Health

Webinar | Development and Implementation of IEPs

In this webinar for Parent Centers, important guidance from the U.S. Department of Education is shared. Content is focused explicitly and in detail on the development of IEPs as students return to school. Revisions to a student’s IEP may be crucial, given changes that may have occurred in the social, emotional, mental, and behavioral well-being of the child during the pandemic. Students may need to reevaluated to determine what their current needs are, so these can be addressed in their IEPs. Much discussion centered around compensatory services: what they are, when and how schools should determine whether a student needs such services, and more.

How to Prioritize the Health and Safety of Students, School Personnel, and Families

“How to Prioritize the Health and Safety of Students, School Personnel, and Families“ is one of the first pages to be launched in the “Return to School Roadmap” series being produced by the U.S. Department of Education. The series itself is a work in progress, beginning with three landmark principles focused on tools and strategies that schools, districts, and communities can use to ensure that all students are set up for success in the 2021-2022 school year. The Department anticipates steadily releasing additional resources as part of the series in the coming weeks and months.

Immediately available are: (1) a fact sheet that lays out the three principles and provides examples of schools and communities that are addressing each in effective ways; (2) a guide for schools and districts outlining what schools can do to protect the health and safety of students; (3) a checklist that parents can use to prepare themselves and their children for a safe return to in-person learning this fall. Learn more about the Return to School Roadmap and connect with all currently available resources right here.

Vaccinations, Return to In-Person Learning, and What All Parents Need to Know

In this webinar for parents, Parent Centers, and community members, key representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discuss safely reopening schools in the fall for in-person learning. Speakers share the process needed to get our children with and without disabilities back in the classroom, including testing and vaccine safety. The webinar is designed to give families an opportunity to express concerns, ask questions, and discuss how to sustain safe operations in schools. CDC spotlights the amazing array of resources it makes available in multiple languages about COVID-19 and vaccinations (including for adolescents), as well materials and toolkits tailored for specific audiences, such as families, community-based organizations, schools, and camp programs.

Rare Disorders

Disability Fact Sheet Resources updated, March 2021 “Alone we are rare. Together we are strong.” Slogan of Rare Disease Day —February 29, 2012. Roughly 7,000 rare diseases/disorders have been identified as affecting the human race. Because they are rare, it can be a real challenge for a person to be accurately diagnosed. Finding effective treatments, especially […]

Mental Health Resources

Updated, February 2021 There are many, many organizations and groups that deal with mental health. This page will help you find the one or ones that offer the type of assistance, intervention, or information you’re seeking. We’ve organized the information into the following sections: If it’s a crisis… (Keep scrolling) A quick-read fact sheet Be […]

Six Core Elements of Health Care Transition

Health care transition, or HCT, is the process of moving from a child/family-centered model of health care to an adult/patient-centered model of health care, with or without transferring to a new clinician. It involves planning, transfer, and integration into adult-centered health care. There’s a federally funded national resource center on health care transition (HCT) called Got Transition®. The Center has just issued the 3rd edition of its Six Core Elements of Health Care Transition, which lays out the basic components of a structured transition process and includes an Implementation Guide and customizable sample tools in English and Spanish. Read more about this revised and updated toolkit and access its different components in either English or Spanish here.

Coping with COVID-19 for Adults and for Children

  New resources added during the week of July 20-24, 2020. These appear first in the list of resources below. Note: A date in parentheses means the publication date of that resource, not the date we posted it here. This is to let you see at a glance how current the information is.   Updated […]

Supporting the Whole Child through Trauma-Informed Practice

(2020, January) | Useful to Parent Centers and others working with children who’ve experienced trauma. Equipped with rapidly growing knowledge about how trauma can undermine young people’s healthy development and ability to learn, many youth-serving professionals, community leaders, and policymakers are infusing principles of trauma-informed practice into program design, implementation, and policy proposals. Creating Cultures of […]

Self-Care A-Z: Think Self-Care Always Feels Good?

(2019) | Useful to Parent Center staff, families, and others exploring the importance of self-care. This brief article in the New Social Worker Magazine takes a wry and unflinching look at self-care. While it readily acknowledges the importance of taking care of yourself physically, spiritually, and emotionally, the article actually focuses on another aspect that’s […]

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.