Reimbursement for special ed at private schools


Posted by Beth Finke on July 1st, 2009

A story on NPR’s All Things Considered explains how a Supreme Court ruling last week makes it easier for parents of special education students to get reimbursed for private school tuition.

The case started in Oregon — the parents of a teenager who was refused special education services at a public high school transferred the student to a private academy …Read More » »

Know your options when it comes to occupational therapy


Posted by Ellen Harrington-Kane on April 29th, 2009

What a pleasure it is to introduce guest blogger Sandra Schefkind, MS, OTR/L, pediatric coordinator for the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

Know your options when it comes to occupational therapy

By Sandra Schefkind

It’s no secret that parents want the best for their kids. When they’re at home they know firsthand what’s happening … but let’s face it — …Read More » »

Accessing stimulus funding if you’re not on public aid


Posted by Katy Beh Neas on March 12th, 2009

A comment to our post called The stimulus plan: what’s in it for people with autism? prompted me to write more on this issue, because it’s an impoirtant one. The person who commented asked whether parents can access economic recovery funds if their children do not receive Medicaid or Social Security benefits.

The details of how states are going to …Read More » »

The stimulus plan: what’s in it for people with autism?


Posted by Beth Finke on February 23rd, 2009

Here’s an understatement for you: that stimulus package President Obama signed into law last week is huge. It’s a bit daunting, too. To help sort through all the changes, the Disability Policy Collaboration (The Arc of the United States, combined with United Cerebral Palsy) lists the amount of increased spending disability specific programs will receive from the time the …Read More » »

Autism in Obama’s stimulus plan


Posted by Beth Finke on February 5th, 2009

Wondering how the proposed stimulus plan might affect your child with autism? An article in last week’s New York Times called Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education says that some of the money would go towards special education for children with autism and other disabilities. The story reported that President Obama’s Stimulus Plan allocates …Read More » »

Courting the “special needs vote”


Posted by Beth Finke on October 28th, 2008

Our son turned 2 right before the 1988 presidential election. Gus was enrolled in our local Birth to Three Early Intervention Program then, and would be entering the world of special education at our local public school the next year. If Michael Dukakis or George H.W. Bush had mentioned “special needs” in a speech or debate in 1988, I …Read More » »

CVS and All Kids Can


Posted by Beth Finke on July 28th, 2008

About this time a year ago, I was preparing to visit a summer school class of future educators. Most of the students I talked to at Elmhurst College last year graduated in May. They’ll be teaching in another month, and it’s likely they’ll have children with disabilities in their classes.

While I was preparing my talk last year, I wrote …Read More » »

Book review: Ellen Notbohm’s “Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew”


Posted by Beth Finke on November 7th, 2007

Ellen Notbohm’s Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew gives readers a …Read More » »