Loud & Clear: Family Conversations is written by our member attorneys and guests for individuals with disabilities and their families. We tackle the day-to-day and long-range issues that affect the quality of life. Readers are welcome to comment on the discussion, though we can not answer legal questions here. For answers to specific legal questions, please find an attorney in our Directory.
Microboards and Guardianship
By Ann McGee Green, Esq. This past summer, one of my client families was successful in having – for the first time in Virginia – a microboard-named guardian for their [...]
Head Over Heart Moving to a Group Home
By Brian Rubin, Esq. Deciding whether or not an adult child with disabilities should move from the family home into a supported, community-based residence can be wrenching experience. Aside from [...]
Self-Advocacy’s Growing Momentum
By Martha C. Brown, CELA Today, the expectations of individuals with special needs are radically different from those of previous generations. They plan to participate in community life to the [...]
Home Care for Alzheimer’s
By Ruth Courtney, Richard A. Courtney, CELA, & Morris Klein, CELA In the U.S., 70 percent of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's are cared for at home, creating a stressful balancing [...]
Preparation Pays at Special Ed Meetings
By Hyman Darling, Esq., Massachusetts With special ed spending down 11 percent since 2010, parents may find meetings with the local Committee on Special Education (CSE) increasingly tense. When negotiating [...]
Obtaining Disability Benefits for a Child with Special Needs
By Ram Meyyappan, Social Security Disability Help Parents of children with special needs are well aware of how costly it can be to provide the best care for their loved [...]
Unfinished Business
By Michael Morris, Executive Director, National Disability Institute The Commission on Long-Term Care was charged by Congress with developing recommendations for the design and financing of a comprehensive, coordinated and [...]
The Do’s and Don’ts When Hiring an Employee with Special Needs
By Amy Goodman, Co-Director, Autism Now The topic of hiring an employee with special needs is important because employers need to know how to be more open- minded and sensitive [...]
Not Accepting “No”: Tips on Advocating Change
By James A. Caffry, Esq., Waterbury, Vermont Government transparency - or the lack of it - is much in the news, and it's a concept to bear in mind as [...]
Keeping Seniors with Developmental Disabilities in the Community
By Pamela Merkle, Executive Director, Association on Aging with Developmental Disabilities Thanks to medical advances, people with developmental disabilities are living longer and that longevity is bringing some very difficult [...]
Liability for Medicare Set-Asides Largely Undefined
By Robert B. Fleming, CELA, Tucson, Arizona Medicare set-aside agreements (MSAs) constitute an evolving area of law that should be considered by anyone settling a third party liability claim. The [...]
Graduating from Special Ed, Anticipating College
Brian L., 19, recently graduated from high school, having been in special education programs since kindergarten. He has a number of learning differences, including autism spectrum disorder. In August, he [...]
Remember, Transitional Planning Works at the Other End of the Life Spectrum, Too!
By Catherine Goebel, MA, MS Ed., NCG-CGC, ILLP There is much discussion regarding transitional planning for younger individuals with special needs moving from high school to employment, day programming, or [...]
Tax Considerations in Personal Injury Settlements
The Special Needs Alliance asked Jeremy Babener to summarize a presentation on tax issues in personal injury cases that he made at the Society of Settlement Planners Annual Meeting in [...]
Caregiving in a Digital World
By Professor Naomi Cahn, Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School, & Rev. Amy Ziettlow, Affiliate Scholar with the Institute for American Values You've heard all [...]
Making School Sports Accessible
By Scott Suzuki, Esq., Honolulu, Hawaii The U.S. Department of Education recently published guidelines clarifying the responsibility of public schools to make sports more accessible to students with disabilities. Although [...]
How Will the Affordable Care Act Affect SNTs?
Shirley B. Whitenack, Esq., Florham Park, New Jersey Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a hybrid system comprised of Medicaid and state-based insurance exchanges seeks to extend health coverage to [...]
Thinking It Through
What to Consider When Creating a Special Needs Trust By Katherine N. Barr, Esq. Many parents put off the process of setting up a special needs trust (SNT) for a [...]
Caregiver Burnout Hurts the Entire Family
By Heather Nadler, CELA, Tucker, GA Caregiver burnout is a destructive syndrome. Individuals become so involved with the ongoing needs of a loved one with disabilities that they neglect their [...]
After the Evaluation . . .
"The child you take home is the same one you brought in." By Chris Kelsey, Board Member, Piedmont Down Syndrome Support Network Parents' first experience of their child's developmental evaluation [...]