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Unlike previous dentists, Dr. Luedemann-Lazar didn’t suggest that Camryn would need to be sedated or immobilized. Instead, she suggested weekly visits to help her learn to be cooperative, step by step, with lots of breaks so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Bribery helped. If she sat calmly for 10 seconds, her reward was listening to a snippet of a Beyoncé song on her sister’s iPod. This month, Camryn sat still in the chair, hands crossed on her lap, for no less than 25 minutes through an entire cleaning — her second ever — even as purple-gloved hands hovered near her face, holding a noisy tooth polisher.

The Council for Exceptional Children provides ongoing articles and updates (based on research) to support that students with varying abilities are capable of reaching higher levels of achievement than was once thought possible. The trick comes as we strive to update the mindsets of administrators, teachers and families (as well as the personal belief systems of the students) about the capabilities of diverse learners.

The OHMI Trust's objective is to remove the barriers to music-making faced by the physically disabled. There is currently no orchestral instrument that can be played without two fully functioning hands and arms, denying unlimited participation in musical life to those with congenital disabilities and amputees, as well as the millions who may have been injured, suffered a stroke or developed arthritis. The primary obstacle is the absence of suitable instruments. 

Some novel programs are addressing a growing gap in health care: helping the millions of survivors of serious childhood diseases find treatment when they grow up. Thanks to medical advances, there are a growing number of survivors of childhood cancers as well as patients living longer with diseases like cystic fibrosis and spina bifida. More children have diseases like diabetes and asthma that will follow them into adulthood. Nearly 25% of children have at least one of a list of 18 chronic conditions, according to federal survey data.

All parents endure stress, but studies show that parents of children with developmental disabilities, like autism, experience depression and anxiety far more often. Struggling to obtain crucial support services, the financial strain of paying for various therapies, the relentless worry over everything from wandering to the future — all of it can be overwhelming.

f you are involved in the well-being of an infant, toddler, child, or youth with disabilities, you’ll find reading the exact language of IDEA both illuminating and important. In addition to being able to read it here online, you may also wish to download a full copy, print it out, and keep it handy.

I gave birth to the most beautiful child I could ever have imagined. I love her eyes. I love her button nose. I love her little lips, her barely-there fuzzball head of hair. I love the way she coos, and the way she smiles a goofy, mouth-wide open grin. In five days, I will be handing her over to a team of pediatric surgeons. They will cut open her chest and, provided all goes well, they will repair her heart. In five days, I will face the hardest day I have ever had to face as a mother. I will face the hardest day I have ever had to face in general. It's there, just looming.