senior woman receiving supportive care at home

Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week September 11-17

The work performed by direct support professionals (DSPs) is critical to quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In Oregon alone, where Cognitopia is based, over 30,000 people with IDD rely on DSPs for support at work, at home, and in the community. Cognitopia joins the National
thumbnail image showing video screenshot for Meet Jen video in article on MyLife tools and effectiveness for autism support

New Video: Cognitopia MyLife Digital Portfolio Helps Tell Child’s Story

If you are the primary caregiver for a neurodiverse child, you understand how tiring and frustrating it can be to tell their story over and over again. Cognitopia My Life Digital Portfolios make this easy. Your child might be young, an adolescent, or an adult, but you want other supporters
an image of hot chocolate floats from the routine Hot Chocolate Holiday Floats

Holiday Recipe: Hot Chocolate Floats

Perhaps you have enjoyed some of our recipe routines in the recent past? Hopefully so. And to keep it rolling, here we go again! This time we are featuring some fun and tasty “floats” that you can make to put into mugs of hot chocolate! Whether just for yourself, your
this picture shows Spooky Brownies, the result of a step-by-step recipe featured on Cognitopia.com's blog for Halloween

Halloween Recipe #3: Spooky Brownies

Certainly the Ice Cream Sandwich Ghosts we posted last week were fun. So let’s keep the fun rolling here with our final installment of Halloween recipes! This week it’s “Spooky Brownies.” Here again, it’s all about creativity. You can decorate your brownies however you want to, mixing and adding colors,
image shows the decoration of an ice cream sandwich ghost using gel writing icing

Halloween Recipe #2: Ice Cream Sandwich Ghosts

Well, if you enjoyed making the Witches Broomsticks last week, you’re in for an even sweeter treat this time around. Yes, ice cream is sooo good…so any excuse to work with it and, of course, eat it takes very little push! So, without further adieu, let’s make some Ice Cream
fun and easy to make witches broomsticks, a great recipe for Halloween

Halloween Recipe #1: Witches Broomsticks

With Halloween fast approaching there is a certain chill in the air. Indeed it’s getting colder outside, but the chill I’m referring to is that of ghosts, ghouls and witches! So, to keep them happy, and any of your guests who might be coming over for Halloween-style activities, check out

Vincent’s Story: MyLife Supports Transition Process During Pandemic

My son Vincent is a happy, curious 17-year-old, who was born with Down syndrome. In addition to several chronic health issues, he also has a diagnosis of autism and cortical visual impairment.  For the last five years, he has been in a private ABA program focusing on his functional, adaptive,

Transitions Cost More Than $2.3B in IDD Support Services

Cyclic Regression Causes Expensive Turnover, Painful Restarts, and Critical Struggles.  Decrease staff training costs. Create smoother transitions for clients. Preserve your investments in human resources. Have a sustained impact on client quality of life. You have a clear and special mission to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD),

Creating Digital Resumes for Individuals with Limited Communication Skills

After graduating from high school, Michael Montgomery spent three years learning independent living skills through the 4J School District’s Community Living Program (CLP) in Eugene, Oregon. Diagnosed with autism at 18 months, Michael’s situation is typical among families receiving lifelong support services for their now-adult children. At the CLP students

How Cognitive Support Technology Is Empowering One Man with Autism

Raising three boys in rural Oregon in the late 1980s and 1990s, Trina began to first notice unique developmental behavior in her three-year-old son Clinton as he was just learning to read. “Clinton had learned all of the sounds, but phonetically he couldn’t put them together. Even today, Clinton is