Children’s hearing aids are generally much more expensive than adult hearing aids for several reasons. Adults might be able to make do with lower cost hearing aids, but children who are still developing the ability to speak and process language cannot.
Access to hearing aids for children with hearing loss doesn’t just mean kids can hear — it means they can learn, grow and communicate.
Disabled children have a right to a free and appropriate public education.
I’m making an intentional choice to use the word “disabled” to talk about children who need care during the school day. Many families use words like “special needs” to talk about children with disabilities. But disability is a word that is defined by state and federals laws that comes with rights.
Two years ago, my son James was invited to speak at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C.
The 1999 Supreme Court case said people with disabilities have a right to receive care in their own homes and live in the community, rather than being forced to live in segregated institutional care facilities.
When President Trump first announced tariffs on most foreign imports, Jennifer McLelland checked the packaging on her son’s medical supplies.
As a parent of a child with complex medical needs, McLelland argues for tariff exemptions on medical supplies that cannot be purchased from U.S. manufacturers.
My son is able to live at home with our family, attend school and interact with the world because we live in a nation where disabled people have civil rights.
When I hear President Trump talk about eliminating diversity, equality, inclusion and accessibility, he’s not just attacking civil rights for disabled people — he’s sending a message to kids like my son that they don’t belong.
Health care and disability rights advocates are gearing up to make sure politicians understand that there is no way to cut Medicaid without hurting people who need care. Sharing real people’s stories will be key to that effort.
California Health Report’s disability rights columnist Jennifer McLelland offers her tips on how to tell your family’s story.
The Affordable Care Act has saved countless families with medically complex children, including columnist Jennifer McLelland’s. Her son was born without a functional airway and quickly racked up more than $1 million in medical bills. The ACA protected her family– but these protections are not guaranteed.
I spent a recent afternoon querying three major chatbots on some medical questions that I already knew the answers to. I wanted to test the kind of information that AI can provide.
“How do you go surfing while using a ventilator?” I typed. It was an obviously silly question. But Meta’s AI suggested using “a waterproof ventilator designed for surfing” and “set the ventilator to the appropriate settings for surfing.”
California’s about to bail programs overboard as it works to keep the state afloat amidst a huge budget deficit. It’s a problem, and I’m concerned for some programs that help children with special health care needs.
But I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that I don’t often bring up. Overall, California has the best health care for children and youth with special health care needs.
Congregate Living Health Facilities are a housing option for ventilator-dependent adults that balance independence with the need for medical care.
The problem is, there are not enough of these homes to care for all the ventilator-dependent adults who would benefit from them. And those homes that do exist mostly don’t accept Medi-Cal patients.