as in disabled
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Recent Examples of special-needs
For some seven years, MindShiftED has focused on supporting some of the city’s poorest families, parents of special-needs students and those who speak only Spanish.
—
Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Mar. 2026
The event is a fundraiser organized by the Active 4 All Evergreen Foundation to support programs run by the Evergreen Park and Recreation District, including the INSPIRE special-needs program, which helps keep kids with challenges active.
—Cbscolorado.com Staff, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Early literacy and special-needs inclusion, including opt-in tools that support deaf children and parental involvement, are areas where ideology gives way to child development science .
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Alzir, who is part of a special tutoring program at Andrew that works with special-needs kids, counts communication as his calling card.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Ever, Coffee and Creps — that employs 16 special-needs adults.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026
Their mission at the Smythe stop was to visit a special-needs class and three other classrooms recognized for outstanding attendance, as well as living up to the school’s ROAR — Respectful & Kind, Always Safe, Own Choices, Regulate Emotions — mantra.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Board member Brooklyn Richardson asked her colleagues to especially consider special-needs students who walk to school.
—Dallas Morning News, 21 Jan. 2026
The only federal laws requiring transportation be provided are for certain special-needs students and children experiencing homelessness.
—Caroline Beck, IndyStar, 26 Dec. 2025
Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Mar. 2026
The event is a fundraiser organized by the Active 4 All Evergreen Foundation to support programs run by the Evergreen Park and Recreation District, including the INSPIRE special-needs program, which helps keep kids with challenges active.
—Cbscolorado.com Staff, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Early literacy and special-needs inclusion, including opt-in tools that support deaf children and parental involvement, are areas where ideology gives way to child development science .
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Alzir, who is part of a special tutoring program at Andrew that works with special-needs kids, counts communication as his calling card.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Ever, Coffee and Creps — that employs 16 special-needs adults.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026
Their mission at the Smythe stop was to visit a special-needs class and three other classrooms recognized for outstanding attendance, as well as living up to the school’s ROAR — Respectful & Kind, Always Safe, Own Choices, Regulate Emotions — mantra.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Board member Brooklyn Richardson asked her colleagues to especially consider special-needs students who walk to school.
—Dallas Morning News, 21 Jan. 2026
The only federal laws requiring transportation be provided are for certain special-needs students and children experiencing homelessness.
—Caroline Beck, IndyStar, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for special-needs
Adjective
-
For instance, Medicare, which is the insurance program for older adults 65 and older in the United States and some disabled people is starting to negotiate the price of drugs for their populations.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Joglar Burrowes, who is disabled, said thousands of families had been waiting a long time for the solar systems and shouldn’t be forgotten.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Amid the ongoing search for his wife, Brian Hooker has left the Bahamas to see his ailing mother, his attorney told CBS News.—
Cristian Benavides,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Nate Smith, Cody Johnson, and others have pledged allegiance to an ailing movement.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Other social welfare programs have safety valves to protect weak, incapacitated or disabled clients from being exploited by people in power.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Prosecutors accused him of filming and sharing a video of an incapacitated 17-year-old girl in April 2009.—
Adam Reiss,
NBC news,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The space agency’s Apollo-era moon suits are unfit for use.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
20 Apr. 2026
-
In August, Brady was found unfit to stand trial and ordered to treatment.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The man who died was a quadriplegic, unable to escape on his own.—
Shelley Bortz,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Sharod Knox has lived this way since a 2002 shooting left him quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator.—
Nora O'Neill,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
And that man is clearly unwell.—
Diaa Hadid,
NPR,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Is there genuinely no limit to what Republicans will allow this unhinged, unwell man to do?—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who’s already wealthy, joins not for the money, but to pursue Gyro, a strange man with two strange spinning electric balls that seemingly can give him the ability to walk again.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Avatar sees Jake Sully, a paraplegic veteran, on a mission to the moon Pandora, in an entirely new form, adopting that of the Na'vi people.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
20 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
This animal is really, really very, very, very sick.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Cameron Collins was sick of Joe Biden.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Special-needs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/special-needs. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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