Livy and Gianna’s Enduring Friendship

Building friendships with others in the JM community can be difficult. Since JM is a rare disease, medical common ground might be a state away. But at this summer’s conference, Cure JM’s common ground was Gaithersburg, MD. There, a friendship between two girls was built—but not from scratch. This summer Gigi and Livy shared a […]
Tips from JM Families for JM Families

Helpful tips from other JM families on topics like reducing anxiety during treatments, shots and blood draws, dentist visits, sun shades, journaling, and more!
Emotional and Mental Health: Getting Help

There are resources available for mental health care though it can take awhile to research them, access them, and follow up on the care.
Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care

Preparing for the transition to adult care may begin with patients beginning to take an age-appropriate role in their care as early as the tween years.
Emotional and Mental Health Resources: Teens and Young Adults

Besides the normal turmoil of adolescence, having a diagnosis of juvenile myositis can present you with more stress due to changes in body image, medical visits, medicines, etc.
Q & A With a Child Life Specialist

The main role of a Child Life Specialist is to help relieve the stress and anxiety that children feel when they become patients; whether in a doctor/dentist office, hospital, emergency room, hospice or any other setting in which children are served.
Emotional and Mental Health: General Resources

In order to understand how our families cope with mental health, we collaborated with Andrea Knight MD MSCE, an expert in the autoimmune and mental health fields.
Tips for Teens

Here are some tips from Anna, Morgan and Samantha to help you navigate medical and social issues like medications, socializing, school, and diet.
Signs of Depression and Anxiety in Children and Teens

Kids with JDM experience depression and anxiety at 2-3 times a higher rate than their peers. We hope that by outlining the common signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, you are better able to support your children.
Resources for Patients Who Have Pain

Here are some resources and recommendations for ways of addressing pain. These come from pediatric rheumatologists and other medical providers/researchers.
Products and Resources To Protect Your Child From the Sun

In collaboration with leading experts, we have curated a list of products that can help protect your child from the UV rays that come from the sun and even harmful artificial light.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Resources

The Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs are the two largest Federal programs providing assistance to people with disabilities.
Government Resources

Helpful links for government resources such as the Social Security Administration, Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and more.