Health

Developmental Disabilities | Discapacidades del Desarrollo

When a baby or preschooler lags far behind, doesn’t reach key developmental milestones, or loses a previously acquired skill, it’s reasonable to suspect a mental or physical problem serious enough to be considered a developmental disability. These pages in English and Spanish appearing on the HealthyChildren.org website provide authoritative guidance on developmental disabilities, developmental milestones at various ages, and what parents and professionals need to know or do. Each page is actually a suite of articles in both languages about specific disabilities that are considered as developmental disabilities. Perfect for sharing with the English and Spanish-speaking families and communities you serve!

See the full list of articles and find links to both the English and Spanish suites.

TRANSITION: Health & Wellness Resources

CBD: What Parents Need to Know

(2019) | Useful to those interested in learning more about the relative effects of CBD (full name cannabidiol) as a treatment for pain, cancer, anxiety, and AD/HD. CBD is everywhere. From corner stores and bars to medical marijuana dispensaries, it’s being offered for its reputed ability to relieve pain and make people feel better. CBD — […]

Milestones Photo and Video Library

Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move (rolling over, for example, or crawling, standing, walking, talking). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintain a free online library of photos and videos that capture the milestones of development that young children might be expected to achieve at various ages–skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye bye.”

The photo library is part of CDC’s larger information suite Milestones in Action, which also includes fact sheets on developmental milestones and on developmental delay; a developmental checklist; the Milestone Tracker app; and more. Each resource is available in English and Spanish.

Interested? Read more about (and access) Milestones in Action here.

Developmental Milestones

Updated, March 2019 Esta página en Spanish | This page in Spanish   Childhood is a time of tremendous growth and learning. How very exciting to be a baby…or a two-year-old… or get on a school bus for the first time. There’s so much to know! We all come into the world like small waiting […]

Support the Sexual Health of Young People Experiencing I/DD

Support the Sexual Health of Young People Experiencing I/DD The Sexual Health Equity for Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (SHEIDD) Project provides this preliminary resource list of no-cost resources for supporting young people with I/DD in sexual health education and support.

Infographic | Influences that Affect Whether and How Genes Are Expressed

(2019, January) | Useful to Parent Centers and other caregivers of children in understanding what influences can affect childhood development. During development, the DNA that makes up our genes accumulates chemical marks that determine how much or little of the genes is expressed. The different experiences children have rearrange those chemical marks (called epigenomes). In […]

The Science of Motivation and Its Implications

What’s the best way to motivate children? The motivation to learn about the world around us begins in infancy. This motivation can either be encouraged or suppressed by the experiences adults provide for children. Psychological research points to a set of promising approaches that parents and practitioners can use to promote positive motivation and learning during development.

The Center on the Developing Child offers several resources on the science of motivation that parents, schools, and policy makers will find both interesting and useful. You may want to start with Five Facts About Motivation That Are Often Misunderstood, then move on to How to Motivate Children: Science-Based Approaches for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers. There’s even an interactive graphic that will show you the brain regions involved in motivation and how they work together.

Access these (and additional) resources here.

Sexual Health Education for Young People with Disabilities

(2018, November) | Useful to Parent Centers, families, and youth with disabilities In recent years, changes in public policies and attitudes have resulted in improved opportunities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Unfortunately, societal attitudes have changed less in regard to sexuality and disability. Even today, many people do not acknowledge that most people […]

Federal Resources for Health Information in Other Languages

(2018) | Looking for health information in other languages to share with the families you serve? Health literacy refers to a person’s ability to understand the basic health information they need to make appropriate health decisions. Health care and health-related information in the United States are most frequently delivered in English, which means that patients […]