A place where special needs families can interact with each other, to inspire and learn from each other's experiences.

20th
MAY

High School Sports and Disability: Special Needs Lifeline Question of the Week

Posted by Evan S. Rosenberg under Support Services

For students with disabilities, high school can pose several challenges. Bullying, whether face-to-face or over the internet, is extensively problematic; academic obstacles can be difficult to surmount, and no teenager is immune from an eventual hormonal assault. Despite these intimidating setbacks, high school students with disabilities have flourished when they participate in athletics programs. High school sports go far beyond standard competition. Every team member needs to demonstrate the ability to cooperate and to communicate. Perhaps most importantly, you must believe that no matter what, you can depend on your teammate, and they can depend on you. That leap of faith can reveal the essence of who we are as human beings.

14th
MAY

Champions of Change: Special Needs Lifeline Question of the Week

Posted by Evan S. Rosenberg under Special Needs Community, Success Stories

Our world is changing rapidly. We are capable of achieving things today that were considered impossible forty or fifty years ago. Our inspiration is motivated in part by the global pursuit of STEM research and development. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In an effort to keep pace with our international competitors, United States education reformers have introduced STEM-based curriculums, and they have suggested providing incentives for schools that effectively integrate STEM into the academic culture. The White House has reinforced our national focus on STEM by honoring fourteen individuals from STEM industries who are leveling the playing field for people with disabilities.

6th
MAY

Taxi of Tomorrow: Special Needs Lifeline Question of the Week

Posted by Evan S. Rosenberg under Resources, Special Needs Community

New York City prides itself on featuring the most emblematic and colorful assortment of characters in the world. If you live in NYC, you are intimately familiar with one character in particular, identifiable by both its distinct emblem and color: the yellow taxi. Taxis represent a historically popular mode of transportation around the city, but few taxis are accessible for people with disabilities. Furthermore, people with disabilities are often deprived of a ride by drivers who intentionally turn down a would-be passenger. These incidents, known as refusals, are a violation of civil rights, and they are illegal according to ADA regulations.

29th
APR

How We See Disability: Special Needs Lifeline Question of the Week

Posted by Evan S. Rosenberg under Special Needs Community

A few days ago I watched a documentary called “The Announcement”. The film concentrates on basketball icon Magic Johnson and his public declaration in 1991 that revealed to the world his contraction of the HIV virus. The general public, without any conclusive scientific evidence to dissuade them, believed HIV would automatically develop into AIDS, and AIDS was ultimately a death sentence. Magic Johnson, a sublime athlete and beloved personality, represented a haunting and powerful truth: no one is impervious to disease.

22nd
APR

Swimming Pool Access: Special Needs Lifeline Question of the Week

Posted by Evan S. Rosenberg under Special Needs Community

As summer weather steadily emerges, we enthusiastically await the day when community pools are open for business. Local pools, in public parks and recreation centers, are popular family destinations. Families on summer vacation typically prefer to stay in hotels outfitted with pools. But the excitement pulsing through eager young swimmers is not similarly reflected by the owners and operators of public swimming pools. In order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, municipal pool managers are scrambling to order and install the necessary equipment to accommodate swimmers with disabilities.