Raising a child with some form of impairment or special needs is not just challenging, it can also be expensive.
It is therefore important that these children have access to certain grants so that their educational needs at the primary level can be met with ease, since students who are faced with certain disabilities like deafness, blindness or learning disabilities are faced with challenges well beyond those faced by any ‘normal’ school student.
Some of impairments or special conditions which amount to special education for children at schools and the related grants are listed below;
Autism
Children with autism emerge unresponsive and isolated and are not capable of having personal bonds with people around them. Even though people with this disorder display an extensive series of indications and disability, a lot of them are unable to understand other’s feelings, thoughts and needs. Time and again, language and intellect fall short of developing fully, making social relationships and communication difficult.
Grants: Disorders such as Autism require children to be given special attention and therefore grants for their primary education become very important. The Autism Society of America is an administrator of quite a number of prominent scholarships to schools and organizations that are meant to provide excellent programs to students with autism. Other grant and scholarship opportunities for children with autism worth investigating are offered by…
The Organization of Autism Research: Provides grants for post secondary education. More information can be found here!
Autism Cares: Provides financial relief in the form of an award for individuals with autism or their families. Pays up to $1,000. Learn more here!
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Visual Impairment/Blindness
In today’s day and age education and the access to it is an integral necessity. It is only with the availability of information that the blind and visually impaired can make informed choices, enlighten his/herself with the present advancements in the world and make and take intelligent and informed decisions. It facilitates better exploitation of resources at one’s disposal. There are thus the following grants and scholarships for school students.
Grants
The American Foundation for the Blind has a number of grants and scholarships for students who are visually impaired.
The Rudolph Dillman Scholarship gives four scholarships to students at the undergraduate level. Again, the Paul and Ellen Ruckes Scholarship awards an amount of one thousand dollars to visually impaired students.
You can access the application form here!
The National Federation of the Blind awards thirty scholarships to students annually. These range in value from $3,000 to $12,000 annually. The application can be found here!
The Association of Blind Citizens also offers several scholarships to students with visual impairments.
Lighthouse International also offers grant and scholarship opportunities for those who are blind or have poor vision.
Government Programs and Grants
The U.S. Department of Education has a Federal TRIO Program which is directed for students with disabilities. It offers grants right from mid school onwards.
The Federal ‘Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’ or (IDEA) guarantees that the states as well as public agencies provide children with special needs, educational services. Services guaranteed include, early intervention, special education and related services.
There are above six million children eligible for the same. Some of the grants the programme offers are:
IDEA Formula Grants
These grants are given to states to help them provide free public education in the least restraining setting for children with disabilities between the age group of three to twenty one.
IDEA Discretionary Grants
This grant is meant to offer discretionary grants to institutions of senior education and non-profit organizations to maintain research, technical assistance etc.
The following are a list of scholarships for children in need of special care
http://www.nwfsc.edu/ossn/documents/SCHOLARSHIPS_forStudentsWithSpecialNeeds.pdf
