Health Condition and Disability-Specific Resources
A number of heart conditions can affect children. Some are structural abnormalities they are born with. Others deal with the electrical system that controls the heartbeat.
HealthyChildren.org, the official parenting site of the American Academy of Pediatrics, provides numerous articles and information about heart conditions, including common heart defects in children, the challenges faced by parents of children with congenital heart disease, dental care for children with heart conditions and more.
Heart of Illinois Down Syndrome Association
The Heart of Illinois Down Syndrome Association (HOIDSA) offers support and information to help families adjust to the special needs of a child with Down syndrome. Its programs and resources for families and caregivers include Individual Education Program (IEP) resource providers, conference and classroom stipends, and events to increase inclusion and understanding of people with Down syndrome.
The association’s service area in central Illinois includes Peoria, Marshall, Tazewell and Woodford counties.
For questions, visit HOIDSA’s website contact page, call (309) 363-3125, or email info@hoidsa.org.
HIPP Program Tip Sheet and Application
The Health Insurance Premium Payment (HIPP) Program pays health insurance premiums for some children who have high medical costs and who have private health insurance available.
This HIPP Program Tip Sheet from the Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) explains the program’s availability and how to apply. (The HIPP Tip Sheet is also available in Spanish.)
You can also find copies of the HIPP Program application in English and HIPP Program application in Spanish.
Hire Autism is a free program from the Organization for Autism Research to help autistic job seekers find meaningful employment opportunities and connect with autism-friendly employers.
The site features include a searchable jobs board and resource library, profile and job board navigation tutorials, personalized job alerts and autism- or disability-related employment events. Job seekers can request free one-on-one virtual assistance with resume and cover letter writing as well as interview preparation through Hire Autism’s volunteer mentoring program.
Hire Autism also offers the Synchrony Tech Scholarship for adults with autism pursuing technology-related courses or training to advance their careers.
For questions, please contact Hire Autism.
Home Care Appeal and Peer-to-Peer Review Tip Sheet
The Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) is the operating agency for the Home Care Program. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) completes required reviews and determinations regarding a participant’s eligibility for Home Care services.
This tip sheet from DSCC explains how the review and determination of medical eligibility for Home Care services works. It also outlines how to file appeals for any decision made by HFS that denies, reduces, changes or terminates benefits for you or your child. (English or Spanish)
Home Generator Information for MFTD Waiver Families
The Home and Community-Based Services Waiver for Those Who Are Medically Fragile Technology Dependent (MFTD) may pay for power generators for a waiver participant’s primary residence.
The Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) put together this tip sheet that covers what the waiver will cover, what families need to do and more.
Homocystinuria (HCU) Network America
Homocystinuria (HCU) Network America provides free resources and connections for people impacted by this rare genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to process the amino acid homocysteine. HCU Network America supports a wide range of research and provides educational resources, connections and practical tools to help patients and their families navigate living with HCU.
HCU Network America resources include:
- Information on understanding HCU, clinic visits and treatment options
- An HCU Community Cookbook
- A downloadable Classical HCU Toolkit and podcast
- A New Patient Toolkit
How to Fill Out DSCC Forms in Spanish
There are a number of forms that our Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) participants must fill out. We’ve created three instructional videos to help our Spanish-speaking families fill out some of our most commonly used forms. These videos provide step-by-step instructions:
- Solicitud del Programa de DSCC. (Filling out the DSCC Program Application)
- Reembolso de Costos (Filling out the Reimbursement Cost Log)
- Asistencia de Viaje (Filling out the Travel Cost Log)
How to Support a Child or Teen With Epilepsy
“How to Support a Child or Teen With Epilepsy” from HealthyChildren.org, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ parenting website, provides tips for encouraging and supporting a child with epilepsy from infancy to adulthood. Topics include:
- Recognizing and treating seizures as early as possible
- Talking to your child’s doctor
- Discussing epilepsy openly and honestly with your child and others
- Finding childcare
- Teens with epilepsy
- Transitioning to adulthood
Additional resources for explaining epilepsy to others, building a care notebook, asking your medical team questions and what to do if your child has a seizure are also available.
Hunter’s Hope Foundation offers information and programs to support the care of a loved one with leukodystrophy and other disabilities. It provides support for finding care, information on living with leukodystrophy, and programs to help families provide the equipment their children need.
Family help and support includes:
- Beau’s Blessings care package for parents with children in the intensive care unit or neonatal intensive care unit
- Hunter’s Wish Gift helps families facing extreme financial stress due to the costs of caring for a child with leukodystrophy
- Morgan’s Legacy Gift provides quality-of-life gifts to children living with any type of lifelong disability
- A Resource Library for affected families, medical professionals and others in the leukodystrophy community
If you have any questions, please contact Hunter’s Hope Foundation at info@huntershope.org or (716) 667-1200.