Resources For Families

L.A. Wildfire Resources

Check out these helpful resources compiled by The Miracle Project:

EXPLAINING THE SITUATION

Social Stories for Emergencies: Social stories are a wonderful tool for explaining complex or unfamiliar situations. You can find adaptable stories about fire safety, evacuation, and changes in routine at: Carol Gray Social Stories.

Visual Schedules: Creating a visual schedule can provide predictability in a time of change. Tools like printable templates from Do2Learn can help.

Videos and Media: Age-appropriate videos can also help explain natural disasters in a clear and accessible way. Try: Sesame Street’s Emergency Preparedness Resources.

CALMING TOOLS & STRATEGIES

Embracing “Yes, and”: When plans change or disruptions arise, try saying, “Yes, this is different…and we can do this together.” A positive mindset can ease transitions.

Noise-Cancelling Headphones or Earplugs: To reduce sensory overload from sirens, helicopters, or other loud noises. Sensory Kits: Have a kit with favorite calming items such as fidget toys, weighted blankets, or aromatherapy.

Mindfulness Apps: Apps like Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame offer simple breathing and relaxation exercises.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Validating Feelings: It’s okay and normal to feel scared, sad, or upset. Help your participant name and understand their emotions. Try saying, “It’s okay to feel sad. I feel sad too.”

Pro Bono Therapy Opportunities: Click here to visit a list of mental health practitioners offering free services.

Role-Playing Solutions: Practice “what if” scenarios with your child to help them feel more prepared. Role-play packing a bag, staying at a shelter, or calling for help.

Stories About Strength and Resilience: Books and stories about overcoming challenges can provide reassurance. Consider: A Little Spot of Anxiety by Diane Alber When Things Are Hard, Remember by Joanna Rowland.

CREATING A PLAN TOGETHER

Collaborative Emergency Plans: Work with your family to create a simple, step-by-step emergency plan that includes sensory needs, medications, and comfort items. Resources for templates and tips include: Ready.gov’s Emergency Plan Template Autism Speaks Emergency Preparedness Toolkit.

Practice Makes Perfect: Rehearse your plan as a family, turning it into a “fire drill” at home to reduce anxiety about the unknown.

Additional Resource: List of services for individuals with disabilities affected by Public Safety Power Shutoff events.

Local Programs

Adaptive Clothing, Toys, and Other Cool Stuff

Dressing can be challenging for individuals with special needs and physical disabilities. Whether it is a parent dressing their child or an adult with a physical impairment, clothes that meet the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are in demand and the fashion industry has taken note. Simple clothing alterations like magnetic closures instead of buttons, snaps, and hooks on shirts and jackets, as well as softer materials and textures that allow for range of motion, can benefit individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Retailers like Tommy Hilfiger, Zappos, Nike, Kohl’s, and Target are leading the way in designing apparel, shoes, and other products for consumers that are not only fashionable but also allow people greater independence for activities in daily life.

Adaptive Clothing to Hit Runway at New York Fashion Week

8 Adaptable Clothing Brands for people with disabilities

Check out additional companies with adaptive clothing lines:

Assistive Technology

We live in a hi-tech world where new technologies surface all the time. For some of us, new apps simplify life or provide a luxury — we can order our groceries from our cell phones so we don’t have to go to the grocery store. For others, they provide a solution to a problem or satisfy a necessity — they increase reading or hearing ability and promote learning in the case of a disability.

Assistive Technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether purchased from a store or personally customized — excluding medical devices or implants — that amplifies, sustains, or expands the functional capabilities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Understanding Assistive Technology: Simply Said:

And what is some of the best (and usable) AT developed over the past 10 years?

Apple’s iPad
Amazon Echo with Alexa
Microsoft Learning Tools built into the Office 365 and Microsoft Edge applications
Be My Eyes app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers for assistance with certain tasks.
AirPods
Microsoft’s Seeing Al app that uses the (IOs only) device camera to identify people and objects for someone who is visually impaired. The app audibly describes those objects for the user.
Xbox adaptive controller
Google Live Captioning
Munevo Drive smart glasses that interpret head movements into signals for controlling electric wheelchairs, taking photos, and sending emergency messages.
Open Sesame allow hands-free control of smartphones, tablets, and computers through a front camera that monitors head movements to upload social media posts, write text messages, make phone calls, and use apps.

JFEDLA Assistance Through Case Management

An LAJAC case manager is a professional who helps coordinate services of care on behalf of an individual in need. To contact an LAJAC case manager, email LAJAC@JewishLA.org or call (323) 761-8105.

Tools That are Making a Difference

Today, assistive technologies can help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn more effectively. Ranging in sophistication from “low” technologies such as a graphic organizer worksheet to “high” technologies including cutting-edge software and smartphone apps, assistive technology is a growing and dynamic field.

Assistive Devices or Adaptive Devices? Both terms are sometimes used interchangeably since they both improve peoples’ lives by giving them the tools needed to manage their daily lives. And because all adaptive devices are assistive devices, but not all assistive devices are adaptive devices, it can get confusing. Here are some good definitions:
- An assistive device is any product, or a category of products, that helps people with disabilities achieve their goals. These tools include wheelchairs, wheelchair mounts, communication devices, and much more.
- An adaptive device is a type of assistive device, or subcategory of products, created to make an existing technology accessible. Braille, screen reader software, and switch-adapted products all count as adaptive devices.

More examples of assistive technology are:

Apple To Roll Out New Accessibility Features

This Michigan company reinvented the computer mouse with good reason (detroitnews.com)

Assistive Listening Systems

According to the National Association for the Deaf, assistive listening systems can be used by children who are hard of hearing or to enhance the reach and effectiveness of those with hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Text-to-Speech

Text-to-speech (TTS) software is designed to help children who suffer from blindness, dyslexia, visual impairments, learning disabilities, autism, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that affect their ability to read. The technology scans and then reads the words to the student in a synthesized voice.

Intel Reader

A mobile handheld device about the size and weight of a paperback book, Intel Reader uses TTS technology to read printed text aloud and features a high-resolution camera that captures printed text, converts it to digital text, and reads it to the user.

Kurzweil 3000

For students requiring a multi-sensory approach to literacy learning, this software program helps students who may have a non-print disability or may not typically consider a TTS program.

Graphic Organizers

Some students have dysgraphia or disorders of written expressions, and graphic organizers are very useful in helping them organize their thoughts, map out a course of action, describe objects, and perform other tasks.

Sip-and-Puff Systems

For students with mobility challenges, such as paralysis and fine motor skill disabilities, these systems allow for control of a computer, mobile device, or some other technological application by the child’s movement of the device (similar to a joystick) with his or her mouth.