Federal Education Law Protects Gifted Students with Disabilities

Tuesday, 12 October 2010 12:10

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has recently issued guidance affirming that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) protects intellectually gifted students who have qualifying disabilities and need special education services.  This is good news for parents of children with high I.Q.s who nevertheless struggle with attention, social skills, writing, and/or basic reading skills such as decoding and reading fluency, among other problems.

Read more: Federal Education Law Protects Gifted Students with Disabilities

Successfully Appealing Medicaid Waiver Service Reductions

Monday, 02 August 2010 09:49

Many children with severe or complex disabilities benefit from special Medicaid programs that enable them to receive services at home.  These programs are called “Waivers” because they “waive” consideration of parental income and resources in determining the child’s financial eligibility for Medicaid, relaxing Medicaid’s otherwise strict financial eligibility rules.   The policy rationale for these programs is to enable families to avoid institutionalizing their severely disabled children who, under regular rules, would be eligible for Medicaid only if living in an institution.  Home based care is usually better for children, and it is also usually less expensive for the Medicaid program. 

Read more: Successfully Appealing Medicaid Waiver Service Reductions

Summer Reading

Wednesday, 19 May 2010 13:37

According to the US Department of Education, the amount of reading a child does outside of the classroom correlates with their reading achievement in the classroom.  As summer approaches and you consider which summer reading program is best for your child, check out Borders’ summer reading incentive for kids 12 and under – read 10 books, get one free.

- Posted by Jill Fowler