By Scott Suzuki, Esq., Honolulu, Hawaii The U.S. Department of Education recently published guidelines clarifying the responsibility of public schools to make sports more accessible to students with disabilities. Although both the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have long mandated that public education include sports-related accommodations, many districts [...]
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Posted: May 10th, 2013 | No Comments »
Shirley Whitenack, Esq., Florham Park, New Jersey Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a hybrid system comprised of Medicaid and state-based insurance exchanges seeks to extend health coverage to all Americans. How will this shape the life care plans that families establish for loved ones with disabilities? Will special needs trusts (SNTs) continue to provide [...]
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Posted: April 26th, 2013 | No Comments »
What to Consider When Creating a Special Needs Trust By Katherine N. Barr Many parents put off the process of setting up a special needs trust (SNT) for a child with disabilities. They worry about complexity and cost and that they’ll be faced with difficult decisions. They may finally be prompted to call an attorney [...]
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Posted: April 12th, 2013 | 3 Comments »
By Heather Nadler, CELA, Tucker, GA Caregiver burnout is a destructive syndrome. Individuals become so involved with the ongoing needs of a loved one with disabilities that they neglect their own well-being. By placing unreasonable and unrelenting demands on themselves, they descend into a state of emotional and physical exhaustion. Their complete focus on the [...]
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Posted: March 30th, 2013 | No Comments »
“The child you take home is the same one you brought in.” By Chris Kelsey, Board Member, Piedmont Down Syndrome Support Network Parents’ first experience of their child’s developmental evaluation by “the experts” can be pretty scary. They know their child well, and they know that he or she might not perform. They also may [...]
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Posted: March 17th, 2013 | 3 Comments »
By Ethel Zelenske, Co-Chair, Social Security Task Force Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is a working coalition of more than 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations, working together with, and on behalf of, the 57 million children and adults with disabilities and their families living in [...]
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Posted: March 1st, 2013 | No Comments »
By Richard L. Sayre, Esq., Spokane, WA It’s time to begin organizing your tax documents, an exercise that can be particularly confusing when a family member has special needs. Here are some suggestions to bear in mind… Exemptions and Deductions When a loved one has special needs, the cost of health care is usually a [...]
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Posted: February 15th, 2013 | 6 Comments »
By Bridget O’Brien Swartz, CELA As the 113th Congress gets down to business, it’s all about the budget. Given the limited tax hike that was approved in the early hours of 2013, the long-term sustainability of many social services remains an issue and cuts appear inevitable. The question is where they will fall. Although entitlement [...]
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Posted: February 3rd, 2013 | No Comments »
By Leonard Berg, Esq. Paying a relative for care of a frail parent or of an adult child or sibling with disabilities is an option that sometimes solves a variety of problems. “Caregiver agreements” can enable an individual with special needs to remain living within the community at the same time that it provides income [...]
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Posted: January 20th, 2013 | 2 Comments »
By Ronald S. Honberg, Director of Policy & Legal Affairs National Alliance on Mental Illness In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in which it found that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives people with disabilities, including people living with serious mental illness, the right to receive services in the most integrated [...]
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Posted: January 6th, 2013 | 1 Comment »
