Special Needs Planning

Toy Guide for Special Needs

With the holidays approaching, I know the dread of many siblings of adults with special needs: what am I going to get my brother?!  For parents of children with special needs that question can be even more daunting because their children's development may be advanced in one area and delayed in a another which makes finding a toy that's both challenging enough to be engaging and easy enough to be enjoyed is tough.

Toys R Us is now distributing a guide developed specifically to address choosing the right toys for kids with special needs . 600,000 of the "Toy Guide for Differently Abled Kids" will be printed and available at Toys R Us.  Of the 85 toys listed inside, 79 can be obtained at stores other than Toys R Us.  The guide indicates for each toy, which developmental area it can stimulate.

You can even look at it online right now!

Announcing The Academy of Special Needs Planners

I am delighted to announce the formation of a ground-breaking organization:  The Academy of Special Needs Planners.

Harry Margolis (Managing Partner of Margolis & Associates, a Boston law firm, and founder of Elder Law Answers ), Vincent Russo (Managing Shareholder of Vincent J. Russo & Assocates, a New York law firm, and past-President of The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys ) and I have joined forces to create The Academy of Special Needs Planners ("ASNP").  ASNP is a national member organization of attorneys who are dedicated to improving the lives of people with special needs by helping them and their families plan for the future.

The Academy's website connects families with attorneys who are experts in providing legal guidance and services that enhance the lives of their loved ones with special needs.  Our new organiation offers information, education, networking and assistance to our member attorneys, to other professionals concerned with special needs planning, and to families of people with special needs.

As my co-Founder, Vince Russo,  says, "Clients need attorneys who combine compassion with skilled estate planning and knowledge of the public benefits programs on which many individuals with special needs must rely." 

Exciting New Reminder Technology for People with Asperger's and Autism

Does your child or family member with Autism or Asperger's appreciate reminders?  Does he like repetition of social cues, like "make eye contact"?  My brother has a list of things he likes to be reminded of in particular situations.  For example, when he's at the airport, he likes to be reminded, repeatedly, not to make jokes about hijacking.  He gets very worried that he might say something inappropriate.

My parents and I have always acted as his reminder system.  We all know the scripts.  When he asks about an imponderable, like why he gets upset by barking dogs, he wants the answer "Why does Scott hit?"  (Scott was a classmate who, much to Nathan's distress, could not seem to control his hitting.) 

Unfortunately for Nathan, we are not always with him.  This must be one of the reasons he is unwilling to be in stressful situations without family present.

The Boston Globe has written an article on a new technology that helps people with Asperger's and Autism to remember the social cues and scripts using a hand-held PDA.  I think it can be applied to all sorts of reminders.  To read the story, Click Here .  To check out the technology company's website, go to Symtrend.