Ariel Russo, a mother of two—including a son who was diagnosed with a disability—has made a career out of helping other parents who have children with disabilities. As a Care Specialist, she provides working parents with 1:1 guidance and customized recommendations to help them advocate for and find resources for their children.
Can you share a bit about your background?
Prior to having my own two children, I was a foster parent for the State of Connecticut and I had nine foster children—most of who had disabilities. During that time, I also volunteered as an educational advocate to help families understand programs and resources designed to help them.
Knowing that my passion was to help others, I became a Care Specialist, and have spent the past seven years helping parents of children with disabilities find the resources and support they need to excel.
What type of issues do parents call about?
I take direct calls from parents on a wide range of parenting and educational needs—but my speciality area is focused on children with disabilities. I listen to understand the unique needs of their child—and their family—and what they need to make their lives easier.
Some need help learning how to get a diagnosis, others need help finding reliable care, and still others need help navigating the school system or finding advocates or related resources. Many need support in all of those areas. We spend as much time as our members need to feel confident that they have the information, support, and resources to help their child at that particular stage in their life.
What type of resources do you provide to families?
I create personalized care plans and recommendations customized to meet the needs of each family. This can include referrals to doctors, specialists, testing resources who can help families with a diagnosis, early intervention programs, school resources and Individual Education Plans (IEPs), child care centers, caregivers who can accommodate their care needs, or advocates and support groups. I also help parents find respite care to give them a much-needed break from time to time.
Is there a particular case you find most memorable?
It always amazes me how issues can affect the whole family. One case that sticks with me is when a parent called because she suspected that she herself had a learning disability and was having troubles focusing at work. She was also starting to recognize similar characteristics in her child. She reached out to me for help finding a provider that could evaluate both of them for learning disabilities.
It was an unusual request for me, because typically I research resources for children—but I was able to locate a family physician who was able to evaluate both the mother and her daughter for learning disabilities, and specifically ADHD. The family practitioner also accepted her insurance making it an affordable option for them. The mother followed up with me to let me know how grateful she was for my help in getting them both a diagnosis so they could start to get the help they both needed to better focus at work and school.
What do you love about working for Care?
The most satisfying part of my job is having parents tell me how much better they feel after contacting Care. I love hearing that the resources I provided helped give them some relief.
