Guiding Exceptional Parents

08/27/2026

Helpful guide to learn more about the private schools you are considering sending your child to.

It can be really hard to get transparent, comprehensive information about private schools. Our investigative reporters share some suggestions for parents and guardians who want to collect it themselves.

08/17/2026

This is really niche, but if you have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Marfan syndrome, or another connective tissue disorder, this guidance from the National Academies explains the possible impacts, as well as when those impacts are considered disabling under the Social Security Disability policy.

Heritable disorders of connective tissue (HDCTs) are a diverse group of inherited genetic disorders and subtypes. Because connective tissue is found throu...

08/11/2026

Helpful description of a lesser-known condition that can co-occur with autism: aphantasia.

Aphantasia is an inability to visualize mental images. When someone with aphantasia tries to visualize an apple, a loved one's face, or a childhood memory, they experience no mental pictures.

Instead of mental pictures, their mind works with facts, concepts, and knowledge. They know what a horse looks like — four legs, mane, tail — they just can't see one in their head.

Aphantasia means you can't voluntarily picture things in your mind. Learn the signs, how common it is, what it feels like, and take the free VVIQ test.

08/10/2026

A consensus research definition for profound autism: "adaptive functioning well below age level, requiring adult supervision to ensure physical and mental health, safety and well-being, being at least 8 years old, diagnosed with ASD, and having severely impaired cognitive abilities (reflected by IQ score below 50) and/or not verbally communicating other than single words or fixed phrases used predominantly to have their basic needs met."

Background The diagnostic term, autism spectrum disorder, encompasses the full range of impairments associated with the autism spectrum, a significant change from earlier DSM definitions that identified various subtypes of autism. However, the majority of autism-related research and cultural represe...

08/03/2026

Living the dream....

For decades, ADHD was viewed as a childhood condition that mostly affected boys. Researchers now know ADHD manifests differently in girls, but many still go undiagnosed until adulthood.

07/29/2026

Really interesting study.

Years ago, when I was interviewing Mona Delahooke, Ph.D., she told me that she thought that autism was, at its core, a sensorimotor disability. This study corroborates that insight.

Read here: https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj-2025-086295

07/23/2026

Fantastic guide to the way that government benefits (federal and state) interact with other sources of support for disabled people.

SSI, SSDI/DAC, Medicaid, waivers, and asset protection — explained for families navigating disability planning. Learn how the system works and where decisions matter most.

07/18/2026

Excellent points, Rayetta Michael from Help in the Home, LLC.

This point hit home: "Two of the moms stopped working in order to care full time for their loved ones. The system required them to fight to get them the care they needed."

I think about this All The Time.

This month we are interviewing our co-founder, Rayetta Michael to get an update on her advocacy efforts. Read more to learn about how you can get involved.

07/16/2026

Learn about some great providers (including Guiding Exceptional Parents) for clients living in the DMV (Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia). Thanks to DC Autism Parents for the opportunity to help us get the word out!

Watch this video to hear from multiple DC community providers suppo...

07/15/2026

This chart is useful for all of us, and especially for children. Love the practical suggestions for how to help.

I made a free tool that I think will be really useful for anyone who has the honor of taking care of kids in any capacity. It’s called The Childhood Ecosystem Audit. The idea is simple: before we ask what is wrong with kids, we should ask what happened to the developmental ecosystem around them. A...