Candice Lange

Community Resources for Families of Children With Special Needs in Gwinnett County

Prepared by Maureen Klesmer, LCSW
GCPS School Social Worker, Oakland Center, 770-513-6831

The Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities
AADD has a great website that lists resource and referral information for parents, including information about community agencies that provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities, recreation, parent education, and other meaningful opportunities for children and adults.
www.aadd.org

Attorneys With Experience in Estate Planning for Families with a Developmentally Disabled Beneficiary
Stephanie E. Ceto 678-297-1151
Ruthann P. Lacey 770-939-4616
Laurin M. McSwain 404-231-9331
James B. Outman 404-521-2100
David P. Pollan 404-223-6181
G. William Thackston, Jr. 404-806-7684
Gary Zweifel 404-870-9111

Autism/DD Family Support Funding
This funding is limited and available to families of children with Autism and PDD or Asperger’s Syndrome. An application must be completed and documentation provided in order to be considered for approval. This may be based on both disability and family income.

Services that are funded might include: Counseling, Dental, Respite, O.T. and Speech
Contact: Georgia Community Supports and Solutions 404-634-4222 for an application

Benefits Navigator
This program works with individuals ages 14 – 18 in a School Work program, and individuals working age adults, ages 18 -65 who are applying for and/or receiving SSI, SSDI or both and who are or who may be considering work to better understand Federal and State work incentives and the interrelationship of these program when considering their options in reaching their vocational potential.
Trained Benefits Counselors work with people with disabilities who receive either SSI or SSDI based on a medical condition in their efforts to understand how benefits are effected by employment.
For more information, contact Sally Atwell or Curtis Rogers at 404-350-7589.

Children’s Medical Services
Children’s Medical Services (CMS) is a public health program providing medical care to low income children with specific handicapping conditions, from birth to age 21. CMS offers long-term care and therapy, along with case management services.
For information and referral, contact the Gwinnett Office at 770-339-9078.

Community Care/ SOURCE Programs
These programs are designed to help Medicaid eligible people who are functionally impaired and need medical attention to continue living in their homes and communities. They offer community-based care which include personal support services, in-home respite care, day care and supervision, and nursing services.
For additional information and to request services, please call the following numbers:
Community Care Intake Unit: 404-463-3244
SOURCE Program: 404-463-3248

The Deeming Waiver/Katie Beckett Waiver
This waiver program reduces the financial eligibility criteria for Medicaid. Families who have a disabled child with a chronic condition are eligible. The purpose of the waiver is to provide medical services for the child while helping the family care for their child at home.
To apply, contact the local Medicaid office within the Department of Family and Children Services.The telephone number for Gwinnett County DFCS is 678-518-5500. Listen for the prompt for Adult Medicaid/Katie Beckett.

Developed by the National Lekotek Center, the leading nonprofit authority on play for children with disabilities, AblePlay will provide parents, and the professionals who work with them, access to information about the top play and learning products and toys for children with disabilities.

Check out the fun toys that can be used to help with speech goals or strengthen the mouth muscles.

In our home, we took the idea of an expensive portable door system with a swing that was hundreds of dollars to roughly $35. We use the stationary pull up bar from Walmart found in the exercise department and a cloth traveling hammock was bought at a sporting goods store.

The hammock swing was placed in a very usable location right next to the bedroom stairs and the kitchen. The kids use the swing several times a day and friends fight over it when they come over to play. This is not just for special needs but for all kids. Even big kids as I find Mike, my husband, using it sometimes.

According to Carol Stock Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder, the child should not swing for more than 20 minutes at a time for sensory input. After 20 minutes the positive effects diminish. Stop for a break and then get back on for another 20 minutes.

A single Traveling Hammock is the one we have shown in our home. Double hammocks are also available but I'm not sure if that would be too much fabric. When we purchased the traveling hammock years ago it was $15. I will let you know if I find a hammock for less. A friend recently bought a hot pink traveling hammock at Ski & Sports Outlet Store for $40. It was placed in her girl's room.

Doing the airplane or banana exercise is very hard for Corey. On the ground we struggled to get his body straight, curved back and arms lifted up all at one time but the swing was a helpful tool to guide the body and he really worked to lift his arms.

Ashley has a much easier time doing the airplane but it is still a workout for her.

Music therapy at home. Corey and Ashley can choose to play music whenever they want. Many of the items were purchased at garage sales for great prices or received as gifts. The karoake/CD player and keyboard are the top played items but the smaller instruments are played alot too. When a group of kids are over many of them create their own band and we've even had parades around the house. Use your imagination or better yet let the children use their imaginations to discover their inner music.

Music is so important in our lives. Much research has been done on music that supports its positive benefits in many areas such as math, memory, reading and more.

Enjoy the new rhythms your children create and move along with the beats for extra exercise and laughs.

Fun for any kid big or small. For just fun or a little hand therapy too.

Find motivational toys to encourage moving the fingers, hands or arms.

What ideas do you have for hand fun?

On-line catalogs with toys for all ages - young and old - can be found in this section and their specific products will be throughout the website under toys and therapy toys.

Click on the picture to access the website for more details.

Many of the product catalogs offer free shipping, competitive prices and the convenience for product information and shopping without leaving your home.

Have fun browsing and thank you for supporting this website!

The latest version of the free toy guide is available at Toys R Us stores and online.

To view catalog online:
http://toysrus.richfx.com/catalog_toysrus/diffabled_06_t/diffabled_06_t.html

Includes all different types of play structures, big or small to indoors or outdoors.

Please feel free to include ones you love in the comments section or comments on the items listed.

Helping parents help their kids through play.
http://www.findtherighttoy.com

Any toy can then be considered therapeutic or educational if it is accomplishing the goal of getting the child to practice the skills in which he is weak. This web site is setup with the toys separated into categories by the primary skill area that it encourages. Each toy description includes primary and secondary skill areas that it requires as well as important features such as the time it takes to play and how much reading and math is required during play. In “finding the right toy” our hope is to accomplish the mission of “helping parents help their kids through play”.

I have not used this site personally but found it to be very interesting. Please let me know if you have used it and if you liked it or not. Thank you.

This section contains toys in general that are unique or hard to find. Many of these toys work well for children with special needs or children with delays.

See Toys - Educational for educational toys.

See Toys - Outdoor Toys or Sporting Goods for the more physically active toys or outdoor equipment. Many of the items have qualities that would work well for children with special needs.

Please continue on to the next page for toys in general and post your favorites to share under comments.

This section contains toys that are educational. Many of these toys work well for children with special needs or children with delays.

See Toys - General for other unique or hard to find toys.

See Toys - Outdoor Toys or Sporting Goods for the more physically active toys or outdoor equipment. Many of the items have qualities that would work well for children with special needs.

Please continue on to the next page for the educational toys and post your favorites to share under comments.

Toys - Physical or Outdoor Toys or Sporting Goods is for the more physically active toys or outdoor equipment. Many of the items have qualities that would work well for children with special needs.

Continue reading for specific items and additional messages. Please comment on the items or add your own that have been great for your family.

Therapy Tools section has items used by therapists, suggested by therapists to use in home or inexpensive tools modified to be similar to expensive tools used in therapy.

Now that Corey has been in therapy for so many years, I look at toys and other things as therapy tools and always am thinking, "How will that strengthen him or help him with his speech, OT or PT?" Here is a partial list of toys, games or other tools we have picked up along the way or suggested by therapists that have helped him while he was having fun.