Helping Special Needs Families

New Phase:

The Special Needs Family Hour celebrated its 5^th Anniversary on May 10^th of 2020. After the show on June 28, 2020, Julie paused with broadcasts to complete her master’s and begin her counseling career. Her website has continued to be a resource for parents and caregivers who are caring for individuals with special needs and her monthly newsletter continues to provide up-to-date information.

Her original plans, to build a career in engineering, as a Georgia Tech graduate, shifted dramatically in 2003, with her daughter’s diagnosis of autism. While pursuing treatments for her daughters she became an expert and an activist in the world of special needs. Her interest in helping others, has led her to broaden her focus, looking at a wider range of issues challenging today’s children, couples, and families … and led to her present work as a professional counselor. She completed her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, through Liberty University’s accredited program, and is now a Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate, in Houston, Texas.

History

The Special Needs Family Hour started on Mother’s Day, May 10th, 2015. The Special Needs Family Hour Inc. is a 501c3 Non-Profit. Our mission is to provide a place where special needs families can find the answers, they need to be successful. We cover all things that are financial, educational, legal, medical, psychological, and vocational. Our goal has always been to provide our information free of charge through our broadcasts and professionally produced podcasts.

The Special Needs Family Hour is unique in the marketplace. During our broadcasting years, we had a potential listening audience of 3.2 million in and around the Tampa Bay area to include a seven-county area (Hillsborough, Hernando, Polk, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, & Manatee) and that was just on 860 AM “The Answer”. We have a great relationship with Salem Communications. Contractually, the show was aired on 860 AM on Sundays at 1 PM but they started airing our show on WTBN-AM, which is FaithTalk 570, 910, and 102.1 (in Lakeland) from 6:30-7:30 PM as part of the Sunday night lineup since February 17th, 2018. This was very exciting because it was a new audience for the show since we had never been on WTBN.

During this time, the show consisted of the Sunday broadcast, professionally produced podcasts, website, and a newsletter. Our newsletters have always been very thorough providing links to all pertinent information a subscriber would like to know. It has always been our hope to help and inspire parents and caregivers who are caring for special people.

All Shows/Podcasts open with ……

The theme of the show is the essay “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley. Kingsley describes the experience of raising a child with a disability. It’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy only to realize that your plane has landed in Holland. Holland isn’t a bad place. It is just a different place. So, you must go out and buy a new guidebook, learn a whole new language, and meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. Holland is a code word for living life with those with disabilities. My hope and prayer are that the challenges we all face in Holland will make us better people. (To read the entire Welcome to Holland Essay – Click Here!)

Special Needs Family Hour Newsletter – Sign Up!

Our introductory newsletter is “Podcasts for the Financial Welfare of Your Dependent with Special Needs! To Sign Up Click Here! Then just click and listen.

It has taken five years and hundreds of hours to compile the information provided to you in our financial newsletter. Included are 10 podcasts: The first podcast is about Financial Planning for the Special Needs Family with Ric Edelman, Founder & Director of Edelman Financial Services. The other subjects covered are Able Accounts, Guardianship, Long Term Care, the Medicaid Waiver Program, Mental Illness and Financial planning, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), SSI for those 18- to 24-year-old, Special Needs Planning and Divorce, and Trusts.

“All Special Needs Parent/Guardians need to do the following:

Prepare a Long-Range Financial Plan
Apply for Supplemental Support Income when the dependent turns 18 years old.
Apply for Support Services – Sign up for Medicaid Waiver if the dependent meets requirements through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD)
Obtain Legal Guardianship when a dependent turns 18 years old.
Set Up Special Needs Trusts
Possibly Set Up an Able Account (Similar to 529 plans but for those with special needs.)
Help Develop Independent Functioning Skills.
Help Build the Dependent’s Natural Supports (such as friends, family, etc.).
Transition Your Loved One into Independent Supported-Living (While you are around to help them make the hardest transition of their life.)”

– Julie Ames

The Need is Great …

In Hillsborough County alone (the 8th largest school district in the U.S.), there are 30,000 students in the school system with special needs. That would equate to 30,000 families or approximately 60,000 parent’s caregiving for a child with special needs. Multiply those numbers across the other six counties the radio show broadcast reached, and the number of individuals dealing with special needs is very large and growing. These numbers do not even begin to reflect those who are no longer a part of the public-school system. This is just one area in the United States!

The Special Needs Family Hour is a 501c3 Non-Profit.

100% of the donations received go toward providing quality programming and helping other special needs families. In these trying times your financial gift is even more important in making a positive difference in raising awareness and support for Special Needs Families. To Donate – Click Here!

Our Trademark!

The Special Needs Family Hour Logo is a sundial with the following symbols:

The Cross (father) represents Faith. Parents with special needs children need to have faith. They need to understand that their special needs child is a gift that has been entrusted to them by God. They are not being punished. Without faith one will become bitter and feel cursed.
The Anchor (mother) represents Hope. Parents experience many challenging days raising a special needs child. Sometimes it feels like Ground Hog Day every day. Improvement especially with challenging behaviors can be infinitesimal. There are many trying days. One must have hope for a better future.
The Heart represents Charity. One must look outside themselves and their situation. If not, it leads to bitterness and despair. The parent of a special needs child must reach out to others. Write an award recommendation for a teacher; give another parent a referral; thank others for their help; etc.
The Puzzle (child) represents a special needs child with autism. The show is not just for families with children who have autism. The show is here to help all families struggling to help their special child.

The Red Heart with the Blue Vane represents a sundial with gnomon, to illustrate the passage of time, and patience, and their role in healing all.

Special Needs Family Hour is a registered trademark.