The Early Intervention Clearinghouse (EI) offers books, videos, articles and web resources to help with toilet training your child. This site provides information that can be used for most children, with and without disabilities.
Home Care Physician Letter of Medical Necessity Examples
Physicians must provide current medical reports and details necessary to support the need for in-home nursing and Home Care services for Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) participants.
We developed these sample letters of medical necessity for home nursing to help physicians in this process.
For more helpful information on in-home nursing services, visit our Home Care Nursing Information for Families page.
American Sign Language Lessons
If you are interested in learning or practicing the basics of American Sign Language (ASL), these sites provide free lessons to get you started:
- ASL Connect – Gallaudet University
- Sign Language 101 – Learn Sign Language Online Free
- American Sign Language | Complete 3-Level Course | Start ASL
There are also free YouTube videos available to help you learn, practice and supplement your sign language instruction:
Long COVID under Section 504 and the IDEA
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for schools. These challenges continue as schools and public agencies seek to ensure support and equity for children and students experiencing the long-term adverse health effects of COVID-19, commonly referred to as long COVID.
This resource provides information about long COVID as a disability and about schools’ and public agencies’ responsibilities for the provision of services and reasonable modifications for children and students for whom long COVID is a disability. It is issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and focuses on two Federal laws: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Cued Speach Program for Families of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children
Cue College’s Cue Family Program provides a free, online Cued Speech class to families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Cued Speech combines a small number of simple hand cues with the natural mouth movements of speech to make the sounds or “phonemes” of spoken language clear through vision alone.
The Cue Family Program includes free access for one year to the online Cue College course, “CS100 – Introduction to Cued American English – Self Study”, for parents, guardians, additional family members and caregivers of a child with hearing loss or other communication challenges.
Financial Planning for Parents of Children With Disabilities
The PACER Center offers “A Financial Resource for Parents of Children With Disabilities” to help you plan for your child’s financial future and overall well-being. This resource helps walk you through getting organized, life and disability insurance and various aspects of planning for you and your child.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network Resources for Parents and Caregivers
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network provides a variety of resources for parents, caregivers and youth related to different types of childhood trauma, including coping with hard times, grief, hospitalizations and more.
Resources are available in English and Spanish.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments and COVID-19 Financial Assistance
The Social Security Administration updated its rules about what financial assistance can affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or their monthly SSI payment amount.
The administration no longer counts Economic Impact Payments, State Stimulus Payments and other COVID-19 financial assistance against an individual’s eligibility or payment amount. Visit the Social Security Administration’s website for the full list of financial assistance programs that do not affect SSI eligibility or payment amounts.
COVID-19 Long Haulers and the Americans With Disabilities Act
The U.S. Department of Labor provides a wide variety of resources to help workers, employers, youth and policymakers respond to and recover from the Coronavirus pandemic. Their website includes information on COVID-19 long haulers and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Toilet Training Children with Special Needs – HealthyChildren.org
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ website HealthyChildren.org provides parents of children with disabilities information for determining when to start and how to begin the toilet-training process.
The information includes:
An overview of physical and developmental challenges and how they can impact toilet training
Tips on when and how to begin toilet training
The importance of having a parent support network and focusing on celebrating your child’s overall growth, not the mistake
This information is also available in Spanish.