Applied Long-Term Planning for Children with Disabilities

Long-term planning for children with disabilities involves financial, legal, and transition considerations across many years. This applied course teaches integrated reasoning through case-based modules. By the end of this course you will be able to plan financial supports across the long arc, structure legal arrangements that support long-term care, plan for transitions into adulthood, and coordinate with the professionals who support these decisions. What you will learn: - Approaches to long-term financial planning including ABLE accounts and special needs trusts at a conceptual level - Approaches to coordinating family resources without disrupting benefits eligibility - Approaches to guardianship, supported decision making, and other legal structures into adulthood - Approaches to housing planning across the long arc - Approaches to adult day programs, employment supports, and post-school services - Approaches to coordinating with attorneys, financial planners, and care managers - Approaches to integrating planning with the rest of the family's financial life The course is structured around six applied modules. Each produces a written artifact: a long-term financial sketch, a legal structures reflection, a housing plan, an adult services framework, a professional team plan, and a family integration reflection. This course is written for families thinking across the long arc. The course is informational and does not substitute for licensed financial or legal advice. By the end you will have moved from year-by-year planning to a sustained, long-arc framework.