband were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child. They were thrilled, excited and a little nervous about this new person that would be changing their lives. During a routine ultrasound around the fourth month of pregnancy, doctors noticed the walls of the baby's heart appeared thickened.…

This article presents an interview with Daniel W. Sutherland, Officer for Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Department of Homeland Security, to discuss some of the Department's future goals related to emergency preparedness for people with special needs and to find out how citizens can help in that quest. This article also focuses on topics such as:…

Discussed are considerations for parents who plan to send their handicapped child to summer camp. (MC)

A parent who is also an education major offers guidelines to classroom teachers involved in parent-teacher conferences to discuss individualized education programs. Emphasized are: the teacher's role as coordinator and moderator of the conference, preparing parents for the meeting, providing support for them, and making clear explanations during…

The author of this article talks to Robert Kreider about why helping people with special needs is so important to him and his colleagues. Robert Kreider is the president and chief executive officer of The Devereux Foundation, the nation's largest non-profit provider of behavioral healthcare services to children and adults with emotional,…

This excerpt from a book outlines data needed in an information profile of a special needs child. It advises parents to keep records of the mother's pregnancy and delivery, the child's development, school forms, medical forms, schoolwork examples, immunizations, current photograph, and the child's strengths/weaknesses and skill development. (JDD)