♿ Miami-Dade Disability & Autism Newsletter 🧩

Good morning, my fellow Miamians 🦩

The news carried the week. Scientists released the largest map of autism ever built, the nation's biggest school district pressed pause on AI in its classrooms, and $46 million in new funding went to autism research. Slow weeks get 1 story like that. This week got all 3, plus 8 more.

The podcast: Dr. Erika Berger and Gigi Del Valle on what disability parents should look for when choosing a school. And if buying a home is anywhere on your family's list, there's a piece below on whose name goes on the deed.

Today's Edition Includes

1. Buying A Home Inside A Special Needs Trust For An Adult Child: The Name On The Deed Decides The Benefits
2. Disability News Headlines
3. New Podcast Episode: What Disability Parents Should Look for When Choosing a School

Victor Antunez | 305.401.6224

Real Estate Professional 🔑 Autism Dadvocate

🖇️ FREE BOOK DOWNLOADS​​

1. ​Future-Proofing Your Special Needs Child: Essential Legal, Financial, and Life Strategies for Florida Families​
2. ​Miami-Dade Special Needs Resource Directory​
3. ​The Ultimate Home Buying Guide: For Families with Special Needs​

Buying A Home Inside A Special Needs Trust For An Adult Child: The Name On The Deed Decides The Benefits 🏠

A parent decides their adult special needs child is ready for a place of their own. Then comes the question almost nobody asks until the contract is being drafted: whose name goes on the deed?

If the answer is the child's name, and they receive SSI and Medicaid, the family has stepped into a problem. The home can qualify as an exempt residence, but everything around it gets harder, selling it later, managing it, protecting it. The cleaner answer is that the home never touches the child's name at all. A third-party special needs trust, funded by the parents, buys the home and holds the deed. The child lives there, and the $2,000 asset limit that keeps SSI and Medicaid in place stays untouched.

Then there's the mistake that shows up after closing. The purchase itself costs one month's reduction at most, about $351 in 2026. The monthly carrying costs are the real trap. When the trust pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance, or utilities, Social Security cuts the SSI check by up to that same $351 every month it happens. How those costs get paid is a structure decision an attorney sets up before the purchase.

If you're thinking about buying a home for your adult child, I can connect you with an estate attorney from my trusted partner network and handle the real estate side myself. Reply or text me at (305) 401-6224. And if you know a family planning the same move, forward them this newsletter before they write the offer.

Victor Antunez

Real Estate Professional 🔑 Autism Dadvocate

PS. If buying or selling a home is on your mind, and you want to talk it through, text or call me at (305) 401-6224

PSS. Nothing means more than a real estate referral. If someone comes to mind, please send them my way.

📝 Disability News Headlines

1. ​12-year-old para­lyzed Rus­sian girl stands up again after break­through neural implant in China
2. ​Autistic language abilities are vastly more complex than “verbal” or “nonverbal,” large study shows
3. ​DeSantis administration moving to regulate AI from pre-K to Ph.D.
4. ​Dopamine May Play a Bigger Role in Autism Than We Thought
5. ​Drowning raises questions about water safety for children with autism
6. ​Harvard, Yale Researchers Awarded $46 Million Grant To Study Autism, Brain Development
7. ​Labor Department Rescinds Disability Hiring Mandate
8. ​Largest ever ‘map’ of autism may hold clues for new targeted therapies
9. ​New York City bans AI use in elementary, middle school classrooms
10. ​Researchers May Have Found Why Autism Looks Different in Everyone
11. ​Smart Suite helps kids with disabilities take control at home
12. ​UB study finds summer program improves social skills for young autistic children
13. ​Why Parents Fear an Autism Screening, and Why They’re Wrong

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE 🎧

What Disability Parents Should Look for When Choosing a School for Their Child

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