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Safety Advocacy and Information

All people must have opportunity to learn how to be safe, use available resources and supports, and practice safety skills. These resources are focused on raising awareness and guiding action toward more inclusive safety education, planning, and practice.

  • Coalition for Living Safely with Disabilities and Special Health Needs

The Coalition for Living Safely with Disabilities and Special Health Needs represents a diverse network of disabled self-advocates, organizations, agencies, emergency responders, academics, researchers, justice activists, and other safety stakeholders who are committed to action to bring forth more inclusive safety policy, practice, education and outcomes. This coalition forges alliances and collaborative efforts in order to reduce and prevent injuries inclusively.

Coalition for Living Safely with Disabilities and Special Health Needs

  • Public Service Announcements

It is important that people with disabilities are empowered to be safe. These PSAs feature people with disabilities and safety stakeholders providing tips to build awareness and advocate for change for more inclusive safety practices within our communities.

Talking about Living Safely with Disabilities


Safety Signs and Symbols


Advocating for School Safety


Water Safety


Poison Prevention and Education - NJPIES


Including People with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness


Prepare for Emergencies with NJ Register Ready


School Emergency Preparedness


Elopement and Being Lost


  • Guidance Documents

Approximately sixty-one million adults in the United States have some type of disability (CDC, 2020) and more than seven million students receive special education services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021). Yet, people with disabilities are typically not considered in community and personal safety education and planning. When safety education and resources are provided, they might not be relevant, understandable, or accessible to those with disabilities. These guidance documents support the inclusion of people with disabilities within municipal, regional, and state community needs assessments; provider safety training; local emergency preparedness, safety plans, and kits; safety resources; and community safety education. In order to use language respectful to a variety of readers, the terms “disabled people” and “people with disabilities” are used interchangeably within these documents. The American Psychological Association and the National Center on Disability and Journalism recommend first-person language. The preference for those with disabilities varies from person to person. Respectfully, the best practice is to ask the person how they choose to be referenced.

Learn about the Living Safely Guidance Documents


Inclusive Community Planning - Safety


Provider Safety Training


Local Emergency Preparedness, Safety Plans, and Kits


Accessible Safety Resources


Safety Education


  • Inclusion in Innovation

It is important that safety training and education is designed, implemented, and evaluated in partnership with people with disabilities. Augmented and virtual reality is a promising modality for such safety training as it allows creation of customizable scenarios, safe practice, and is applicable for training people with disabilities, caregivers, emergency responders, educators, and other service providers and safety stakeholders.

Inclusion in Innovation Whitepaper


We value the expertise of our partners in safety who have demonstrated their commitment to inclusive healthy communities.

The information contained in Living Safely with Disabilities and Special Health Needs (Living Safely) is provided for educational and informational purposes only. The content contains general information and may not reflect a person’s individual needs or current legal developments or information. Children’s Specialized Hospital makes no guarantee, either communicated or implied, about the accuracy, application, appropriateness, or completeness of the information within Living Safely, or at any other website to which it is linked. Children’s Specialized Hospital specifically relinquishes all liability with respect to any person’s actions, taken or not taken, based upon any or all of the information or other contents from Living Safely.

dds nj division of disability services

This initiative was funded in part by an Inclusive Healthy Communities Grant from the Division of Disability Services, New Jersey Department of Human Services.


Valoramos la experiencia en seguridad de nuestros asociados que hayan demostrado su compromiso con tener comunidades sanas e inclusivas.

La información incluida en Vivir seguro con discapacidades y necesidades especiales de salud (Vivir seguro) se presenta únicamente con fines educativos e informativos. En el contenido se incluye información general: esta podría no reflejar las necesidades individuales o los acontecimientos jurídicos o información actuales de una persona. Children’s Specialized Hospital no garantiza, ni expresa ni implícitamente, la precisión, aplicación, adecuación o exhaustividad de la información incluida en Vivir seguro, ni en ningún otro sitio web al que esté vinculado. Children’s Specialized Hospital específicamente renuncia a toda responsabilidad en relación con las acciones de cualquier persona, realizadas o no, con base en la totalidad o parte de la información u otro contenido de Vivir seguro.

dds nj division of disability services

Esta iniciativa fue financiada en parte por una subvención del programa Inclusive Healthy Communities Grant Program (Programa de Subvenciones para Comunidades Sanas e Inclusivas) de la División de Servicios para Discapacitados del Departamento de Servicios Humanos de Nueva Jersey.

Patient Stories

  • “I have so much trust in them to get him to the next goal they have for him. His therapists are excited to see that he’s growing and changing for the better and, as a parent, this makes you feel confident and calm.”

    Sergio
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  • "The hospital and staff have been nothing short of amazing with being there for her and me."

    Penelope
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  • “I feel stronger, independent, and more adaptable thanks to my therapy sessions at Children’s Specialized Hospital.”

    Melissa
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Patient Stories

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