Assistive Technology
The Illinois Assistive Technology Project helps provide free information and resources, including technology devices on loan, for aging adults and people with disabilities.
To advance independence and promote inclusive opportunities for children and adults through technology.
Better known as RESNA, they can provide a wealth of information on assistive technology in your specific area. Call 703-524-6696 to talk to someone about more information.
Bullying/Harassment
National Center for preventing bullying and promoting inclusion, kindness, and acceptance.
StopBullying.gov is a federally managed website that provides resources on bullying.
Online Schools provides resources on bullying, especially online bullying.
Stay Safe is an organization that provides resources on keeping you and your family safe at home. They also provide resources on bullying and prevention of identity theft, crimes against children and at risk people who are vulnerable online, and safe use of the internet.
The U.S. Insurance Agents provide information on bullying from statistics to ways you can help prevent bullying.
Verizon provides a comprehensive guide on their privacy policies to help prevent identity theft and other crimes against vulnerable populations.
Transfinder provides resources on any issues regarding transportation and bullying on school related vehicles, such as buses.
Disability Awareness and Acceptance
Specific Disabilities is a blog about living with cerebral palsy.
Information about family support in Illinois.
The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities works to promote independence and inclusion of those with developmental disabilities in the community and have the same opportunities as those without disabilities.
ILRU, founded in 1977, has a long history of providing research, education and consultation in the areas of independent living, home and community-based services, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It provides a comprehensive list of CILs in your state or city. CILs provide services for people with disabilities of all ages and types of disabilities.
The National Rehabilitation Information Center collects and disseminates the results of federally funded research projects on disability.
TASH is an international association of people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and professionals fighting for a society in which inclusion of all people in all aspects of society is the norm.
Disability Benefits and Resources
The Arc offers resources and information, supports families in their individual advocacy efforts and trains and educates people with disabilities, families and professionals among other things.
The Disability Resource Community is a platform designed for people with disabilities, their family members and caregivers to ask questions, share resources and build community around the things that matter most.
Disability Law Agencies
OCR’s mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights in our nation’s schools
The US Department of Justice site is organized for greater ease in locating documents and updates as well as additional links to other related programs and activities at the federal level related to the ADA.
Disability Organizations and Service Providers
The Arc offers resources and information, supports families in their individual advocacy efforts and trains and educates people with disabilities, families and professionals among other things.
Assists people with disabilities through advocacy, support, training, employment and housing opportunities in Central Illinois.
Advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides continual professional development, advocates for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.
The Family-to-Family (F2F) Health Information Center provides information and resources regarding healthcare and benefits specifically for families of children and youth with any disability, special needs and/or chronic illness. F2F is both a program of The Arc of Illinois and the Illinois affiliate of a national organization, Family Voices. The program is funded through a grant from the federal Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). Webinars on topics of interest are translated (voice to print) in Spanish. Additional accommodations can be arranged for participants given at least a two week notice. Toll-free numbers: English 866-931-1110, Espanol 800-588-7002
Disability Specific Resources
Autism
APP - This app, ABA Flash Cards and Games, offers fun and simple ways for your child/student with autism to recognize emotions. You can also use your own pictures!
Autism Epicenter provides articles, videos, and other resources on Autism.
The National Autism Center is May Institute’s Center for the Promotion of Evidence-based Practice. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to disseminating evidence-based information about the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), promoting best practices, and offering comprehensive and reliable resources for families, practitioners, and communities.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by and for autistic people. ASAN is a national grassroots disability rights organization for the autistic community. We fight for disability rights. We work to make sure autistic people are included in policy-making, so that laws and policies meet our community’s needs. We work to support all forms of self-advocacy and to change the way people think about autism. Our members and supporters include autistic adults and youth, cross-disability advocates, and non-autistic family members, professionals, educators, and friends.
The Autism Society of America works on creating a world where everyone in the Autism community is connected to the support they need, when they need it.
This is a chapter from a book called Raising a Sensory Smart Child that covers how to help students with Autism and other sensory processing disorders.
Just Great Lawyers provides a comprehensive list of anything related to estate planning.
VeryWell Health provides tips for how to help a child with Autism calm down during and after meltdowns.
Discusses how teaching children with special needs emotional self-regulation skills can help them better manage emotional responses.
The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. They've become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.
Provides resources for children and families alike through the TV program Sesame Street for kids about Autism.
The Autism Program of Illinois serves and supports persons with autism spectrum disorder and their families through a coordinated network of providers, parents, and university programs while developing, utilizing, and sharing best and promising practices.
Their focus remains on objectively publishing autism-related topics, events, developments, treatments and news stories. They also cover a variety of inspiring real-life success stories to help parents make informed decisions and keep them updated on the latest therapeutic and treatment options.
Cerebral Palsy
The Cerebral Palsy Guide team is committed to raising awareness about cerebral palsy. They also aim to provide important information and support for families affected by cerebral palsy.
Cerebral Palsy Guidance was created to provide answers and assistance to parents of children with cerebral palsy. Our goal is to reach as many members of the cerebral palsy community as possible, building up a network of support and providing necessary assistance.
Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association provides information and advocacy for people living with diabetes.
This PDF was created by the American Diabetes Association specifically about how to support students in the school system who are in need of 504 plans surrounding their diabetes.
Down Syndrome
Improving the quality of life of persons with Down syndrome by providing support, advocacy, and educational opportunities to those individuals, their families, and community advocates.
Dyslexia
Decoding Dyslexia is a parent led network movement supporting children with dyslexia.
The Dyslexia Training Institute provides webinars, trainings, and other resources to advocate for people with dyslexia.
This guide made by ISBE helps provide educators, parents, and students with information regarding dyslexia.
Fragile X Syndrome
Information and resource site for Fragile X syndrome, a hereditary condition which causes a wide range of mental impairment, from mild learning disabilities to severe intellectual disabilities.
Learning Disabilities
The National Centers for Learning Disabilities is working to improve the lives of children and young adults nationwide with learning and attention issues—by empowering parents and young adults, transforming schools, and advocating for equal rights and opportunities.
There’s a reason we’re passionate about literacy. After all, it’s the foundation of learning. Yet, today, 65% of fourth graders in the U.S. read below proficiency levels and are 400% more likely to drop out of high school. For the most vulnerable students – black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), low income, English Language Learners and students with learning disabilities – the crisis is even more acute, and has persisted for decades. Our educational ecosystems require a new response to the needs of our students.
LD OnLine features hundreds of helpful articles, expert interviews, videos, columns by noted experts, first-person essays, children’s writing and artwork, and a comprehensive resource guide.
Education
Providing educators and students access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction. Lessons on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary
ISBE in the midst of updating the Family and Community Engagement Framework. The framework is designed to guide the work of school and district staff to implement family engagement strategies. It is also useful for families and the community at large to review expectations when engaging with their school.
Includes key information for students deciding if it is the right field for them.
(enter your state and the grade the child was in when the state test was administered)
Education of Students with Disabilities
The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) serves as a central resource for all Parent Training and Information Centers, including Family Matters. Resources on their site are also directly available to parents. We invite you to visit their website at www.parentcenterhub.org and choose the Resource tab across the top of their home page, or click on the Resource block at the bottom of the page.
CADRE provides resources for conflict resolutions in regards to IEPs.
DifferentiationCentral is a service of the Institutes on Academic Diversity (IAD) at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development. Created in 1996, the goal of the IAD is to help educators understand the principles of Differentiated Instruction and develop competence and confidence in creating responsive classrooms that meet the diverse learning needs of today’s students.
Chicago's Metropolitan Area Parent Training and Information Center, Serving the 8 counties around Chicago.
This guide includes valuable resources for students with disabilities, such as, a curated list of more than 85 disability-specific scholarships, strategies for utilizing state and local financial aid resources, and an overview of loan forgiveness and reduction options.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.
This is a complete guide to educational and special needs apps. Categories include skills acquisition, early learning, health and games.
The IEP Goals and Objectives Bank allows users to locate specific goals in areas such as academic areas, functional goals, motor skill, recreation and leisure, self-management and daily living skills, social emotional, speech and language skills, study skills and vocational/career education and exploration goals.
Legal Resources
An independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and parents established to improve the quality and quantity of legal assistance for parents of children with disabilities.
The Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission is an executive state agency created to safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities. By providing legal representation, investigating complaints of rights violations and providing state guardianship for Illinois' population with disabilities, the Commission has given voice to those who have previously gone unheard.
Free legal help for low-income persons (Southern & South Central Illinois).
Parenting
A site that provides tips for dealing with your child's behavior.
A statewide virtual support group of more than 300 moms of children who have medical complexities, life-limiting conditions, or developmental disabilities.
Resources for Parents of Young Children
The Illinois Early Childhood Intervention Clearinghouse has a large lending library devoted to the topic of child development and disabilities.
Research-Based Educational Interventions
The work of the WWC is managed by a team of staff at IES and conducted under a set of contracts held by several leading firms with expertise in education, research methodology, and the dissemination of education research, including Abt Associates, American Institutes for Research, Development Services Group, Inc., and Mathematica.
From October 2005 to September 2012, the Center on Instruction (COI) was one of five national content centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support the 16 Regional Comprehensive Centers as they helped state education leaders raise student achievement, close achievement gaps, and improve teaching and learning for all students in their state.
Response to Intervention-RTI
The RTI Action Network is dedicated to the effective implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) in school districts nationwide. Their goal is to guide educators and families in the large-scale implementation of RTI so that each child has access to quality instruction and that struggling students – including those with learning and attention issues – are identified early and receive the necessary supports to be successful.
Siblings
Resources and Information for siblings of persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
