Special Needs

For most of her life, Annie Glenn, wife of former astronaut and senator John Glenn, was afflicted with a significant stutter. Once she received treatment and overcame her disorder, she became a tireless advocate for people with disabilities and communication disorders. ...

There are hundreds of craniofacial anomalies that are associated with communication disorders, with clefts as one of the subtypes. Speech sound disorders can become a significant problem if the palatal cleft is not repaired early on or the repair was not effective. ...

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Most people with Angelman syndrome, a rare neurogenetic disorder, have very limited speech or no speech at all. If you’re the parent of a young child with Angelman, you may be wondering how you can help your child learn to communicate, since speech is not going to be their main way of communicating. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. ...

Whether you have concerns about your child’s hearing already or haven’t even considered there might be an issue, these 10 indications of hearing loss can help you determine if it’s a good idea to follow up with a hearing test. ...

Parents want the holidays to be a fun time for kids, but sometimes it seems almost impossible to manage their behavior around this time of year. When your child starts to act out of character, they are probably just overstimulated — taking in too many sights, sounds and smells can be overwhelming for little children. Keep these things in mind to help reduce holiday meltdowns. ...

Northcoast Corn Creations, a gourmet popcorn shop located in Willoughby, provides employment training opportunities for students with autism and developmental disabilities. The shop offers a safe, constructive worksite for students who need to learn employability skills outside of the classroom.  ...

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Joint attention — the ability to shift your attention between an object or event and your communication partner — is a skill that many children who are on the autism spectrum do not develop on their own. If kids are only focusing on one thing at a time, they aren't learning to communicate with others about shared experiences, to read facial expressions and understand gestures, or picking up new vocabulary and concepts. ...

Paraprofessionals, or “teacher’s aides” as they often are called, work alongside licensed teachers to give students additional attention and instruction. These team members are relied upon to play a more important role in a child’s special education experience than many people think.  ...