Caregiver Resource Database

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum

Temple Grandin may be the most famous person with autism, a condition that affects 1 in 88 children. Since her birth in 1947, our understanding of it has undergone a great transformation, leading to more hope than ever before that we may finally learn the causes of and treatments for autism.

Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the advances in neuroimaging and genetic research that link brain science to behavior, even sharing her own brain scan to show which anomalies might explain common symptoms. Most excitingly, she argues that raising and educating kids on the autism spectrum must focus on their long-overlooked strengths to foster their unique contributions.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Speak, Yet (Jordan’s World)

Jordan was a boy in elementary school who couldn’t speak yet, so he was trapped inside his brain in Jordan’s World. Jordan has Verbal Apraxia, also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech, a neurological speech disorder. He knows what he wants to say, but his words don’t always come out.

Jordan goes through elementary school not knowing why kids ask him all sorts of questions. He goes to his mom, and his mom is his comforter. The way Jordan is being treated can’t be ignored. So, his mom takes action with the school. Jordan’s mom teaches him and others that being different is okay.

The Care Foundation

The Care Foundation has a grant program for helping families with medication, autism diagnosis/evaluation, therapy sessions (including speech, OT and ABA,) autism summer camps. There is an income requirement that the family earns less than $75,000 annually and IRS forms are required as proof.

The Conductive Learning Center of North America

The Dental Care for Children with Special Needs Program

The Dental Care for Children with Special Needs Program is designed for children under 21 with one or more of the following conditions:Cerebral Palsy,
Muscular Dystrophy and related neuromuscular disorders, Intellectual Disabilities, including Downs Syndrome for profound to 2 years overall delayed. Documentation from the child’s school licensed psychologist, or physician, may be required.
Dental Care for Organ Transplant recipients pre & post operation.

The Family Hope Center

Our core mission is to partner with families of children who have neurological challenges or disorders. We do this by providing parent training courses and individualized plans for your child.

The Insurance Resource Center

Resources for consumers, providers, clinicians, employers, and educators on issues related to medical insurance for autism and behavioral treatments. This service is based in Massachusettes.

The Jax Memorial Autism Fund

The Jax Memorial Autism Scholarship is available to assist families with resources or funding for their loved one who is on the spectrum. This can be used to purchase sensory items for your child.

The Jiselle Lauren Foundation

The Jiselle Lauren Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists to advocate for, connect with, and provide opportunities for children with disabilities. Through generous donations and giving efforts, we are able to provide financial support to children and their families that allows them access to therapies, medical care, devices, equipment, transportation, and many other resources. Our purpose is to bring more joy to these kiddos and their families through everyday moments and experiences.

The Miracle League

The Miracle League removes the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the baseball field and lets them experience the joy of America’s favorite pastime.

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

The Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System for Stress-Free Living

In this book, he gives readers everything they need to successfully start using the powerful practice of tapping—or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).Tapping is one of the fastest and easiest ways to address both the emotional and physical problems that tend to hamper our lives.

The Unforgotten Families

The Unforgotten Families is an advocacy group working to get the family CNA program implemented in every state. This would allow parents to be paid as a caregiver for their special needs child, or a family member can provide the care as well. This could provide some much needed respite and financial relief for special needs families.

Therapy Shoppe

We specialize in sensory products, fidget tools, oral motor chewies, skill-building toys, and occupational therapy supplies.

Toilet Training for Individuals with Autism or other Developmental Disorders

Toilet training can be a battleground for parents and children. In this book―the only one on the market dealing with the specific issues involved in toilet training children with autism―Maria Wheeler offers a detailed roadmap for success, based on over twenty years of experience. Easy-to-read bulleted lists offer over 200 do’s and don’ts presented, along with more than fifty real-life examples. Learn, among other things, how to gauge “readiness,” overcome fear of the bathroom, teach how to use toilet paper, flush and wash up, and deal with toileting in unfamiliar environments. A life preserver for parents and reluctant children!