Tag Archives: special needs

When I tell people that I use the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons in my group therapy sessions with individuals with autism, the question they ask is: “Does this really qualify as therapy? How can a game where you traverse an imaginary world completing imaginary quests and slaying imaginary monsters …

  Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can often exhibit sensory issues such as hyper- or hypo-sensitivity to various stimuli. As many as 70% to 96% of those diagnosed with autism can display signs of sensory dysfunction. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association added sensory sensitivity to a list …

  During Maya’s* first birthday celebration, her mother knew something was different. “We were singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ and she had such a blank stare. In that moment, I knew something was off,” recalls Elizabeth Chaillou, who perhaps had special insight into typical childhood milestones given that Maya is the youngest …

By Stevia Morales, Children’s Instruction & Research Supervisor; and Carmen Jessop, Senior Teens’ Instructor & Research Specialist, at Howard County Library System; all book covers are provided by their publishers. March is here, and with it comes many celebrations. In these books, we honor St. Patrick’s Day and and Irish-American …

  Shari Bailey knows birthdays can be among the most special celebrations in a child’s life—especially for children who don’t know how many of them they will have. Of her 8-year-old twin girls, Lana and Laila, the latter has a rare congenital disorder, Jacobsen’s Syndrome, which occurs in only one …

Click the images below to download this Top 10 calendar as a PDF. This roundup of family events appears in the July 2022 issue of Baltimore’s Child.

  A typical week for Melissa Hanna might include doctor’s appointments; occupational, physical or speech therapies and learning as she goes. She is a foster parent for two medically-complex children younger than age 1 through Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Therapeutic Foster Care program. This program provides a hands-on approach to foster …

  Parents want the best education possible for their children. But when you parent a child with special needs, deciding which school will best support your son or daughter’s needs is not easy. We spoke with educational planning experts who specialize in understanding the academic and social-emotional needs of neurodiverse …

Explore day camps, specialty camps for your little scientist and social skills development in the programs below, and find more camps in our January summer camp directory. An online summer camp guide is also available at baltimoreschild.com/campsummer-programs.   Your nature-loving child can cultivate an interest in the outdoors at camps …

  Children who have sensory processing disorder (SPD) do not always get to enjoy art the way their peers do. Bright lights, movement and noise can be too disturbing, or their physical and vocal reactions to those stimuli might be deemed too disruptive. Common for children on the autism spectrum, …