Family Voices North Dakota

Family Voices North Dakota We assist families of children and youth with a chronic health condition or disability for the state We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Family Voices of ND- "Navigating Crossroads to Hope"
Caring for children with special needs and disabilities can be at times overwhelming, exhausting and complex. Often families and caregivers struggle to find the resources and services their child and family may need. Family Voices of North Dakota is there to help families because we are too are parents who have children/youth and young adults with chronic health, physical, developmental and mental health challenges. Family Voices of North Dakota (FVND) is a statewide health information and education center for families who have children with a special health need or disability from birth to age 26 and for the professionals that serve them. A special health care need is a broad definition and includes: disability, chronic illness and physical or mental health condition. We are a free service to families which operates on grants, fundraising and private donations. When families are faced with a prenatal, at birth or later diagnosis, FVND assures that families receive informational and emotional support in caring for their child with a chronic illness or disability. Nearly 20,000 children in our state have some kind of health care need and over 40 percent of these children have a health condition that limits their play and school activities. That means 1 in 5 families within our area have children living with physical, mental or emotional disabilities; others live with a chronic illness and many present a brief, but life-threatening medical problem. Family Voices of North Dakota is available in all (8) regions across the state and the communities we serve help families become better parents, advocates, professionals and educators. When we all work together we can make an impact in the lives of families and their children. Parents become leaders, communities become inclusive and our children are embraced.

10/31/2025

Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults provide care to loved ones with disabilities or complex medical conditions, but a new report finds that the challenges they face vary significantly.

10/31/2025
10/31/2025

Get tips and ideas that therapists use to help you parent your child. Tips for helping kids with ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression or just for kids in general to manage their emotions. Online course, books and lots of free information in blogs.

10/31/2025

Now Accepting Applications: Board of Public School Education Vacancy

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler invites North Dakotans from Barnes, Cass, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson, Steele, or Traill counties to apply for an open seat on the Board of Public School Education, which oversees K-12 and career and technical education across the state.

This position will fill the remainder of a six-year term ending June 30, 2030. Applicants must be North Dakota residents who are eligible to vote.

🕔 Application deadline: Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at 5 p.m. CST
💻 Apply online: https://rebrand.ly/nd-boards
🔗 Learn more about the board: https://rebrand.ly/k-12-career-tech-board

The board plays a vital role in:
✅ Overseeing school district reorganizations and boundary changes
✅ Supporting North Dakota’s regional education associations and the K-12 Education Coordination Council
✅ Partnering with the Board of Career and Technical Education to guide statewide programs

If you live in one of the eligible counties and want to make a difference in North Dakota education, we encourage you to apply!

10/30/2025

🍎Free & Reduced-Price School Meals Will Continue Despite Possible SNAP Funding Pause

North Dakota students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals will continue receiving them for the remainder of the school year, even if federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are paused due to the ongoing government shutdown.

While SNAP, commonly known as “food stamps”, helps low-income families buy groceries, school meal programs are funded and administered separately by NDDPI on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

NDDPI also administers several other food programs available to North Dakotans:
- The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) – Offered through local food pantries and soup kitchens.
- The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) – Available for low-income households with at least one member age 60 or older.
- The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) – Provides USDA foods to eligible Native households.

Melissa Anderson, NDDPI’s assistant director of child nutrition and food distribution, noted that if SNAP funds are paused, these programs may see increased demand as more families seek local assistance.

Read more -> https://www.nd.gov/dpi/news/baesler-snap-money-halt-wont-affect-school-meals

https://ndresponse.gov/shutdownresources
10/30/2025

https://ndresponse.gov/shutdownresources

The .gov means it's official.Official North Dakota websites will end in .gov. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a government site.

10/30/2025

Please visit: https://ndresponse.gov/shutdownresources to connect to resources across the state during the time of the shutdown.

On the website, there are resources for food pantries, find your local human service zone, who to call (211), crisis lines, mental health support, etc.

Please PM us if you need more help or need a difference resource.

10/30/2025

Here is a task analysis on independent bathing in children including gross motor, fine motor, sensory processing and visual skills.

10/30/2025

Life skills support executive functioning: https://www.theottoolbox.com/chores-and-executive-functioning-skills/

Here's a list of daily tasks and how they support brain skills:
🌿Chores- Teach responsibility, sequencing, time management, and persistence.
🌿Cooking & Meal Prep- Build planning, working memory (recipes/steps), and organization.
🌿Managing Money – Strengthens prioritization, decision-making, and foresight.
🌿Laundry & Cleaning – Support routines, task initiation, and self-monitoring.
🌿Time Management (schedules & alarms) – Grow planning, transitions, and flexible thinking.
🌿Homework/Project Planning – Strengthen goal setting, breaking tasks into steps, and working memory.
🌿Self-Care Routines (hygiene, packing a bag, bedtime prep) – Build consistency, independence, and foresight.
🌿Decision Making in Daily Choices – Strengthen impulse control, flexible thinking, and reflection.
🌿Problem-Solving Around Mistakes – Teaches resilience, emotional regulation, and adaptability.
🌿Community Tasks (shopping, errands, volunteering) – Build organization, prioritization, and real-world executive skills.

10/30/2025

👅ALL ABOUT THE GUSTATORY SYSTEM! 👅⠀
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October is Sensory Processing Awareness Month! To help spread awareness, I am sharing a series of graphics about the 8 sensory systems. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
To get a printable version of this graphic,
🗣️Comment SENSORY and I'll send you the link directly.
⠀
If you've read over the graphic already, then you know that gustatory is the sciency word for the sense of taste. Taste and smell, or the olfactory system, are very closely related. We smell before we taste, after all. The tactile sense and proprioceptive sense are also closely tied to the gustatory system since you can get all 3 types of input from the mouth. ⠀
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Sensitivities often manifest as picky eating or children who are constantly chewing on non-food items (clothing, pencils, pens, hair, nails, skin, etc.). ⠀
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This is not intended to be used as a diagnostic tool, but rather for educational purposes. If you have any concerns or questions, please talk to your child's doctor and ask for an Occupational Therapy evaluation. ⠀
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What are some ways you can help a child who is having taste sensitivities? ⠀
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- Chewing gum (this also adds proprioceptive input through the jaw) ⠀
- Using chewable jewelry or chewies ⠀
- Use a vibrating toothbrush (this is helpful for children who resist brushing teeth) ⠀
- Drinking from a straw (sucking can be focusing and help with attention, again goes back to proprioceptive input) ⠀
- Creating tasting bottles with various safe items with different scents or flavors ⠀
- Blowing bubbles ⠀
- Explore textures through sensory bins or messy sensory play ⠀
- Blowing out candles ⠀
- Drinking through a sports bottle ⠀
⠀
To get a printable version of this graphic,
🗣️Comment SENSORY and I'll send you the link directly.

10/30/2025

The many, many, many benefits of tree climbing:

🌳 muscle strength
🌳 endurance
🌳 gross motor skills such as balance and core strength
🌳 spatial awareness
🌳 tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive input
🌳 critical thinking skills
🌳 executive functioning skills
🌳 decision-making and problem-solving skills
🌳 motor planning
🌳 emotional strength and resilience
🌳 sense of accomplishment
🌳 self-confidence
🌳 imaginative and creative play

Most importantly...having fun!

Address

Non Profit At 312 2nd Avenue W/PO Box 163
Edgeley, ND
58433

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Our Story

Family Voices of ND- "Navigating Crossroads to Hope"

Caring for children with special needs and disabilities can be at times overwhelming, exhausting and complex. Often families and caregivers struggle to find the resources and services their child and family may need. Family Voices of North Dakota is there to help families because we are too are parents who have children/youth and young adults with chronic health, physical, developmental and mental health challenges.

Family Voices of North Dakota (FVND) is a statewide health information and education center for families who have children with a special health need or disability from birth to age 26 and for the professionals that serve them. A special health care need is a broad definition and includes: disability, chronic illness and physical or mental health condition. We are a free service to families which operates on grants, fundraising and private donations. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

When families are faced with a prenatal, at birth or later diagnosis, FVND assures that families receive informational and emotional support in caring for their child with a chronic illness or disability. Nearly 20,000 children in our state have some kind of health care need and over 40 percent of these children have a health condition that limits their play and school activities. That means 1 in 5 families within our area have children living with physical, mental or emotional disabilities; others live with a chronic illness and many present a brief, but life-threatening medical problem.