Olney Resources
The Painted Turtle Overnight Camp for Children with Serious Medical Conditions
The Painted Turtle is a year-round, overnight camp in California for children ages 7 to 17 with a variety of serious medical conditions, their siblings and family members. Condition-specific camp sessions and family weekends (for children ages 6 to 17) aim to encourage children to try new things and develop lasting friendships. Campers and their families attend free of charge.
The camp has a full-time medical staff, a health center and a physician onsite at all times. The Painted Turtle provides camper eligibility guidelines and medical criteria to help determine the best session for your child and family.
Mental Health for Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Navigate Life Texas, a project to inform and empower parents of children with disabilities or special healthcare needs, has a Mental Health for Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities page. This page provides ideas on how to talk to your healthcare provider and the people working with your child if you think your child might be having mental health symptoms.
REACH Learning and Resource Hub
REACH Learning and Resource Hub provides free, virtual training to help educators, clinicians, parents and caregivers better support the mental health and resilience of the children and youth in their lives. The interactive, on-demand resources focus on:
- Trauma-responsive practices
- Personal and professional resilience
- Social-emotional awareness
- Self-care
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Internship Programs
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) provides two internship programs offering professional and career development opportunities for students and recent graduates with disabilities. The programs help participants access meaningful employment, gain leadership skills and connect to the broader disability community.
Learn more about the programs and how to apply:
Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois’ Camp Roehr
The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois (EFGSI) hosts an annual, overnight camp for children and teenagers with epilepsy. Camp Roehr provides campers ages 6 to 17 with seven days of fun, building friendships and learning about living with epilepsy. Camp registration typically begins in mid-April. Participant requirements include:
- Living in Illinois or surrounding states
- Having a primary diagnosis of epilepsy and well-controlled seizures
- Being able to care for their own basic needs and ready for an overnight camp experience
Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.
Give an Hour – Rare Caregivers
Give an Hour aims to create resilient communities of support for rare disease caregivers and families. Through one-on-one peer support, group support, professional training and research, Give an Hour strives to build a sustainable support system for rare caregivers.
Visit the Give an Hour Rare Caregivers website to find peer support, self-care tips, support groups and more.
DSCC’s Insurance Appeals Communication Log
Documentation is very important when appealing a decision made by the health insurance plan. This Insurance Appeals Communication Log from the Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) can help you keep track of when you talk to people and what you talked about.
DSCC’s Health Insurance Appeals Tip Sheet
An appeal is when you ask your health insurance company to reconsider their decision. Health insurance plans must tell you why they did not cover services. This Health Insurance Appeals tip sheet from the Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) includes steps for navigating the process of asking your health insurance company to reconsider their decision. It also includes a sample appeal letter.
DSCC’s Insurance Appeals Calendar
Documentation is very important when appealing a decision made by your health insurance plan. This calendar from from the Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) is one of the tools you can use during the appeals process to help keep track of important dates and documents.