Medical/Health and Wellness Resources
OSF Healthcare Children’s Hospital of Illinois’ OSF Autism Pathways provides tools, information and resources to help individuals of all ages navigate their autism journey. The OSF Autism Pathways team can help answer questions about treatment options and other concerns. It can also help connect individuals to autism services and supports.
OSF Autism Pathways’ services and resources include:
- General autism information and resources
- Autism diagnostic services
- Behavioral health, crisis and respite care supports
- Daily living skills development and transition to adulthood planning
- Employment and job coaching
- Family supports and financial planning
- Social and recreational opportunities
- Therapeutic interventions
To refer yourself or your child, please call (844) 910-0770 or (309) 624-4830. You can also fill out the OSF Autism Pathways online form.
OSF HealthCare COVID-19 Resource Center
The OSF HealthCare COVID-19 online resource center provides up-to-date information about symptoms, testing, vaccines and treatment. The Center also features the options to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment or chat with an OSF nurse.
OutCare aims to be a comprehensive resource for LGBTQ+ healthcare, offering provider and healthcare resource directories.
OutCare’s provider directory provides a list of providers who understand LGBTQ+ needs.
Package of Hope for NICU Families
Lily’s Hope Foundation offers free customized care packages to families with premature babies either in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or when they are being discharged.
Its Package of Hope program provides packages customized to a family’s specific needs. Packages also include a sibling care package and an emergency needs package.
Packages are shipped throughout the United States based on availability. One Package of Hope per family.
Parent Guide to Special Education
“A Parent’s Guide – Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois” is a guide for parents, teachers, administrators and others to learn about the educational rights of children who receive special education and related services due to disabilities that affect their ability to achieve academically.
Special education laws and procedures are complicated and can be difficult to understand. This guide from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will clarify some of the procedures of special education. It contains information about many of the most common topics related to the broad special education landscape, from identification and evaluation to transition planning and complaint procedures.
Review individual topics and chapters or download a complete copy of “A Parent’s Guide – Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois” on ISBE’s website.
Parents Helping Parents (PHP) is a nonprofit organization providing training, individual assistance, information, and resources for raising a child of any age with any disability or special needs diagnosis.
Parents of Extraordinary Children
Parents of Extraordinary Children (PEXC) is a nonprofit that aims to inform, empower, support and help advocate for families of children and young adults with disabilities within the southeast side of Chicago.
With the help of volunteers and representatives from city-wide organizations, PEXC provides opportunities for Individualized Education Program (IEP) training, learning to navigate the special education process, understanding terminology, initiating the process of evaluation, the transition to adulthood and more.
PEXC has a Sensory Space and Resource Center and offers an “All Inclusive Support Group” on a monthly basis for families.
For more information, call (312) 600-5479 or email admin@pexc10thward.com.
Pediatric First Aid and Safety Training for Teachers and Caregivers
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ “Pediatric First Aid and Safety Training for Teachers and Caregivers” online course is for anyone who works with or cares for infants and children. The six-unit training provides caregivers with an understanding of first aid and safety procedures, recognizing everyday medical emergencies and providing care for an injury or illness until professional help arrives.
Each unit takes about an hour to complete. You can complete the course at your own pace. The course costs $25 and is available through March 30, 2028. It covers:
- Administering mental health first aid
- Effectively communicating with emergency responders
- Disaster planning
- Identifying and managing common pediatric medical emergencies
- Using first aid equipment and child-specific procedures for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Pediatric Tracheostomy Tube Emergency Management Video
In this video, nurses from Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago describe and demonstrate emergency management for pediatric patients with tracheostomy (trach) tubes. The video covers:
- Prevention and assessment of emergency situations
- How to manage a mucous plug
- How to replace a trach tube that has become dislodged
- What to do if the trach tube is difficult to replace
- When to provide manual ventilation using bag to trach tube, bag and mask to mouth, and mouth to mouth
Pediatrician Guidance on Telehealth
Telehealth is a tool that can help connect your child to many different types of healthcare services using various types of technology, such as live, interactive audio and video and special diagnostic tools. Healthychildren.org provides tips for talking to your pediatrician and using telehealth effectively. The information is available in several languages.