Over the last few years we’ve seen a positive trend emerging among retailers offering more products geared toward people with differing abilities. This year, Target launched a new line of adaptive Halloween costumes designed for children with special needs. Parents of special needs children that use wheelchairs or walkers know all too well the difficulty of having to build a costume from scratch.  Target aims to make this Halloween season a little easier by offering costumes that are designed to fit over wheelchairs or can be mounted on walkers. With these new adaptive costumes, a child in a wheelchair can easily become a race car driver, a pirate on his ship, or a princess in a carriage. In addition to costumes that adapt to special equipment, Target is also offering costumes that are designed using special materials and fabrics for children with sensory processing disorders. The goal is to be more inclusive with the product they offer. Target and other nationwide retailers that continue this trend send a clear signal to families of children with special needs. They’re saying “we see you and we want to provide products that fit your lifestyle”. This trend is building on a culture of inclusiveness and market expansion to serve areas of the public that have traditionally been overlooked. Every family has different needs and retailers like Target are picking up on the opportunity to meet those needs and gain valuable customers.

September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month with National Suicide Prevention Week September 8-14, 2019.    During this annual campaign, individuals and organizations join together to raise awareness and provide education.  Many suicides can be prevented by knowing the warning signs and what to do if they are present. According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for people of all ages. More people in the world die from suicide in the world than by war and murder combined.  In the United States, suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death overall and the second leading cause of death for individuals ages 10-34. Every day approximately 123 Americans die by suicide.  Suicide rates have in the US have risen 25% since 1999. Every life lost represents someone’s partner, child, parent, friend or colleague. We can all play a role in preventing these tragedies. You don’t have to have specialized training to check in with someone you are concerned about.  Individuals in distress are often not looking for specific advice. IASP urges everyone to “take a minute” Take a minute to notice what is going on with you, your family, your friends and your colleagues Warning signs of suicide include: hopelessness, rage, uncontrolled anger, seeking revenge, acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, feeling trapped like there’s no way out, increased alcohol or drug use, withdrawing from friends, family & society, anxiety, agitation, difficulty sleeping or sleeping all the time and dramatic mood changes. Take a minute to reach out and start a conversation if you notice something is different.   Pain isn’t always obvious, so be the one to offer kind words and the gift of your time. The listening ear of someone with compassion, empathy and a lack of judgement can help restore hope. Ask and then listen. Take a minute to find out what help is available for both you and others help is available for both you and others.  There is help and hope.  Below are resources for further education and immediate help. www.13minutes.org www.take5tosavelives.org www.twloha.com www.jasonfoundation.com www.suicideispreventable.org If you need immediate help: National Suidcide Prevention Lifeline :1-800-273- TALK (8255) or text “Home” to 741-741 The Trevor Project, LGBT crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline 1-866-488-7386 Veteran’s Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255, option 1            

Everyone wants to be respected - this is a human universal. One of the ways we show respect to one another is the language we use to describe people. In the autism community, there is an ongoing debate about the most respectful way to refer to an individual with autism. The debate revolves around the difference between an identity-first description (autistic person) and a person-first description (person with autism). Although there are some who still prefer the identity first language, an increasing number of professionals, family members, and individuals with autism prefer the person first language. Those that encourage the use of the person-first language believe it is important to honor the person’s humanity first. Any descriptions are secondary. Referring to someone as a “person with autism” shows that we view them as a person first and foremost. They are not defined by their disorder. While many professional journals in the health and special needs space prefer the use of person first language, there are individual contributors that prefer to use identity first language. The language people use is largely a personal choice and when in doubt people should default to the chosen language of the individual or family members. After all, this is all about showing people respect.

The landscape of mental health planning and services can be difficult to navigate, especially in times of crisis. Many family caregivers are caught off guard when a mental health crisis affects a loved one, and they are left scrambling to find for the best solutions to the situation. Developing the optimum care plan for individuals with mental health or developmental challenges in times of crisis is an important, and sometimes overlooked, step in the planning process.. However, there are resources available that can help families learn about the services available and can walk them through the recommended steps to take when planning for the future. One resource is “The Revised Family Crisis Handbook: A Mental Health, Stabilization, and Wellness Toolkit” which was developed by professionals in the Special Needs and Mental Health fields specifically to aid caregivers in crisis situations. The Handbook is a tool designed to help family caregivers make informed decisions and develop individualized plans for people with mental illness and developmental disorders. Various topics are covered in the Handbook including crisis assessment, hospitalization, future planning, and an overview of public and private resources available for assistance. The Handbook guides caregivers on the best way to handle difficult situations, and suggests that early planning is the key factor in navigating emergencies as they relate to an individual’s mental health needs. Above all, families should develop a personalized life plan, or “person-centered planning” for an individual with special needs. Person-centered planning takes into consideration the strengths, interests, personality, and abilities of the individual and generates a life plan that best fits the individual. Families can assess a number of factors including which hobbies, jobs, social activities, organizations, and self-advocacy programs would work best for their loved one. Overtime families and individuals can revisit their plan, allowing it to evolve with the needs as the person progresses through their adult lives. Families that take the time to develop plans like we do at Hope Trust, and gather resources like the Family Crisis Handbook make positive steps in securing quality care for the future of their loved ones with mental illness and developmental challenges.

Approximately one percent of the world’s population is diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder. Diagnosis often means a lifetime of challenges for people with Autism as they have difficulty learning social skills and communicating with others. These challenges make it difficult for teenagers and adults to find jobs and contribute meaningfully within their communities. However, programs that build on the strengths of people with Autism are being developed. One example is the Israeli Army’s Roim Rachok Program, which offers teenagers with high functioning Autism a way to serve their country and develop valuable professional skills. The Roim Rachok program utilizes the strengths that many people with Autism have, including the ability to focus and concentrate on singular tasks for long periods of time. These skills are particularly sought after by the Israeli Defense Forces when monitoring intelligence feeds and analyzing data. The program was piloted in 2012 and opened up new doors for Israeli citizens on the Autism spectrum to excel in a career path. Roim Rachok also offers a model for integrating people with Autism into society beyond military service. The program provides training on verbal communication and social interaction which are two skills that help participants integrate themselves into a regular role in society after their military service ends. It is programs like Roim Rachok that show the world that people with developmental disabilities can contribute meaningfully and take up important roles in society. The key is to develop programs that utilize their strengths. When we match the tasks to the strengths and abilities of people with certain disorders we are building a world in which everyone can live up to their potential and create a more inclusive society.

The reality of supporting a child with special needs is that care, support, and education over the course of the child’s lifetime are expensive. While the government will assist families with the basic level of service to the child, parents who want a higher level of care often have to pay out of pocket for related expenses. For this reason, parents of special needs children should consider developing a financial plan to support their child throughout their lives. While many are familiar with financial planning for retirement or college expenses, financial planning for special needs care is far more complicated. The expense of care over a lifetime can be hard to estimate and even once a financial plan is created, it should be revisited regularly to take into consideration unforeseen expenses or changes in regulations affecting benefits for people with special needs. A properly managed financial plan is necessary for parents to support their child all the way through to adulthood. Parents can use a variety of strategies as part of their special needs care plan including Special Needs Trusts and high coverage life insurance policies. Equally important to the financial vehicles used for saving are managing the costs of education and care for individuals with special needs. High quality, private schools specializing in the education of children and adults with special needs often come with high annual tuitions. Some can exceed $100,000 per year based on the level of care required. Even for care and education well below those levels, expenses add up quickly and can be overwhelming for families that do not spend time regularly evaluating their financial plan. With so many unknowns surrounding the care of a child with special needs, a robust financial plan will alleviate much of the stress on families as they plan for their future.

One of the biggest stressors for aging parents of adult children with special needs is planning for the future. Parents have to consider the best way to support their child during and beyond their lifetime. Situations like this are complex and require parents to juggle many unknowns such as the level of government assistance they can depend on, their own level of retirement savings, and the best financial products to support their adult child with special needs. For families that reach this stage in their life, it helps to start creating a plan as early as possible. Families should develop a trusted relationship with a knowledgeable financial professional to assist them in planning for the future. A good financial planner will be able to structure various financial products so that savings can be moved between accounts without risking the loss of government assistance or finding themselves with a significant tax burden. For example, families can establish both an ABLE account and a Special Needs Trust (SNT) to be used in conjunction to pay for living costs, healthcare services, transportations, etc for a person with special needs. An ABLE account allows individuals with special needs to save up to $100,000 without risking disqualification of government assistance programs. Parents can fund ABLE accounts using contributions from a SNT, which is not restricted by a cap on holdings. Parents with significant holdings in retirement accounts, like a Roth IRA, may also use their savings to fund a SNT that will offer better legal protection of their assets after they have passed. For parents that have Roth IRAs, at the age of fifty nine and a half, they can withdraw from their accounts tax free and use these funds to pay for expenses associated with the care of their adult child with special needs. With all the options available to parents of adult children with special needs, it is highly recommended they reach out to a financial professional that can help navigate their choices and create a robust plan for the future.

There are two factors currently raising the demand for special needs planning. The first factor is the increasing longevity of the special needs population, and the second being the challenge of families to save enough to fund the expenses of people with special needs over the long term. Few financial professionals have a comprehensive understanding of the unique requirements of special needs planning. While it is common to fund special needs plans with a permanent life insurance policy, not everyone can take advantage of such a policy. For those that do not have the option to enroll in a permanent life insurance policy, or are seeking other sources of special needs funding they can look to their retirements plans. The benefit of using retirement plans such traditional or Roth IRAs to fund special needs planning is that, beneficiaries can enjoy a lower tax burden on distributions. Due to the tax-free nature of a Roth IRA, they also serve as an attractive source of funding for special needs trusts. When coordinated properly, the distributions from a Roth IRA can accumulate and be disbursed tax-free from a special needs trust. There are risks to combining IRAs with special needs trusts, one being the need to take the proper yearly distributions. If an IRA is not properly managed, there could be penalties placed on the distributions. The best way to navigate special needs planning is to work with a financial professional with specific knowledge in the field. An experienced professional can evaluate the unique situation of a family and develop a long term plan that may include a combination of special needs trusts, life insurance policies, and IRA distributions. Knowledgeable planners can also allocate multiple sources of funding to reduce the overall tax burden felt by beneficiaries as the funds are disbursed. For anyone interested in putting together a financial plan that maximizes the efficiency of funds available to beneficiaries with special needs, Hope Trust offers expert service in the field.

A recent study, using research from Rutgers University, found that the rate of autism in New Jersey jumped 43% percent between the years 2010 and 2014. While the rise in autism rates in New Jersey is dramatic, it reflects a similar trend in the increase of autism rates across the country. Researchers went on to point out that the higher rates of autism in New Jersey may be attributed to the state’s robust network of clinical and educational services that help detect, report, and accurately record disorder rates. Despite researchers ability to detect the increase of autism spectrum disorder in New Jersey and across the country, little is known about the causes precise genetic and environmental factors that cause the disorder. So far, research has not linked autism to a single leading cause. Experts believe there are many influences that increase risk of autism spectrum disorder, but more research is required to determine the non-genetic factors that heighten risk for autism. It is believed that a higher risk of autism in children is associated with premature birth, genetic mutation, and maternal illness during pregnancy. Until more is known about the contributing factors that lead to autism, experts suggest that detection of the disorder is paramount. The one thing parents and health care practitioners can do is to have their children screened for autism early in their childhood. Experts suggest autism screening should start as early as 18 months and should be part of a child’s regular doctors visits. When autism is screened for and detected at an early age, children by and large respond better to treatment and can be enrolled in adapted services.

Holmdel, NJ – Hope Trust is helping celebrate Social Work Month in March by raising awareness about the meaningful and rewarding work done by our Hope Care Coordinators. Social workers are trained to holistically examine and improve the lives of the people they work with. Nationwide, social workers touch the lives of millions of people everyday by helping people solve problems, cope with personal issues, and gain access to the resources they need to succeed. At Hope Trust our Care Coordinators, many of whom are social workers, comprise the backbone of our organization. They are a team of dedicated professionals building relationships, scheduling appointments, and ensuring our clients receive the high quality care they deserve. “We are extremely excited to be honoring the social workers that serve as our Care Coordinators this month. They work around the clock to provide care and peace of mind to our clients, and we could not ask for a better team.” — Daria Placitella, Chief Executive Officer, Hope Trust According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics social work continues to be one of the fastest growing careers in the nation, with more than 100,000 people expected to enter the field in just seven years. Our organization sees the need for an increasing number of social workers due to a growing demand for quality care services for people with special needs. You can find social workers literally everywhere in our society. For example, they are in schools helping students overcome life challenges, so students can get the best possible education. They’re in clinics, hospitals and mental health centers helping people recover; and in federal, state and local government pushing for legislation and regulations to improve quality of life. The Care Coordinators at Hope Trust work very closely with the families and individuals we service. They are on call 24/7/365 to handle the tasks of daily living and managing a household, handling paperwork, or even arranging tickets to a ballgame or a vacation. Our Care Coordinators are enthusiastic about providing a comprehensive “high-touch” approach to assisting our clients. It’s an area where our team stands above the field. “The services provided by our Care Coordinators are a crucial building block to the driving vision at Hope Trust. Our mission is to provide comprehensive service to our clients and their families, and we commend our Care Coordinators for their high level of competence and the individualized attention they offer the families we work with.” — Cynthia Boyer, PhD Chief Clinical Officer, Hope Trust