Developmental Differences
We see you, parents of kids with special needs. Yours is not an easy road, but NPN has many resources to help you along, whether you’ve just received a diagnosis or you’re looking for further supports for your older child.
Our Developmental Differences Parent Support Group has been making parents and caregivers feel less alone for nearly 10 years. The group meets the third Wednesday of every month—see the NPN calendar to RSVP for the next meeting.
Also celebrating its 10th birthday, the annual Developmental Differences Resource Fair brings together therapy providers, schools and fun activities for kids with special needs. And our library of videos on developmental differences offers tips and strategies on everything from potty training to IEPs.
The best part: All of our developmental differences resources are free to members and non-members alike.
👉 New! Use our Developmental Differences Resource Directory to find doctors, schools, therapy providers and more.
Providers: Click here to participate in our Developmental Differences Resource Program.
Discussions
We recently started our 4-year-old on Cotempla (8.6 mg). It's basically extended-release chewable Ritalin. 8.6 mg is the lowest dose. This is the first ADHD medication we've tried. So far, we haven't noticed much of a difference, except that she is much more emotional. Specifically, ...
I am starting (or hoping to start) a support group at my daughter's school for parents of children with special needs. (I drew the inspiration from NPN's Developmental Differences Parent Support Group, to which I also belong.) I'd like to have some potential group discussion topics/exercises in th...
Seeking recommendations for Pediatric Psychiatrists who specialize in ADD/ADHD medication prescription and management. It is time to seriously look into this for my tween girl. Would be extra fantastic and ideal if the doctor has additional specialty with or at least significant experience...
I am grateful for any and all recommendations!!! The teen: - Sensitive to background noise/dustractiins/background voices at school and in public/crowds. - Sensitive to how headphones feel on the head and over the ears. Doesn’t like “tight” squeezing headphones, which many nois...
This is a serious question I have so please don’t leave snarky comments. Due to having two children with diverse needs, I have had to deal with numerous school social workers, case managers, psychologists etc…… One thing that has always struck me, and for some reason particularly with th...
More Articles related to this topic
NPN is known for helping families find childcare, research schools, navigate developmental differences, and get parent-to-parent advice. Helping families navigate developmental differences is one part of our mission that is especially meaningful to me and the rest of the staff team. NPN’...
Traveling with children can be fun, exciting and challenging and traveling with a child with a special needs child adds a whole new dynamic. I’m a mom of three: I have one 3 year old son and 5 year old boy/girl twins and my oldest son, Owen, has autism. To get ready for a trip, whether that be an ou...
It was an early Sunday morning in March 2012. I did not get much sleep the night before, because I was 4 months pregnant with our second child, and our first child, Luke, had just received a diagnosis of autism and epilepsy. To say that I was stressed would be an understatement. Related: Your ...
As a pediatric physical therapist, something I hear quite often in new assessments with families is that they "knew something wasn't quite right and had questions on it, but were told to wait and see if it was still a problem" at their next pediatrician visit. Many times, things do work themselves o...
As a parent of a special needs child, I look forward to the periods of platitude. Every developmental stage is an uphill climb that seems to take forever. So when my child hits a plateau and can thrive in an age-appropriate developmental stage, I relish in the peace that comes with it. I have learne...
