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Citizenship Status and Disability Benefits

The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Barbara Isenhour, Esq., of the firm of Isenhour Bleck, PLLC in Seattle, Washington. The firm focuses on government benefits for individuals with disabilities and estate planning for families with special needs children. A board member of NAMI Eastside in Redmond, Washington, and Full Life Care in Seattle, Barbara frequently lectures around the state of Washington on issues involving special needs trusts and government benefits for the elderly and disabled.

2024-05-06T14:25:38-04:00
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A Self-Advocate’s Perspective

Melanie Courtney, a legal assistant with Frascogna Courtney PLLC, has conducted training in self-advocacy for The Arc of Mississippi. The Special Needs Alliance recently interviewed her concerning this growing movement within the disability community. SNA: How would you define "self-advocacy"? Melanie: Self-advocacy is about empowering someone with a disability to have a voice, enabling them [...]

2024-05-09T15:08:28-04:00
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Sibling Perspectives on Special Needs

By Benjamin A. Rubin, Esq., LLM When a family member has special needs, siblings grow up fast. Parents sometimes speak of how life changed for them when they began caring for a child with disabilities, but for me, and for many siblings, the special needs household is our only frame of reference. Growing up, even [...]

2024-05-09T15:09:21-04:00
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Buying a House – More Questions

This issue of The Voice is written by Martha C. Brown, CELA, a Special Needs Alliance member in St. Louis, Missouri. Martha limits her practice to elder law and special needs law. A Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a Certified Elder Law Attorney, Martha has been designated a Super Lawyer for the last six years in Kansas City Magazine. Through her numerous community presentations and continuing legal education presentations, Martha helps attorneys and the public understand and address legal issues concerning the elderly and people with disabilities. Currently Martha is participating in the state wide task force to rewrite the guardianship code in Missouri.

2024-05-06T14:24:50-04:00Tags: |
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Making a Difference with Sports

By Scott Suzuki, Esq. I've been involved with Special Olympics for over a decade. Although anyone can benefit from sports— building self-confidence and a sense of belonging while improving overall health and fitness, strength and coordination—for individuals with disabilities, there are added dimensions. Changing a Life When I first started coaching, one of the newest [...]

2024-05-09T15:10:15-04:00
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What Are You Waiting For?

This week's installment comes from Special Needs Alliance co-founder Robert B. Fleming, CELA, an attorney at Fleming & Curti, PLC, in Tucson, Arizona. Robert is a long-time advocate for those with disabilities and their families. He and his firm help with estate planning, guardianship, and trust administration (including special needs trust administration). Robert is also an author and a frequent lecturer on special needs issues.

2024-05-06T14:24:02-04:00Tags: |
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Dogs with a Mission

Service Dogs Can Change a Life By James A. Caffry, Esq., and Richard A. Courtney, CELA The relationship between canines and humans has been evolving for at least 14,000 years, and service dogs are a prime example of how we've benefited. Many people confuse the various types and roles of assistance dogs. According to Assistance [...]

2024-05-09T15:11:13-04:00
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To Plan or Not to Plan – That Is Not the Question

By Mohan Mehra, President, The Arc Board of Directors, Washington, D.C. The Arc recently completed a national study of over 5,000 parents, siblings and caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The study, titled FINDS (Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports), asked about their needs and access to a broad range of supports [...]

2024-05-09T15:11:59-04:00
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Private Disability Insurance

The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance members Lisa Nachmias Davis, CELA of the New Haven, Connecticut law firm of Davis O'Sullivan & Priest, LLC, where her practice concentrates on elder law, planning for those with special needs, estate planning and administration, and advice to not-for-profit organizations. A member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Connecticut Bar Association's Elder Law Section executive Committee, in 2011 she was named one of the 25 best women lawyers in Connecticut and one of the top 50 women lawyers in New England by SuperLawyers, a Thompson Reuters business that rates attorneys.

2024-05-06T14:22:27-04:00Tags: |
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Music as a Healing Art

By Catherine Leas, CELA The arts are a gift to all of us, but for individuals with special needs, they hold special promise. When Willy, who has severe developmental disabilities, plays guitar in a country western band on Friday nights, he becomes another person. Willy doesn't express himself well verbally, but when onstage, his confidence is [...]

2024-05-09T15:13:17-04:00
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Benefits for Special Needs Children of Civil Service Employees

The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Sandra L. Smith, CELA who is a law partner with Andrew Hook, a Special Needs Alliance member from the law firm of Oast & Hook, P.C. in Suffolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is the editor of the firm's weekly newsletter, the "Oast & Hook News," which is available on the firm's website and is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Sandra is the co-author of the "Special Needs Trusts" chapter for the Elder Law in Virginia handbook published by Virginia CLE. She retired from the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel with over 20 years active duty service, and earned her law degree from the College of William and Mary School of Law.

2024-05-06T14:21:41-04:00
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Special Education Under Siege

By Andrew H. Hook, CELA Federal law stipulates that all children with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive setting possible. That's a broad—and vague—directive. As a result, special ed procedures and services vary widely throughout the U.S., sometimes differing markedly throughout a single state. What remains consistent, though, [...]

2024-05-09T15:14:16-04:00
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A Few Thoughts about Special Needs Planning for Mental Illness

By Shawn Majette, Esq. Advance planning is essential in providing for the well-being of an individual with severe mental illness. The shifting presentation of its symptoms, however, demands an adjustable approach. While even a person with severe mental illness may usually be perfectly competent, modest changes in circumstances can rapidly cause a sharp and devastating [...]

2024-05-09T15:15:07-04:00
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Is a Qualified Disability Trust Appropriate?

The Voice is the email newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Elizabeth L. Gray, Esq., of the Fairfax, Virginia law firm of Cossa, Gray and O'Reilly, PLC, where she focuses her practice on special needs planning, elder law and general estate planning and administration. Elizabeth writes and lectures frequently on issues affecting seniors, individuals with disabilities and their families. She has been recognized as one of the best attorneys in Washingtonian Magazine and Northern Virginia Magazine and has been selected as a Super Lawyer for Washington D.C. and Virginia.

Readers of this article are referred to the January 24, 2012 issue of The Voice, "A Short Primer on Trusts and Taxation" by Special Needs Alliance members Barbara S. Hughes and Tara Anne Pleat, that they may want to review in conjunction with this article.

2024-05-06T14:20:54-04:00Tags: |
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Medicaid and Special Needs

By Carol S. Battaglia, Esq. Medicaid, jointly funded by the federal government and individual states, is arguably the most important public benefit available to individuals with disabilities. While eligibility guidelines, services and payment rates vary widely, the federal government requires that all state Medicaid programs pay for physician visits, prescriptions, hospitalization, lab work, x-rays and [...]

2024-05-07T14:41:20-04:00
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