RESOURCES: Disabilities/Disorders/Disability Organizations

Information on Disabilities, Disorders and Disability Organizations

• Disabilities & Disorders
• Disability Organizations

Disabilities & Disorders

• Autism Speaks: First 100 Days Kit - A tool kit to assist families in getting the critical information they need in the first 100 days after an autism diagnosis. Access the kit in Spanish or English.
• The Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health (TA Partnership) provides technical assistance to system of care communities funded by the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program. The TA Partnership is a collaboration between the American Institutes for Research and the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health. It includes information on child welfare, education, family involvement, juvenile justice, mental health, primary care, substance abuse, sustainability, and youth involvement.
• Learn the Signs. Act Early - Educational resources for parents on developmental milestones. For your Child Development Kit from CDC, click here or call 1-800-CDC-INFO to ask for a free parent resource kit.
• For tools for schools, parents and doctors to recognize and treat kids with depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders, among other conditions, click Schoolpsychiatry.org, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital.

• The NECTAC (National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center) website has a section on early childhood mental health, social emotional development and challenging behavior. The site includes links to definitions, legislation, initiatives, organizations, foundations, research centers and supports. Visit http://www.nectac.org/topics/menhealth/menhealth.asp for more information.

• National Mental Health Information Center has information on a wide range of mental health topics.  A direct link to to information on children's mental health; a link to information for kids.

• Families for Depression Awareness is offering a new interactive tool on its website to help families uncover behavior that may be associated with bipolar disorder, and create a family-tree diagram to discuss with a physician, and is also pilot-testing tools to help parents and kids to track symptoms associated with medications.

• The Autism Center - University of Washington provides direct services and research. For information about autism, visit http://depts.washington.edu/uwautism/facts/index.html.

• NICHCY (the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities) serves as a central source of information on:

  • disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth,

  • IDEA, which is the law authorizing special education,

  • No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities), and

  • research-based information on effective educational practices.

  • For information on emotional disturbance, including definitions, characteristics and educational implications, click here. Feel free to communicate with us in English http://www.nichcy.org or Spanish http://www.nichcy.org/spanish.htm.

• The PACER Center was founded in 1977 by parents of children and youth with disabilities to help other parents and families facing similar challenges. Today, PACER Center expands opportunities and enhances the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families.

  • For information on parents helping parents: http://www.pacer.org/parent/parent.htm

  • For information on juvenile justice: http://www.pacer.org/jj/index.htm

  • For information on Project for Parents of Children with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: http://www.pacer.org/ebd/index.htm

  • Is your Child a Target for bullying? Intervention Strategies for Parents of Children with Disabilities - A curriculum for parents - for information visit: http://www.pacer.org/publications/BullyingFlyer.pdf.

• Children's Book: My Brother Has Autism - This book was written by 8-year-old Melody Igafo-Te'o and illustrated by her 10-year-old brother, Michael, who has Autism. It is important to realize that siblings of children with disabilities need time and encouragement to express their individuality and feelings. Sometimes, these feelings are of sadness, but as this book relates, sometimes these feelings are of joy and pride. We need to let them know that it’s ok to have these feelings. This book was written as a way for Melody to express her feelings about having a brother with Autism.

• Children's Book: There's So Much More to Me Than My ADHD - This book was written by a child who lives with the stigma of ADHD. It chronicles both difficulty and success at school and at home.

back to the top

Disability Organizations

• Bridges4Kids! is a non-profit parent organization providing a comprehensive system of information and referral for parents of children from birth through transition to adult life.

• CHADD (Children and Adult with Attention Deficit Disorders) - A national non-profit organization serving individuals with AD/HD and their families.

• Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health - A national family-run organization dedicated exclusively to helping children with mental health needs and their families achieve a better quality of life. The Federation provides leadership for a nationwide network of family-run organizations, focuses the passion and cultural diversity of our membership to be a potent force for changing how systems respond to children with mental health needs and their families, and helps policy-makers, agencies, and providers become more effective in delivering services and supports that foster healthy emotional development for all children.  

• Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) - LDA is the largest non-profit volunteer organization advocating for individuals with learning disabilities and their families with over 200 state and local affiliates.  LDA has a parent section which includes an online IDEA training course for parents, assessment and evaluation, help with your child, special education, and tips and guideline for preventing, identifying, and addressing mental health issues linked to learning disabilities, click here.

• The Michigan Cleft Network offers valuable resources and information, family-connections, educational training, inspiration to new parents, emotional support, and assistance with issues that may arise in social development and healthcare coverage for children with craniofacial anomalies.

• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) - NAMI is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders, autism and pervasive developmental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect the brain.

back to the top

© 2008 Association for Children's Mental Health (ACMH). Design by Jackie D. Igafo-Te'o