National Resources - Disabilities (Source: NICHCY)

This is a comprehensive list of national and regional organizations and websites regarding a wide variety of disabilities from NICHCY (National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities Clearinghouse). Contact information is provided for each organization.

Learning and Other Disabilities - A KidSource Calendar

This calendar is filled with resources and information for parents of children with learning and other disabilities. You'll find tips, articles, websites, books and more that will help you with the special challenges.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This is an excellent three part booklet from the National Institute of Mental Health that provides an in depth summary of ADD - including diagnosis, treatments, coping strategies, medication options, myths about other treatments and more. It is a very thorough article and has an extensive resource list of books and organizations.

NICHCY: General Information about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This article from National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) gives general information about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder including definition, incidence, characteristics, educational implications, and a list of resources and organizations.

Autism Not Linked to Immunization: Debunking the Myth

In response to a U.S. House Government Reform Committee hearing on autism, PKIDs voices its support for more resources for autism research and stresses that there is no scientific evidence linking autism to immunization.

Questions and Answers about Stuttering

This article from the American-Speech-Language Hearing Association, answers the main questions that parents will ask if their child stutters.

Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying Toys for Children With Disabilities

The National Lekotek Center offers tips on how to shop for holiday gifts for children with disabilities.

Rights and Responsibilities of Parents of Children With Disabilities

Parents of children with disabilities have a vital role to play in the education of their children. As your child progresses through educational systems, knowing and following through on your rights and responsibilities ensures that you are a contributing partner with professionals who will influence your child's future. This brochure provides you with an introduction to your rights and responsibilities in the special education process.

NICHCY: Parenting A Child With Special Needs

This News Digest has been developed expressly to respond to the information needs of parents -- those who have just learned their child has special needs and those who have lived with this reality for some time but who have reached a transition point where they need new information or renewed support. This issue provides a starting point for families in their search for information and resources.

Attention Deficit Disorder

This is an article from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children with general information about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). It talks about the definition, characteristics, problems, causes of ADD and teaching methods that can help.

A Parent's Guide To Doctors, Disabilities, And The Family

How do families with a child who may have a disability and/or special health care need choose a doctor? This paper will explore questions like this and discuss some possible answers.

A Guide to Accessing Programs for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Disabilities

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) has written this Parent's Guide to help families learn how to get help for their young children with special needs (ages birth through 5 years).

Questions and Answers about Child Language

This is a good overview of general topics about language development and potential language problems, and it has been provided by the American-Speech-Language Hearing Association.

Early Identification of Speech-Language Delays and Disorders

Early identification includes the evaluation and treatment provided to families and their children under 3 years old who have, or are at risk for having, a disability, or delay in speech, language or hearing. This article from the American-Speech-Language Hearing Association provides specific information about early identification and outlines specific questions parents should ask about this process.

Questions and Answers about Articulation Problems

Written by the American-Speech-Language Hearing Association, this is a thorough set of questions and answers about articulation problems. These problems may result from physical handicaps, such as cerebral palsy, cleft palate or hearing loss, or may be related to other problems in the mouth, such as dental problems. However, most articulation problems occur in the absence of any obvious physical disability. The cause of these so-called functional articulation problems may be faulty learning of speech sounds.

Questions and Answers about Otitis Media, Hearing and Language Development

American Speech-Language Hearing Association describes how Otitis Media (an inflammation in the middle ear) affects hearing and how it can cause language and speech problems.

Effective Practices for Preparing Young Children with Disabilities for School

More recently, researchers have begun asking the question: For whom and under what conditions is early childhood intervention most effective? This more sophisticated question focuses on the effects of various interventions for specific groups of children relative to the type of program they received. Data from research studies indicate that young children with disabilities and those who evidence biological and environmental risk factors make significant gains on both qualitative and quantitative measures of development when provided appropriate services. The involvement of their parents in reinforcing critical skills in natural contexts is an important factor associated with the magnitude of the child's progress.

NICHCY: Questions And Answers About The IDEA

This document looks specifically at the mandates and requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that supports special education and related services programming for children and youth with disabilities.

General Information about Severe and/or Multiple Disabilities

This article from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) provides information about severe disabilities, including profound mental retardation.

NICHCY: General Information about Deafness And Hearing Loss

This article from National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) gives general information about about deafness and hearing loss including definition, incidence, characteristics, educational implications, and a list of resources and organizations.

NICHCY: A Parent's Guide: Accessing Parent Groups

This Parent's Guide will help you identify the parent groups that exist nationally and in your state and community. It will also help you decide which group or groups would be useful to you in meeting your family's needs and concerns. If no such group exists in your community, this Guide provides many suggestions on how to start your own group.

Early Ways To Predict Poor Readers

The article describes how children who have trouble reading often have underlying speech and language problems. Being able to predict which children will have trouble reading would allow speech-language pathologists and others to begin to work with them before they fail.

NICHCY: Estate Planning

This issue of NEWS DIGEST focuses on one very important and often complicated issue that parents confront when they have a son or daughter with any type of disability: How to plan their estate to best provide for their child's future security.

NICHCY: Children W/ Disabilities: Understanding Sibling Issues

For many families, raising a child with a disability or chronic illness poses many challenges. Some of these challenges focus on the relationship between the siblings in the family which influences the social, psychological, and emotional development of each child. The relationship between brothers and sisters in families that have a child with a disability or chronic illness is examined in this issue of NEWS DIGEST.

NICHCY: National Toll-Free Numbers

This article is a selected list of toll-free numbers for national organizations concerned with disability and children's issues. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by NICHCY or the Office of Special Education Programs. There are also many national disability organizations providing services and information which do not have toll-free numbers.

Building Self-Esteem

Children with low self-esteem often feel like they're drowning in an ocean of inadequacy. This article will help parents improve the self-esteem of their children and it is the fourth in a series of articles from the Feingold Association. The helpful information here applies to all children, not just those who have attention deficit disorder (ADD).

New Web Site to Help Children With Disabilities

A new Web site www.childrenwithdisabilities.ncjrs.org will offer information and resources to disabled children, their families and service providers. The site, part of a joint effort by several federal agencies to promote a national agenda for children and foster positive youth development, will provide information on learning disabilities, debilitating conditions and physical disabilities.

General Information about Down Syndrome

This article from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) describes the characteristics and educational and employment implications of Down syndrome. It includes a list of additional resources.

Alternatives to drug therapy for ADD and Autistic-like behaviors

In this article, by the Feingold Association, you'll learn about non-drug alternatives, including a dietary program, to help children with ADD.

General Information about Cerebral Palsy

General Information about Cerebral Palsy This article from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) describes the characteristics and educational and employment implications of cerebral palsy.

General Information about Epilepsy

This article from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) describes the characteristics and educational implications of epilepsy.

General Information about Visual Impairments

This article from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) describes the characteristics and educational implications of visual impairments, including partially sighted, low vision, legally blind, and totally blind impairments. A good list of additional resources is also included.

Parents Ask for Collaborative Investigation Into Role Of Vaccinesin Autism Epidemic

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) and the Autism Research Institute (ARI) are calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to launch a public-private collaborative effort to investigate the possible relationship between vaccines and an autism epidemic.

Being at Ease with Handicapped Children

It is sad that attitudes cannot also be legislated, but fears and anxieties toward those who are different cannot be decreed illegal. It is hoped that the present generation, growing up in situations where people with handicaps are a natural part of school and community life, will put to rest forever the notion that people with handicaps are "different."

Holiday Toy Guide for Differently Abled Kids

The National Lekotek Center and the National Parent Network on Disabilities, in conjunction with Toys R Us released its seventh annual Toys "R" Us Toy Guide For Differently Abled Kids. This news release tells you how you can receive your free copy of this guide to 60 different toys.

Study Shows Dioxin Exposure Related To Adverse Childhood Behavior And Learning Capabilities

Children exposed to dioxins in utero during critical periods of development appear to be the most sensitive and vulnerable to the toxic effects.

Diet Therapy For Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

An increasing body of evidence supports diet as an effective treatment for ADD and ADHD according to the Feingold Association of the United States. Persistent hyperactivity and difficulty paying attention are among symptoms commonly associated with these disorders.

Facts You Can Use

Written by the HEATH Resource Center, this article contains a wide variety of statistics relating to education and disabilities.

Holiday Toy Adaptation Opens Up a World of Play for Kids With Disabilities

Occupational therapists and technicians from Allied Services rehabilitation hospitals have developed a way to make playtime fun and rewarding for children with disabilities. Through Allied's Annual Holiday Toy Adaptation Program, children with special needs can have their toys custom-modified so that they can use and enjoy them. Read what they have done, and contact them to see how you can set up a similar program in your area.

Children and Bilingualism

If you are considering teaching your child a second language at a young age, then this is a good reference article for you to read. In addition, it covers questions you may have regarding speech-language problems and bilingualism.

NICHCY: General Info About Disabilities

General information about Disabilities including Services For Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Disabilities and a list of resources for additional information.

NICHCY: National Resources

This article contains a selected list of resources for national organizations concerned with disability and children's issues.

Information about Austism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder

Due to the similarity of behaviors associated with autism and PDD, use of the term pervasive developmental disorder has caused some confusion among parents and professionals. This article reveals that the treatment and educational needs are often similar for both diagnoses.

Social Security Disability Insurance

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal cash benefit that may be available if a person is disabled. These are benefits payable to children with disabilities who are under the age of 18 because a parent is collecting retirement or disability benefits from Social Security or children who are entitled to benefits because the child is under the age of 18 and a parent has died.