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Our Favorite Links and Resources:
Documents:
A Parent's Guide to Special Education - A Joint Publication of The
Federation for Children with Special Needs and The Massachusetts Department of
Education.
Concord Special Education Parent
Advisory Committee
Very comprehensive site with many great informative pages including:
testing information, IEP definition, what measurable goals are, parent education
materials, etc.
Boxborough Special Education Parent
Advisory Committee
A new website for the Boxborough SEPAC serving Boxborough students K-6.
Federation for
Children with Special Needs
From the website: "The Mission of the Federation for Children
with Special Needs is to provide information, support, and assistance to parents
of children with disabilities, their professional partners, and their
communities. We are committed to listening to and learning from families, and
encouraging full participation in community life by all people, especially those
with disabilities." The Federation is a center for parents and parent organizations to work together
on behalf of children with special needs and their families. The FCSN
hosts a variety of workshops and conferences, please see their calendar
for details. Of special interest is their publication
A Parent's Guide to Special
Education, published jointly with the Massachusetts Department of Education,
and their Guide To Selecting An
Advocate and Closing the IEP Deal.
Massachusetts Association of Parent Advisory Councils
(MASSPAC) This site contains very valuable information with
links to special education advocates and consultants, State and Federal Laws and
Regulations, and general PAC information and guidelines.
Massachusetts Department of Education
This website has lots of information including state special education
regulations. To get to that area, use drop down menu at top right of
screen to go to "Special Education", then use menu on left hand side
of screen. For direct access to just a few of the valuable pages: IEP
Forms, Notices, and Documents, Laws
and Related Documents, Complaints
and Compliance, Parent
Information.
Wrightslaw - Special
Education Law and Advocacy
This is a very comprehensive site with "accurate, up-to-date information
about advocacy for children with disabilities. You will find hundreds of articles,
cases, newsletters, and resources about special education law and advocacy in
the Advocacy
Libraries and Law
Libraries." You can also subscribe
to The Special Ed Advocate, their free online newsletter or read back
issues of The Special Ed Advocate in the Newsletter
Archives.
SPED Child and Teen
This
site at http://www.spedchildmass.com
offers information on free or low-cost Massachusetts Area Special Needs
workshops, seminars, family and support programs and more.
Click on the topic from the list below or scroll down page to browse the
entire list.
*AB SpEd PAC makes every effort to ensure that web sites directly linked to
our own include information our members will find useful and are compatible with
our mission and purpose. We can only be responsible for information
contained within our own web pages. We accept no responsibility for the
content of the websites listed below. Further, by listing the resource on
our website, we are showing no endorsement. The sites have been listed for
informational purposes only.
**Attention AB SpEd PAC Members: We are looking for
more useful, informative links and resources to add to this page. Please
send any you have collected along with a brief description of each to Nancy
Sherburne.
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Assessment
testing info – from
NLD on the Web, many articles on understanding test results, types of
tests and descriptions, how to assess learning disabilities
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Assessment
-- For Parents - General information about why assessments are
done, who does them, etc.
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Autism
Society of America -Promotes
lifelong access and opportunities for persons within the autism spectrum
and their families through advocacy, public awareness, education, and
research related to autism
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The
Asperger's Association of New England
AANE is an organization made up of individuals with
Asperger's Syndrome, their family, friends and professionals, is
dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with Asperger's
and related conditions. AANE is overseen by a board of directors and a
dedicated staff whose mission is to foster awareness, respect,
acceptance, and support for these individuals and their families.
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Autism Support Center
64 Holten Street
Danvers, MA 01923
978.777.9135
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Bullying Prevention Guide - From the Governor's Task Force on
Hate Crimes, the Massachusetts Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender Youth, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
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Developmental
Delay Resources -
“A nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of those working
with children who have developmental delays in sensory motor, language,
social, and emotional areas. DDR publicizes research into determining
identifiable factors that would put a child at risk and maintains a
registry, tracking possible trends. DDR also provides a network for
parents and professionals and current information after the diagnosis to
support children with special needs.”
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ANRED - “a nonprofit organization that provides information about
anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other
less-well-known food and weight disorders. Our material includes
self-help tips and information about recovery and prevention.”
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Arc
Massachusetts - statewide volunteer educational and
advocacy organization aimed at helping individuals with specific
developmental disabilities.
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Association
of Massachusetts Parent Advisory Councils -
(MassPac) The Mission of the Mass. Association of
Special Education Parent Advisory Councils is to work towards the
understanding of, respect for, support, and appropriate education for
all children with special needs in our respective communities.
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Council
for Exceptional Children: (Division of Career and
Development and Transition)
DCDT focuses on the career development of children, youth and adults of
all ages and exceptionalities, including transitions and career
development of exceptional children.
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The
Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC)
- DEC is a nonprofit organization advocating for individuals who work
with or on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age
eight, and their families. Founded in 1973, the Division is dedicated to
promoting policies and practices that support families and enhance the
optimal development of children. Children with special needs include
those who have disabilities, developmental delays, are gifted/talented,
and are at risk of future developmental problems.
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Exceptional Schools for
Exceptional Children - Helpful web site with current school and
resource listings. Lists Chapter 766 approved schools in MA.
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The Explosive Child -
Includes information about Dr. Ross Greene's book The Explosive
Child and upcoming workshops.
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Federation
for Children with Special Needs - The Federation is a
center for parents and parent organizations to work together on behalf
of children with special needs and their families.
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National
Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
- NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides
information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families,
educators, and other professionals.
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Wrightslaw.com
- comprehensive site with "accurate, up-to-date
information about advocacy for children with disabilities. You will find
hundreds of articles, cases, newsletters, and resources about
special education law and advocacy in the Advocacy
Libraries and Law
Libraries." You can also subscribe
to The Special Ed Advocate, their free online newsletter or read
back issues of The Special Ed Advocate in the Newsletter
Archives.
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American
Society of Deaf Children (ASDC) is a national
organization of families and professionals committed to education,
empowering, and supporting parents and families to create opportunities
for their children who are deaf and hard of hearing in gaining
meaningful and full communication access, particularly through the
competent use of sign language, in their homes, schools, and
communities.
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The
Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH)
is a commission, under the Executive Office of Human Services, which
serves as the principal agency in the state on behalf of hearing
impaired people.
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Learning
Disabilities Association of America:
The LDA is a
national, non-profit organization whose members are individuals with
learning disabilities, their families, and the professionals who work
with them. LDA strives to advance the education and general
welfare of children and adults who manifest learning disabilities of a
perceptual, conceptual, or coordinative nature.
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Learning Disabilities
Association of Massachusetts is a non-profit, volunteer
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all individuals with
learning disabilities and their families, and to alleviating the
restricting effects of learning disabilities
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LD OnLine: The
interactive guide to learning disabilities for parents, teachers, and
children.
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The
National Center for Learning Disabilities
The mission of National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) is to
promote public awareness and understanding of children and adults with
learning disabilities.
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Project
LITT: Literacy Instruction Through Technology is a
research project focusing on the use of technology to improve the
reading skills of students with learning disabilities.
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The Schwab
Foundation for Learning has launched a Spanish-language
web site to provide Spanish-speaking parents and
teachers with information to help their children and students who
struggle with learning differences.
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Federation
of Families for Children's Mental Health - A National
parent-run non-profit organization focused on the needs of children and
youth with emotional, behavioral or mental disorders and their families.
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The
Infinite Mind – Public Radio program hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin covering a wide range of topics
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The
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - NAMI is
dedicated to the eradication of mental illnesses and to the improvement
of the quality of life of those whose lives are affected by these
diseases.
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The Parent Professional
Advocacy League - PAL is the statewide chapter of the
Federation
of Families for Children's Mental Health. PAL provides
support, education, and advocacy around issues related to children's
mental health.
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Suicide
and the Exceptional Child - Very little information is available
regarding the prevalence of depression or suicide in students who
receive special education services. Estimates of the prevalence of
depression or symptoms of depression among children and youth with
learning or behavior problems tend to be higher than those for the
general population. Children with symptoms of depression, particularly
gifted children or children who do not also exhibit symptoms of another
disorder, may be overlooked in the school referral process for special
education services
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United
Mitochondrial Disease Foundation – Mission statement: “To
promote research for cures and treatments of mitochondrial disorders and
to provide support to affected individuals and families.”
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Pride and Joy Coaching
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Free newsletter with practical tips, inspiring ideas, and action steps
for parents of children with special needs. Available
services include teleseminars, workshops, and life coaching.
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Selective
Mutism and Childhood Anxiety Network
–
Over 6500 pages
of information to help educate those interested in learning more about
Selective Mutism, a treatable childhood anxiety disorder.
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About
Selective Mutism –
Selective Mutism Foundation, Inc, a national organization dedicated to
bringing attention to this often misunderstood and neglected disorder.
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Selective
Mutism - Do's and don'ts from Berent
Associates, a company that specializes in the treatment of social
anxiety disorders. Includes online and telephone resources.
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The Teacher's
Role in Developing Social Skills - by Richard D. Lavoie. The
Learning Disabilities Association of California describes the critical
role that school plays in the child's social development and
self-concept, whether the student has learning disabilities or is
enjoying academic success.
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Includes information on State and Federal Laws and Regulations as well
as important timelines.
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Disability
Law Center, Inc.
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Disability Law Center is a private, non-profit public interest law firm
providing free legal assistance and information to people with
disabilities throughout Massachusetts.
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MA Developmental Disabilities Council
174 Portland Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 727-6374 ext. 100; (617) 727-1885 (TTY)
E-mail:
Daniel.Shannon@state.ma.us
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Special Needs Alliance
- A national network of lawyers dedicated to disability and public
benefits law. Families can locate a member attorney in the area.
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SpecialNeedsAnswers
- A web site of the Academy of Special Needs Planners. Families
can locate a member attorney in the area.
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American
Speech-Language Hearing Association: ASHA is the
professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than
96,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language,
and hearing scientists.
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Apraxia
Kids Web Site –
offers comprehensive information about Childhood Apraxia of Speech for
families, professionals and all those who care about a child with
apraxia.
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The
Massachusetts Speech-Language-Hearing Association -
MSHA was established to provide persons in the fields of human
communication disorders with the opportunity to establish common
standards, to exchange information and ideas, and to act as a strong
unified voice for upgrading the profession within our state.
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Speech
and Language Disorders - A library of pointers to
resources and information on the Internet relevant to speech-language
disorders and differences.
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Life’s A Twitch - Based
on the work of Dr. B. Duncan McKinlay, Ph.D. in the area of TS and
associated disorders.
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The
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind - MCB is a
multi-purpose state agency serving children as well as adults and
elders, whose homepage has many external resource links, as well as
information about its own services.
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Recording for
the Blind and Dyslexic -
A non-profit organization that provides textbooks and other educational
material in audio formats for those with difficulty reading.
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