21. Going to College
Image by Terri Mauro
Subtitled "A resource for teens with disabilities," this site walks kids through the details of figuring out their strengths and interests, finding a college that fits, and fitting in with campus life. There's also information for parents and school personnel who may need to help in that process.
22. Ideas for Change in America: Medicaid Waivers
Image by Terri Mauro
Ideas for Change in America is gathering "the best ideas for how the Obama Administration and Congress can turn the broad call for 'change' across the country into specific policies." Among the ideas proposed is this one in favor of fully funding Medicaid waivers for the developmentally disabled, freeing families from waiting lists and allowing portability of services across state lines. It's drawn a lot of comments from families of children with special needs -- if this is an important issue for your family, visit and vote and leave your story.
23. ReadKiddoRead.com
Image by Terri Mauro
If you're looking for a book to really capture the imagination of a reluctant reader, this site from author James Patterson offers lots of enthusiastic suggestions. Paterson promises "these are very, very special books that kids will gobble up and ask for more. If your kids get a few of these books under their belts they'll be well on their way to becoming readers for life."
24. What Are You Thankful For About Your Child With Special Needs?
While you're enjoying your family time today, and finding joy in your children, take a moment to share what you treasure most about your child with special needs.
25. Prematurity Awareness Petition
Image by Terri Mauro
The March of Dimes has compiled a report card for each U.S. state, comparing the rate of premature births with the nation's goal of 7.6 percent or less, and the news isn't good: Most states are getting Ds and Fs. From the site, you can sign an online petition urging the federal government to make preemies a priority. And while you're there, donate some money using your MasterCard -- through December 31, the credit-card company will match your donation. UPDATE: The petition is no longer online, but the March of Dimes site is worth browsing.
26. Fun Things to Do
Image by Terri Mauro
Your Saturday super-sized listing of amusements, including a family activity, a site for the kids, a shopping site, a site offering humor or inspiration about parenting children with special needs, and a site that's just silly or fun.
27. Weekly Round-Up
Catch up with everything you missed this week on the About.com Parenting Special Needs site.28. About.com Down Syndrome
One of the newest additions to the About.com Health Channel is this site on Down syndrome, written by Kathleen Fergus, "a board certified genetic counselor who has worked extensively with people affected by Down syndrome and their families." In addition to medical information about DS diagnosis and treatment, there's a section on parenting advice that might come in handy.29. Gluten-Free Fox
Gluten-Free Fox is "the world's first gluten-free search engine, to help others like us find the most accurate and useful information to living a healthy, happy, gluten-free lifestyle." Enter what you're looking for and it uses Google to return results specifically related to gluten-free.30. Special Needs Classifieds
Logo courtesy of The Special Needs Story
The Special Needs Store, a parent-run business featured in my profiles of Enterprising Parents, has added a section to help you do some sales of your own: Classified ads. In addition to providing a way for those offering services to reach out to special-needs parents, the Special Needs Classifieds provide a way for parents to sell gently used items their children have outgrown, physically or developmentally. The feature is just getting started -- maybe that stuff that's cluttering your attic could help with the launch.
31. Hippocampus
Image by Terri Mauro
Got bored teens sitting around with vacation stretching before them? Make them do some learning during their time off with the neat multi-media educational presentations on Hippocampus. Available subjects include algebra, biology, calculus, physics, statistics, and U.S. history.
