Category: Uncategorized

Special Needs Dental Care

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Cool article from the NYTimes about N.Y.U. College of Dentistry’s new Oral Health Center for People With Disabilities.

So many of our kiddos deal with oral hygiene issues for so many reasons. I know we worry about tooth decay due to the high sugar content in Pediasure. Some kids are biters (or screamers or kickers or punchers…) because they don’t understand what’s happening, and dental providers are afraid to treat them. Some wheelchairs don’t fit into traditional dentist office spaces. It’s nice to know NYU is addressing some of these issues, and NYU treats 10% of dentists in the country, so hopefully the trickle down effect is felt far & wide.

red and white mouth plastic toy and food plastic toys

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Fire Safety for Disabled Children

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Many communities have Special Needs Registries which allow you to sign up with your local police/fire department and have your home flagged as having a person with a disability of some sort. This ensures that first responders are aware there is a disabled person at the address where an emergency has been called in and so they know to search for/be prepared to help a non-mobile, autistic, deaf, blind, etc, person who may need extra help. I called our local police department and they emailed me a short form to fill out to register our family as having a disabled child. It took less than 5 minutes.

This article from eParent also provides great tips on fire safety for families with special needs children, and SafeKids shares a video for families with a cognitively impaired child. Stay safe!

accident action danger emergency

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What You Should Know About Early Intervention

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I’d never heard of Early Intervention until a friend mentioned it in passing when Ryan was 4 months old. Free physical therapy!? It definitely sounded like something we might need to look into, if Ryan didn’t start to catch up on his developmental milestones.

I asked our pediatrician about it at our next appointment. She told us that we probably wouldn’t qualify, that your child needs to be far behind on his milestones and it was a pain to apply to in NYC, where we lived. We applied anyway. I’m so glad we ignored her (and later switched pediatricians) and pursued Early Intervention. The application process was much simpler than we expected, and Ryan qualified for all therapies–physical, occupational and developmental. (Speech wasn’t offered until children were older.) So that’s how we got started with a therapy regimen by the time Ryan was 6 months old. I can’t imagine how far behind he would be if we had waited, or if we had listened to our doctor.

So what is Early Intervention? It’s a federal program administered at the state level to provide children from birth to age 3 with the therapies needed to catch up to their peers developmentally.

According to the CDC website, Early Intervention:

  • Is the term used to describe the services and supports that are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families.
  • May include speech therapy, physical therapy, and other types of services based on the needs of the child and family.
  • Can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to learn new skills and overcome challenges and can increase success in school and life.
  • Programs are available in every state and territory. These publicly funded programs provide services for free or at reduced cost for any child who is eligible.

Different states may call their Early Intervention programs different names (i.e., Indiana calls it First Steps) and charge different amounts (it may be free or they may charge based on your income, etc).

Check out the CDC website here which has links to all Early Intervention programs across the country, and apply today beca

adorable baby blur chair

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Tummy Massage

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One of our therapists recommended trying the I Love You massage on Ryan when he’s constipated or otherwise has an upset stomach. This massage tries to help move the bowels along manually by gently pushing along the stomach in a clockwise motion, by making an “I” then an “L” then a “U.”

I sing along to the tune of “Skidamarink” but that’s just my thing. I also use the TummyGize essential oil when I do this, to help soothe the stomach. (While my personal verdict is still out on essential oils, my overall feeling is that it can’t hurt if they’re used properly.)

This video shows the technique in a nice, visual way but you can find many other videos online if you need more help.

Free All-Access Pass to National Parks!

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Individuals with disabilities are given access to a FREE lifetime pass to our beautiful National Parks system. It’s called an Access Pass and it’s a great thing to apply for immediately because you never know when it might go away. The disabled individual gains free access to National Parks and often discounts on amenities within these parks (tours, camp sites, boat launches, etc). You can read all about the Access Pass Benefits here.

To qualify, the person must have a diagnosed permanent disability. How do you get this pass? There are a few ways. You can go to a participating location and apply for it in person. National Parks passes are sold at most national parks but if the park does not have a fee, this may not be available so be sure you check before going.

You can also apply via mail (but know that it’s not a quick turnaround, if you’re planning to go to a park tomorrow). To get this pass by mail, you must submit an application, proof of residency and proof of permanent disability plus pay the processing fee of $10.

Be sure you have the correct paperwork available whichever way you are applying. A physician’s note or SSDI paperwork should suffice.

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

ALSO: did you know every 4th grader gets free access to our National Parks system? This is the Every Kid in a Park initiative from President Obama and you can read more about it here.