NESS Cares is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization serving parents, educators, professionals, and children with special education needs. We are dedicated to uplifting the mental health of people with learning disabilities as well as their families and caregivers are given the tools to best support their children with special needs, we find that they are capable of overcoming any obstacle and achieving their goals. We envision a community where everyone has access to the care they need, regardless of capital or ability. 

Founded in the midst of the pandemic, we took the initiative to help students with special needs who seemed to have been forgotten during the transition to virtual learning by creating the Sensory Box Initiative program and we look forward to expanding our contributions to the intersection of mental health and special education communities in need. 

People with learning disabilities suffer from lack of access to comprehensive treatment due to financial insecurity and lack of insurance coverage. The underemployment associated with the coronavirus pandemic has only made this lack of access more severe. The current barriers that keep people with disabilities from receiving professional treatment are a threat to their mental and behavioral health.

The need for effective communication on the mental health of people with learning disabilities, particularly, developmental disabilities is dire. It is not only a matter of comfort and personal success, but often a barricade between life and death. 

Learning disabilities, such as ADHD, often cause persistent feelings of inadequacy and helplessness in children that live with them.11 The perceived lack of ability to control one’s behavior causes depression and anxiety for many children

Indeed, this reflects a larger and ever present problem of financial as well as racial justice. In particular, Black parents of children with disabilities need to fight hard for their children in order to gain a diagnosis that will entitle them to accommodations. As a result, Black children are often diagnosed with disorders like autism a year later than the median; losing a year of early-intervention care can be crucial in making sure a child can keep abreast of their educational level.

Disabled children living at our near the poverty level were more likely to be non-white, raised by a single parent, and to have at least one sibling with a financially cumbersome health care need. This translates to food and housing insecurity among families of color with young children with learning disabilities. Material hardship, such as housing and food insecurity, is higher among parents of Black and Hispanic very young  children with learning disabilities.

The families who support people with learning disabilities have unique financial struggles. The coronavirus pandemic has made this far more dangerous. This increases the likelihood of immense discomfort and anxiety for people with learning disabilities for the foreseeable future and long-lasting effects their ability to become independent, healthy, and happy later in life. Our goal is to help families work past this incredibly stressful moment, substitute their current lack of care, and ensure that their beloved family members have the chance to keep advancing in their progress.