When you or a loved one get diagnosed with a disability, there is a new world of unknowns. You learn that you are about to walk a new route, and nothing is going to be the same. When you receive the initial diagnosis, a million things run through your mind. How is my life going to change? How am I going to tell others? Did I do something wrong? Is this my fault? How am I going to pay for this? What is the cost of services or treatment going to cost?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ABLEnow®.

I know exactly how all of this feels. In 2005 my oldest son was diagnosed with autism. I got thrown into a new role of advocate. I didn’t know where to start until I found an advocacy class in my state. Attending that class was the best decision I made. I learned so much about the world of disabilities and the laws associated with them. One course that particularly resonated with me was about the ABLE Act, which opened the door for so many opportunities for individuals with a disability. One of the country’s leading ABLE programs is the national ABLEnow program.

ABLEnow empowers people with disabilities to achieve more independence, greater financial security, and a better quality of life. For a long time, individuals with a disability were unable to save for their future. Can you imagine not being able to save for the future because you would lose your income, health care and food and housing assistance? That was a problem these individuals faced. If they saved money, it became an asset, and any additional money they saved would take away from their current public benefits. It could even cause them to lose their benefits entirely. Thanks to the hard work of advocates, this was changed, and it resulted in the national ABLEnow program.

ABLEnow accounts are available to eligible individuals in all 50 states. ABLEnow accounts allow qualified individuals the chance to save and invest in a manageable, affordable, and tax-advantaged account.

These accounts can be used to cover a variety of qualified disability expenses. If you would like to open and manage your ABLEnow account online, you can do it here.

As a mother of an individual with a disability, it gives me peace of mind knowing my son can save for his future. The road he will travel as he becomes an adult will be a tricky one. He will have daily struggles he will have to overcome. Fortunately, his finances do not need to be a worry on top of everything else. Thanks to the advocates who came before me, I know my son can save for his future. He will have the chance to build a life for himself that he can be proud of.

 For a chance to win a $500 contribution to an ABLEnow account visit http://bit.ly/2yx4o15

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ABLEnow.