"A Guide to Best Practice in Special Education, Health and Social Care" explores and explains the changes in governmental policies across the education, health and social care services, and what they mean for young individuals, parents and professionals. In a period of significant change, many practitioners need to understand the…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made the assessment that COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be characterised as a pandemic and the virus has now spread to many countries and territories. While a lot is still unknown about the virus that causes COVID-19, we do know that it is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an…

The birth of a child is among the most joyous events human beings ever experience. After months of anticipation and preparation, a precious little one joins a family. Parents dream of the things they will do with this new arrival, the birthdays, the family vacations, the continuing of family traditions. Above all, parents hope to provide the best…

Taking a young child to the doctor is not always the easiest of tasks, even when the child does not have a disability. This can be seen in the sheer number of children's books on the subject. Using key words such as "going to the doctor," a quick search of Amazon.com's children's book listing brings up a list of over 1,200 books. While the books…

Medicaid Waivers are crucial to the community life of individuals with significant disabilities and their families. In a nutshell, Medicaid Waivers prevent institutionalization by providing the support individuals with significant disabilities need to live in the communities of their choice. These supports include Personal Care services and…

This publication was created for middle-income parents of children under the age of 18 who have disabilities. It is a simple, straightforward resource to help them manage their money, and plan for them and their children's financial future and overall well-being. The financial management techniques presented here can help parents, not just in…

This is the first article in a year long series that presents the experiences of a fictitious couple, Amita and Samir, as they learn to adapt to the reality of having a premature baby with special needs. Doris, the fictitious nurse who took care of baby Anjali in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), has had ten years of experience working in…

The article on health care options for children with disabilities includes a review of the changes in hospital and doctor coverage and newer types of health insurance, including Health Maintenance Organizations and Independent Practice Associations. Suggestions for parents of disabled children are offered. (CL)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Show Me the Way to Go Home: Democrats Pare Spending in Effort to Finish Appropriations Before the End of the Year; (2) Losing…

This training guide is intended to improve the skills of Head Start staff and families in dealing with communicable diseases. The guide addresses attitudes toward communicable diseases, how to reduce the spread of disease, and how to recognize and manage illnesses more effectively. The guide consists of six working sections. The first three are…

This guide was developed to assist families and service providers in Connecticut with nutrition services for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Individual sections provide information about the following topics: laws and regulations related to nutrition services; eligibility for the Connecticut Birth to Three System and nutrition; nutrition…

The increasing importance of assistive technologies to persons with disabilities is discussed and the activities of the Center for Special Education Technology, as well as the roles of teachers, physical and occupational therapists, speech/language clinicians, hospitals, physicians, public health agencies, and the public schools in implementing…

Offers questions for parents to ask when determining whether their child's school health program is sufficient. Issues to examine include time allotted for health education, types of school services provided to help teachers with the subject, instructional methods, outside health services, and additional staff (e.g., nurses and counselors). (SM)

Intended for parents of children with disabilities, the booklet lists types and addresses of resources available in Alaska. Resources are organized according to the following types of services: support services, medical and health services, education, respite care, day care, homemaker and home health aides, residential services, vocational…

Behavior change interventions focusing on birth preparedness for pregnant women, their husbands, and adults in the community are common components of community-oriented Safe Motherhood programs in developing countries. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of these interventions, and existing studies are flawed due to study and sample…