Special Needs www.TheCitizensWhoCare.org Special Needs U.S. special needs adoption statistics Special Education Needs References External links Hobbies for Autistic Children Planning for the Future for Seniors with Special Needs Aging with Autism Resources Assistive Technology Buying Guide Home Organization for Newly Disabled Seniors Should They Stay or Should They Go: Selling a Home with Modifications Travel Tips for Persons with Autism Legal Guide for Newly Disabled Seniors Statistics Addiction Treatment Guide for Individuals with a Disability Special needs In the United States, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition both give guidelines for clinical diagnosis. Types of special needs vary in severity. People with autism, Down syndrome, dyslexia, blindness, ADHD, or cystic fibrosis, for example, may be considered to have special needs. However, special needs can also include cleft lips and/or palates, port-wine stains, or missing limbs. In the United Kingdom, special needs often refers to special needs within an educational context. This is also referred to as special educational needs (SEN). In the United States, 18.5 percent of all children under the age of 18 (over 13.5 million children) had special health care needs as of 2005.[1] More narrowly, it is a legal term applying in foster care in the United States, derived from the language in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. It is a diagnosis used to classify children as needing "more" services than those children without special needs who are in the foster care system. It is a diagnosis based on behavior, childhood and family history, and is usually made by a health care professional. U.S. special needs adoption statistics In the United States, more than 150,000 children with special needs are waiting for permanent homes. Traditionally, children with special needs have been considered harder to place for adoption than other children, but experience has shown that many children with special needs can be placed successfully with families who want them. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89) has focused more attention on finding homes for children with special needs and making sure they receive the post-adoption services they need. Pre-adoption services are also of critical importance to ensure that adoptive parents are well prepared and equipped with the necessary resources for a successful adoption. The United States Congress enacted the law to ensure that children in foster care who cannot be reunited with their birth parents are freed for adoption and placed with permanent families as quickly as possible. The disruption rate for special needs adoption is found to be somewhere between ten and sixteen percent. A 1989 study performed by Richard Barth and Marianne Berry found that of the adoptive parents that disrupted, 86% said they would likely or definitely adopt again. 50% said that they would adopt the same child, given a greater awareness of what the adoption of special needs children requires.[2] Also, within disrupted special needs adoption cases, parents often said that they were not aware of the child's history or the severity of the child's issues before the adoption.[2] Special Education Needs The term Special Needs is a short form of Special Education Needs[3][4] and is a way to refer to students with disabilities. The term Special Needs in the education setting comes into play whenever a child's education program is officially altered from what would normally be provided to students through an Individual Education Plan which is sometimes referred to as an Individual Program plan.[5] See also[edit] Agoonoree, jamboree for young people with special needs Developmental disability MRDD Special education References 1.Jump up ^ Tu, HT; Cunningham, PJ (2005). "Public coverage provides vital safety net for children with special health care needs". Issue brief (Center for Studying Health System Change) (98): 1–7. PMID 17290559. 2.^ Jump up to: a b Barth, Richard P.; Miller, Julie M. (2000). "Building Effective Post-Adoption Services: What is the Empirical Foundation?". Family Relations. 49 (4): 447. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00447.x. 3.Jump up ^ http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11895&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 4.Jump up ^ http://specialchildren.about.com/od/gettingadiagnosis/p/whatare.htm 5.Jump up ^ http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/iepssn/whyiep.htm   External links Child Health: Special needs at DMOZ Special Needs Statistics Categories: Education policy Disability Special education Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_needs Statistics: Reasons for Special Needs Financial Life Plans Nearly 54 Million Americans cope with special needs and the rising associated expenses, according to the National Organization on Disability. Nearly one-fifth of all Americans—more than 54 million men, women and children— have a physical, sensory or intellectual disability, according to the National Organization on Disability. More than 41 million Americans, or almost 15% of the population age 5 and older, have some type of disability; according to 2007 Census survey data. Some 6.2% of children ages 5 to 15, or 2.8 million kids, have disabilities, the Census Bureau found. The U.S. Census Bureau says about 20% of Americans between the ages of 16 and 64 suffer some form of physical, mental or emotional impairment. Many of them are outliving their parents thanks to improved care medical technology. Over 75 percent of special needs adults are without employment (Grassi, S.G. Special Planning is Needed for Families with a Special-Needs Child. Journal of Practical Estate Planning, 39-51) Households containing at least one family member with a mental disability are also marked by the highest poverty rate, 32 percent, within the U.S. (Erickson, W., & Lee, C. Disability Status Report: United States.) Following statistics are from “Disability and American Families:”, US Census Bureau Report One out of 9 children under the age of 18 in the US today receive special education services Out of 72.3 million families included in the US Census Bureau Report, about 2 in every 7 reported having at least one member with a disability 20.9 million families have members with a disability Of the 20.9 million families reporting at least one member with a disability, 5.5 percent have both adults and children with a disability One in every 26 American families reported raising children with a disability One in every three families with a female householder with no husband present reported members with a disability An estimated 2.8 million families, 1.3 percent, reported raising two or more children with a disability Following Statistics are from the MetLife’s survey “2005 The Torn Security Blanket: Children with Special Needs and the Planning Gap” and updated with 2011 Torn Security Blanket Study 69% of families say they are very concerned about being able to provide lifetime care for their dependents with special needs 88% of parents who have children with special needs have not set up a trust to preserve eligibility for benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Social Income; however, the number of special needs trusts set up by caregivers has grown by 21%, nearly double number recorded in 2005 84% have not written a letter of intent outlining an agreement for the future care of the child 72% have not named a trustee to handle the child’s finances and 56% say they are unfamiliar with the steps needed to identify a trustee to watch over their dependent’s financial holdings in the future In 2005, 53% have not identified a guardian for their child. Now in 2011 it is less than 49%. More than 59% of caregivers say there is too little information available about financial assistance (benefits and support provided by government agencies); and 55% say that such information is very difficult to find. The survey found that 32% of parents spend more than 40 hours per week with their special needs child, or time equal to a second full-time job Parents spend an average of $326 per month, or just under $4000 per year, on out-of-pocket medical expenses on their special needs child. On the positive side 38% of caregivers have written a will compared to 32% in 2005. And 36% plan for their dependent’s future housing up form 31% Statistics from Trends in Consumer Behavior: What every Financial Planner Should Know. This research on consumer behavior and financial planning was complied by First Command Financial Services in Fort Worth Texas People with a financial plan are more optimistic about their financial future than those without a plan The majority of middle-income Americans have a positive perception of the value with financial planning 88% of the people who have a financial plan believe the benefits outweigh the costs. In 2008 it is 95% Ingraining simple, positive financial behaviors like saving money and limiting debt can have a significant impact on people’s financial outlook and a sense of security People with a financial plan are more likely to stay the course and exhibit disciplined financial behavior Autism Statistics Autism effects 1 in every 88 children 40% of children with autism do not talk at all The lifetime cost for an individual with autism is estimated to be $3.2 million Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure estimated to increase drastically over the next decade There is currently no cure for autism No one knows what causes autism In 20 years there has been more than a 600% increase in diagnosed cases of autism One in every 91 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder. (Source:Department of Health and Human Services National Survey of Children’s Healthreport relying on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Released October 5, 2009) According to a study conducted by Harvard University, the lifetime costs of treating and caring for an individual with autism is approaching $3 million. The Center for Disease Control’s statistical trending estimates that by 2016, the costs of treating, educating, housing and providing other services for autistic individuals in America could reach $400 billion. Here are some of the more recent studies and key findings: A nationally-representative survey, published in the December 2008 issue of Pediatrics and involving approximately 40,000 children with special health care needs including those related to autism, found that parents of children with autism have much greater health care costs and experience serious financial difficulties more than parents of children with other chronic health conditions. MassMutual-sponsored 2008 Easter Seals “Living with Autism” study found that parents with autistic children have very real financial concerns: 75% of parents with autistic children worry about the financial support their children will receive after they can no longer support them. 61% of these parents incurred debt to meet their financial needs. Over 50% of these parents were concerned about how the financial drain would affect their retirement plans. 47% of these parents worry that the financial drain they currently experience will financially impact their ability to raise other siblings. Only 15% believed their child would be financially secure. Only 13% believed their child would be financially independent. Only 12% believed their child would be able to manage some or all of their finances. 78% do not have any form of Comprehensive Special Needs Financial Life Plan, 56% did not know of any financial professional with the expertise to address these needs, 25% have done no planning at all, Less than 20% have even created a special needs trust. Source: specialneedsplanning.net/statistics/#   ©2007-2023, www.TheCitizensWhoCare.org/special-needs.html