HELENA - The Montana State Library is celebrating the "talking book library," which has been around since 1966. Now the library is launching a patron's outreach program to help those who don't know about the talking library. All Montana residents who can't read standard print due to a visual, physical, or reading disability may quality for the program.

March 21st marks World Down Syndrome Day on the Special Needs Calendar. World Down Syndrome Day is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The day is is focused on raising awareness for individuals with Down Syndrome. In preperation for World Down Syndrome Awareness Day we gathered together 42 Down Syndrome resources.

There is often a lot of anxiety around talking to children with special needs about growing up, relationships and sex. Parents worry their children may be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. But by teaching your child about sex and relationships you can help keep them safe. Whether your child has special needs or not, they will still hit puberty and the chances are they will have sexual feelings. Giving them the information they need to understand those feelings and channelling them appropriately is very important.

It's Time for School: Building Quality Education Programs for Students with ASD Wed, Mar 20, 2013 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT School Districts across the country are struggling to meet the needs of students with ASD. Budgets are tight making it is hard to think about being proactive when there are not enough dollars to even cover day-to-day operations. However, districts have found that developing quality education programs for students with autism can actually result in substantial savings. During this presentation Dr. Leaf will discuss factors that contribute to the development of classrooms that provide effective educational for students with ASD. Dr. Leaf will share what he has found to be indicators of a "good" school district, teacher and classroom. Dr. Ronald Leaf is a licensed psychologist who has over thirty-five years of experience in the field of autism; he worked with Ivar Lovaas while receiving his undergraduate and doctorate degrees at UCLA. He is co-author of: A Work in Progress; Building Quality ABA Educational Programs for Students with ASD; Sense and Nonsense in the Behavioral Treatment of Autism and Crafting Connections. Dr. Leaf has consulted nationally and internationally with families and school districts; he is Director of Autism Partnership.

For some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the core symptoms of impaired communication, social skills and repetitive behaviors are just the beginning of the challenges that they face. An ASD diagnosis also brings an increased likelihood of receiving a secondary mental health diagnosis, such as depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders, many of which manifest in severe behaviors that can quickly escalate to a crisis situation for a child and their family.

This video is the second in a series of webinars on topics of interest to the autism community. It captures the webinar presented by Dr. Raphael Bernier, an autism researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle, in which he presents an overview of the wide variety of autism treatments in use, and the evidence that we have (or don't have) regarding the effectiveness of these treatments. In addition to his research into autism genetics and neurobiology, Dr. Bernier is involved in a nationwide network in the United States that is establishing treatment standards for individuals on the spectrum.

A Helena youth group is getting national recognition for their advocacy in mental health. The Hope & Advocacy Youth Group consists of four young adults that are paving the way in Montana with their message on dealing with mental health issues.

There's something funny about learning that a successful CEO or politician received bad grades in school. We're amused to hear that Steve Jobs earned C's on his way to a 2.6 GPA in high school-- before creating the most profitable company on Earth. But what if stories like these say more about the quality of our schools than we think? Indeed, statistics show that schools in the United States may not be fostering the skills needed to succeed in life after high school. A shocking number of high school graduates require remediation when they get to college. In New York City - which, unlike most other districts, is tracking the data and attempting to do something about it - more than half of high school graduates aren't prepared for coursework in in community college. Naturally, cities and states (and the authors of the Common Core Standards) have begun adjusting their approach, shifting focus to higher level skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and even creativity. It's time we took a similar approach to the education of students with learning differences and learning disabilities.

Language-based learning disability (LBLD) refers to a spectrum of difficulties related to the understanding and use of spoken and written language. LBLD is a common cause of students' academic struggles because weak language skills impede comprehension and communication, which are the basis for most school activity.

The terrible toll of suicide is a symptom of systematic problems in our state. Lack of access to timely, effective mental-health care, shortages of mental-health professionals, lack of insurance and overwhelming stigma that makes people reluctant to seek needed care all contribute to suffering that all too often ends with suicide.Knowing that we have a problem is the beginning of understanding how to solve it. But action is needed on the state level to ease Montana's suicide problem.

Parenting a school-aged child with dyslexia requires strategy, savvy and time. Frankly, not all of us possess these attributes in equal measure and the job often seems beyond our means and abilities. The screenings and evaluations, planning and homework support, emotional pep-talks, talking to teachers and administrators, identifying best supports and assessing what is available, navigating legalities, keeping up-to-date on the latest educational interventions and assistive technologies — all of this leaves most parents feeling depleted and inadequate.

I started Hopeful Parents, a grassroots community where parents who understand what it's like having a child with special needs can connect. Consider it a pit-stop in the marathon -- where we can go for attention to our wounds, where we can re-energize our way back on track, where we can look right and look left to see others running too, where we can hear the roar of the crowds cheering us on. Hopeful Parents is a place of common ground. We'll introduce you to our diverse pool of talented, thoughtful writers who will share their stories, their feelings, their ups and their downs. You'll meet parents raising children with physical, psychological, emotional, neurological, sensory, behavioral, social, genetic, and developmental disabilities. Some parents are single, some are married. Some grieve the loss of their child; some grieve the loss of their spouse. You'll also meet healers -- the "medics" who help us through our run. People we can turn to in our pain; people who can help provide some relief.

Most people know the definition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as it has become an unfortunate, common after-effect of war, terrorism and assault.  What many people don’t know is that PTSD can occur in people who have had significant, complex medical issues. This is the case with my daughter Riley.  I wanted to share our experiences, because I believe that it’s crucial to understand trauma from a child’s perspective, and to increase awareness of the connection between trauma and children with complex medical issues.    

I will never forget the feelings--cold, fear, failure--as we sat in the ER room.  I wasn’t there with my 11-year-old son for any normal malady; we were there for rages.  Yes, I could not control my child.  I had refused to buy him a soda and here we were.  His counselor was out on the phone, she couldn’t believe this was the same child who sat in her office two hours prior, smiling and drawing.  I had seen the signs, heard the agitation in his voice, felt the tension in the air.  After all, this is what had brought us to her just a few months back.

MTV is putting a spotlight on the ups and downs facing those with disabilities as they transition to adulthood, with a documentary-style series following a 21-year-old with autism.

At the CSUN International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference this week, Google announced that it has added a number of accessibility features to Chrome, Chrome OS, Gmail and Google Drive that should make using Google suites of web apps a bit easier to use for blind and low-vision users. In addition, Google also launched a new sign language interpreter app and keyboard shortcuts for Hangouts for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as those who can’t or don’t want to use a mouse while using Hangouts.

Since 2007, SAMHSA has promoted the improved wellness of people with behavioral health problems by engaging, educating, and training providers, consumers, and policy makers. SAMHSA partnered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Women’s Health (FDA/OWH) to disseminate wellness messages and motivate individuals and community organizations to take action through a Pledge for Wellness. Already, more than 3,000 national and community organizations are taking action for wellness.

This is a listing of camps for children and adults with specific diagnoses, and for children who have a parent or a family member with a specific diagnosis. These are not necessarily free camps, or camps for financially needy children and families. But, some of these camps offer financial aid, so contact the individual camp for details. If you're looking for programs that provide general financial aid for camping or other activities, then go to the Diagnosis-Based Assistance area of NeedyMeds and search by the specific diagnosis. The programs listed in this database include camps for children with one specific diagnosis, whole categories of diagnoses (such as all types of cancers) or broader chronic illnesses. Many of these camps are funded by either private or government organizations. Some camps take children from anywhere in the U.S., while others are limited to people in specific states. Most have some type of eligibility requirements, usually financial ones.

By far the most effective advocacy tool for my two kids with disabilities is letter and email writing. True, I am a professional writer, but even if you're not, putting pen to paper (or actually fingers to keyboard in my case) is something that you can do.