As we get ready to say goodbye to 2024, let’s take a moment to reflect on the things that truly made a difference — for our kids and ourselves. All year, the content team here at Undivided has been working hard to answer the top questions our community has been asking — by talking to experts, getting their tips, and breaking down everything families need to know.
This year has taught us so much, and we’re excited to share a best-of list packed with practical tips, helpful how-to’s, and game-changing insights that can make life just a little easier. Here are some of the most important things we learned this year (that we can carry into the next)! Let’s finish the year strong, with the know-how and encouragement to keep moving forward.
1. How to support kids who have complex medical needs. In our multi-part medically fragile series, we learned from professionals and experienced parents about preparing for extended hospital stays, caring for babies in the NICU, getting support from Child Life specialists, navigating in-home nursing, and much more.
→ Add this goal to your Undivided account for the step-by-step process of supporting your medically complex child at home, such as organizing your home and medical supplies, managing refills, preparing for emergencies, traveling, and much more.
2. How to be a better advocate from parent and author Kelley Coleman. 📖 Kelley joined us to talk about her new book, Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child, and she shared so much wisdom about how to do all those day-to-day things that can catch parents like us off-guard — plus, how we can show up for our kids at school and in the community.
3. The difference between private and non-public schools and how to address supports in the IEP. If we had one wish this holiday season, it’d be for every kiddo to find a school that’s “just right” — tailored to meet all of their needs. If only it were as easy as a Hogwarts letter showing up in the mail, right? 🦉 Many Undivided families have questions about NPS’s, homeschooling, charters, and more, so we put together a multi-part series about different kinds of placements and how to tell if they’ll meet your child’s needs.
4. How to support kids with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Do you know all the supports that can be written into an IEP or 504 Plan for kids with seizures and similar health risks? Or which public benefits these conditions qualify for? We talked to experts about therapies, medications, and other treatments plus gained insights about school accommodations/services and other ways to care for our kids.
5. The potential (and potential pitfalls) of using AI to help kids access education. What questions should we be asking our kids’ teachers to make the most of new technologies? 💡 We heard from researchers and professionals who are exploring ways that AI can make education more inclusive and accessible. And here’s a big one: how to write AI into your child’s IEP!
6. How to understand our kids’ behavior. In our behavior series, we did a deep dive into how understanding kids’s behavior (and what they’re trying to communicate) can help us address concerns about tantrums, eloping, school refusal, and more. Plus, we uncovered a whole bunch of other ways to handle behavior beyond ABA, (such as relationship and collaborative focused interventions) and trust us, they’re definitely worth checking out!
→ Add this goal to your Undivided account for the step-by-step process of finding a non-ABA behavior support provider.
7. How to have smoother haircut ✂️ and dentist 🦷 appointments. Every family has to help their kiddos with health and hygiene, but our kids’ unique needs can make these tasks feel like a monumental struggle. We gathered tips from occupational therapists, psychologists, and experienced parents to prepare our kids to deal with the sensory challenges that can come with hair care and dental hygiene.
→ Add this goal to your Undivided account for the step-by-step process of helping your child’s visit to the dentist go smoothly.
8. The benefits of “fun” therapies. 🎵🎨🐎 Therapies are golden when kids don’t even realize they are “working” towards something! We took a look at how music therapy, art in therapy, and horse therapy can support kiddos with a wide variety of needs — bring on the fun! Plus how to get these therapies covered by Regional Center!
→ Add this goal to your Undivided account for the step-by-step process of getting these therapies covered by Regional Center!
9. How to write our own Social Stories. Carol Gray, the creator of Social Stories™ (yep, the OG guru!), taught us about the components of a Social Story, what makes them effective, and how to tailor them to our kids for any situation.
10. The how and why of genetic testing. Did you know that some children with autism, developmental delays, and intellectual disability might also have an underlying genetic condition that can be discovered through genetic testing? 🧬 Yep, it’s true! For many families in our community, genetic testing plays a role in diagnosis, so we talked to experts about the benefits and how to get testing covered by insurance.
11. How to nurture disability acceptance at our kids’ schools. We all wish acceptance happened organically, but sometimes, intentional culture shifts are necessary! Inclusion is beneficial not only for our kids but for their typically developing peers, so we gathered resources for disability awareness with plenty of ideas for activities for all ages to participate in.
12. How to help our kids address sleep challenges. Who needs more sleep — you or the kids?! 🙋🏻♀️ In this series, we took a look at why certain disabilities affect sleep and how to minimize these effects so that our kids (and their parents!) can get more rest. 😴
🎁 A holiday gift for you and your family 🎁
As we wrap up this year and look ahead to the next, remember — you don’t have to face those daunting to-do lists alone.
✨ As a holiday bonus, Undivided Navigator members get their own personalized yearly review! Parents of kids with disabilities can easily get overly focused on the challenges and what’s not working. Undivided Navigators like to make a “Year in Review” for our members because it’s an opportunity to focus on some of the wins they’ve had over the past year. It’s our little way of celebrating our amazing parent members. As one member told us, “Thank you so much for this! I really appreciate the personalization — what great reminders of what we’ve accomplished this year.” To get started, sign up for a free Kickstart with a Navigator→
✨ With everything we learned, we added even more tools and resources to the Undivided platform to help families accomplish goals like requesting non-medical therapy funding from Regional Center, applying for Medi-Cal with a baby in the NICU, adding behavior supports to the IEP, and much more. The Undivided app makes it easier than ever to organize documents, get step-by-step walkthroughs for intimidating applications, and coordinate our kids’ care. Get started today→
✨ Undivided isn’t just a service for parents of kids with a disability, we’re a community, too. We understand the importance of having the support of others who know what we’re going through and can relate. Who doesn’t need that?
To every one of you who’s been part of our community this year, thank you for allowing us to share in your journey. From our family to yours, we’re sending warm wishes for a holiday season filled with peace, joy, and moments that matter most. 💖
Our experts are taking an Office Hours break for the holidays, but we’ll be back in the new year to answer your questions about special education, public benefits, insurance, and more!
- When we talk to experts about questions that are important for our community, we make sure to post their answers so you can revisit them any time! Browse by topic on our YouTube channel→
- Everything we do is to support parents like YOU! Hear what one parent was able to accomplish this year with Undivided’s help→
- What are your family’s plans for winter break? We’d love to see photos in our private Facebook group for parents!→
- Share your knowledge and help grow our community! What’s one thing you learned from Undivided this year? Tag us when you share on LinkedIn→
- Did you put yourself on your holiday gift list? Give yourself the gift of time, organization, and support when you join Undivided. Get started→
