Getting support for your child with disabilities can seem like a never-ending challenge. It shouldn’t have to be. For children with disabilities in Ohio, there are numerous programs designed to help them thrive. These resources include Early Intervention (EI) services, assistive technologies, and compensation for parents who are full-time caregivers of their children with special needs.
Did your child have a traumatic birth?
Our team is here to provide legal help to parents like you.
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Ohio Disability Resources and Support Organizations
The State of Ohio provides several resources for families so they can support their children with disabilities or developmental delays. Nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups also work to help guide families so they know their rights and the services that are available to them. Below, we’ve compiled a list of resources for Ohio families of children with disabilities.
- Early Intervention County Contacts
A State of Ohio website that can help connect you to an advocate in your area who will help get your child started with Early Intervention services and other educational resources. - The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD)
A nonprofit organization that serves families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities in Ohio and helps them obtain the assistance they need. They do this through a variety of programs, such as the Parent Training and Information Center of Ohio. OCECD works with parents of all backgrounds to ensure that their children are provided education support that allows them to live to their fullest potential. - Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
A State of Ohio website where you can find information regarding services such as disability determination, vocational rehabilitation, and independent living services. For Ohioans who are over the age of 18, this website can help find job opportunities in the community for individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. - Ohio Department of Medicaid
Eligibility and information on how to apply for or renew Medicaid coverage. Medicaid helps to cover the medical services that your disabled child may require to help them thrive. - Disability Rights Ohio
A nonprofit organization that works to advocate for human, civil, and legal rights of Ohioans with disabilities. This page goes through a list of programs that they offer, including assistance with problems such as discrimination and access to special education and housing. - Olmstead Rights: Ohio Disability Resources and Advocacy Organizations
Olmstead Rights is owned and operated by Legal Aid Atlanta and works to help low-income people with disabilities navigate the legal system. This page provides a lengthy list of resources for people with disabilities. - Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities: Parents as Paid Caregivers for their Minor Children
If you are a full-time caregiver for your child, you may be eligible to receive compensation for their care. This website provides eligibility requirements and a helpful video to get you started.
The Importance of Early Intervention
Infants and toddlers up to three or five years old who have a disability or developmental delay benefit immensely from services like the Early Intervention program, which is part of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). In these early years of a child’s life, the brain’s foundations for learning and behavior are developed. The organizations and programs shown above can help your child get the support they need to maximize their skills and functioning.
Preventable Birth Injuries and Disability
At ABC Law Centers, we’ve seen the challenges that parents and children with disabilities face on a daily basis. That’s why our firm has worked for over 25 years in service of birth-injured kids and their families. A birth injury happens when a baby suffers a preventable injury at or around the time of their birth. This can permanently injure the baby, leading to lifetime disability.
Many children who had a traumatic birth often have brain injuries like HIE (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy), which can cause multiple disabilities. These include:
- Motor disorders like cerebral palsy
- Vision impairments
- Developmental disabilities
- Learning disabilities
In many cases, these injuries and the resulting disabilities could have been prevented. Unfortunately, many parents do not find out until years later when they notice their child missing developmental milestones.
Legal Help For Ohio Children With Disabilities
Local resources are critical for getting support to children who need it most – and it’s important that parents are empowered to know all their options, including their legal options. If your child’s injury could have been prevented at birth, you could be entitled to compensation. At ABC Law Centers, we work relentlessly for Ohio children with disabilities and children across the country to win or settle their case in their favor. Whether you’re in Cleveland, Columbus, or anywhere else in the state, our firm can help.
If you suspect that something went wrong during or around the time of your child’s birth, contact our lawyers. Our dedicated intake team will listen to your story and our attorneys will review that information to let you know whether you have a legal case. The consultation is absolutely free – in fact, you pay nothing throughout the whole process unless we win your case.
While no amount of money can erase the trauma that your family endured at birth, compensation recovered for you in a birth injury lawsuit can help cover major needs, including:
- 24-hour attendant care
- Adaptive equipment and assistive technology for your child
- Home and vehicle modifications for accessibility
- Medical appointments that may have been out of reach before
- Recreational and complementary therapy programs
- Lost wages from time taken off work
Ask us about your legal options
Your Ohio Birth Injury Lawyer: Jesse Reiter
Our founder, attorney Jesse Reiter, is licensed to practice as an Ohio birth injury attorney and travels all over the state to meet families who need legal help. Jesse has been advocating for children with disabilities for over 30 years, and has won numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts to secure their future. He is a lifetime fellow of the American Bar Foundation and has served in leadership positions in organizations such as the Birth Trauma Litigation Group and the American Association for Justice. The Birth Trauma Litigation Group awarded Jesse the Dan Cullan Memorial Award, which recognizes attorneys for their work advocating for children with birth injuries. He has also been recognized in publications like Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Leading Lawyers, and more for his work in birth trauma.
Jesse has dedicated his career to make sure that parents have peace of mind knowing that their children are cared for, even after they’re gone. In addition to this work, Jesse has made funding HIE research a priority, supporting disabled children with annual scholarship awards, and valuing community involvement.
“Some firms do a ton of cases. And they do auto cases and dog bites and all kinds of stuff, and occasional birth injury cases. We only do [birth injury]. This is all we’ve done and lived for decades.”
– Attorney Jesse Reiter
