Creating Specialized Dental Resources for Students with Disabilities

I received a note from Jamie Brown in Lincoln, NE this week informing me about some resources she and a dentist have created to help their patients with ADHD receive better dental care. Jamie’s sister had been struggling with dental care issues with her son for years. She did not understand why he was so stressed when he had to brush his teeth or go to his dental appointments until he was diagnosed with ADHD. They were clearly encountering barriers in the Self-Determination Action Model component of Value Yourself; take care of yourself. Rather than having their self-determination thwarted, they took action.

Jamie, who works for Dentably, a dental practice that specializes in care for underserved patients, and Dr. Greg, one of the dentists in the practice did some research on ADHD and dental care and found that many children who have ADHD are not getting the dental care they should. They developed a dental guide for parents and caregivers of children and teens with ADHD in order to help them understand what their child is going through with regards to dental issues and how to help. The guide also has tips for dentists as to how they can better serve the needs of their patients with ADHD.

Their guide is available at the following link: https://www.emergencydentistsusa.com/adhd-and-dental-care/.

Jamie is happy to report that now her nephew has one of the best smiles in town; his mom does too! Note: Dentably also has guides on meeting the dental needs of several underrepresented groups, including those with Down’s Syndrome, and Autism.

A Conversation with Greg Scott, Founder of Soundprint

Greg Scott just wanted to go to a restaurant where he could take a date and have a quiet conversation. As a Manhattanite with a hearing impairment, this was a tall order. He searched for quieter restaurants by reading reviews and found that, even those that were supposed to be quieter, usually weren’t. It was even harder to find a quiet restaurant when he was traveling. Echoing the experience of many persons with hearing impairments, Greg said “I recall many times sitting at a restaurant table feeling completely lost in the conversation while others conversed and connected with each other. I would often nod my head in unison with the conversation, pretending to hear my companions when I could not, and then idly pass the time by entertaining myself with whatever fiction entered my head.”

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Announcing 2BSD’s 2019 Mini-Grant Recipients!

We had hard choices to make! We received many great applications and we are appreciative to all who submitted applications to our 2019 mini-Grant initiative. We’re proud to introduce you to those we will be supporting in their efforts to be more self-determined in the coming months.

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You can win a prize by sharing your good news!

We are creating a list of work being done in schools to promote self-determination. Please send us a paragraph about your efforts so we can share information about your work with others. Don’t worry about spelling or punctuation. We’ll take care of that! Just tell us a little bit about the setting in which you’re working, the types of students you are serving and any outcomes you have observed. A single paragraph is all we need, but if you want to send more, that’s fine too. There is a prize waiting for the first example received! Please send descriptions to [email protected]