Online Resources
Georgetown Special Education Webpage
http://www.gssapp.org/GeorgetownPublicSchools/studentservices/
Federal
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html - Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the U.S. Department of Education
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home - OSEP’s Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) website
http://dww.ed.gov/site/ - Doing What Works – Research-based Education Practices Online - Doing What Works (DWW) is a website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of DWW is to create an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, districts, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practice.
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ - What Works Clearinghouse – US Department of Education –A central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education, latest research studies.
http://www.rti4success.org - National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI), US Office of Special Education Programs, presentations on strategies for assessment & interventions.
http://www.childfindidea.org/overview.htm - Overview of the Child Find System, a requirement of IDEA to locate, identify, and refer as early as possible all young children with disabilities who are in need of early intervention.
State of MA
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/parents.html - MA Dept of Education, Special Education, Parent Information
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/ - MA Dept of Education, Special Education
policies, laws, parent information, IEP’s, 504’s, PACS, (disability) definitions
www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603CMR28.html - MA Education Laws and Regulations: Special Education
www.doe.mass.edu/sped/iep/ – The IEP Process Guide & Suggested Practices
www.doe.mass.edu/sped/2001/elig_drft01.pdf - Is Special Education the Right Service
www.doe.mass.edu/sped/prb/ - A Parent’s Notice of Procedural Safeguards
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/definitions.html MA Dept of Education, definitions of the 10 Areas of Disability.
www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/reports/ - DESE Program Review Reports for all public schools in Massachusetts
www.spedchildmass.com - SPED Child and Teen Listing Disability Camps, Services & Events
www.fcsn.org - Federation for Children with Special Needs – Informing, Educating, Empowering Families.
www.masspac.org - Massachusetts Association of Special Education Parent Advisory Councils
www.glec.org - Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative (Georgetown’s collaborative)
http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/alt/about.html - MCAS-Alt - MCAS Alternate Assessment
Advocates
www.spanmass.org - A Special Needs Advocacy Network, Inc. (directory of local advocates)
www.napas.org - States Protection and Advocacy Systems, National Disability Rights Network
www.massadvocates.org/special_education - Massachusetts Advocates for Children
www.specialneedsadvocacyinstitute.com
Ten Areas of Disability per the DOE
Autism -
www.aane.org - Asperger’s Association of New England
Communication Impairment (speech and language)
www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/ American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Developmental Delay - www.devdelay.org - Developental Delay Resources (DDR)
Emotional Impairment (anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, eating disorders, OCD, etc)
http://nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml - National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/emotional.html
www.pbkisd.org - Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation Educational Advocacy Center
Health Impairments, includes asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia, if such health impairment adversely affects a student's educational performance.
Intellectual Impairment/Disability - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/ddmr.htm
www.mass.gov/dmr - Department of Developmental Services
Physical Impairment – includes cerebral palsy, spina bifida, limb absences, muscular dystrophy, and more.
www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/pi.html - Special Education, Physical Impairment
Neurological Impairment (brain trauma+other)
Sensory Impairment (visually & hearing impaired)
www.perkins.org Perkins School for the Blind, including a Braille & talking book library.
www.deafchildren.org - American Society for Deaf Children
Specific Learning Disability (& ADHD)
www.ldonline.org - Information on learning disabilities & ADHD, SPED Glossary
www.ld.org - National Center for Learning Disabilities
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dyslexia/dyslexia.htm -
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke Dyslexia Information Page
http://www.drhallowell.com/ - Dr. Edward Hallowell, Driven to Distraction,
also Hallowell Centers in Needham, Sudbury & NYC
www.chadd.org - Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Private Informational Organizations & Websites
http://specialed.about.com/ - About.com - Special Ed, IEP’s, Lesson Plans, Behavior Issues
www.fcsn.org - Federation for Children with Special Needs; Boston, MA 800-331-0688; private organization provides support and direction to families and their communities.
www.cec.sped.org - The Council for Exceptional Children: The voice and vision of special education.
www.nichcy.org - The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
www.ideapartnership.org - Idea Partnership, dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities through shared work and learning.
www.wrightslaw.com - Parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys come to Wrightslaw for accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.
http://www.clcm.org/special_ed.htm - Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts - SPED
www.richweinfeld.com - Dr. Richard Weinfeld, Smart Kids Who Learn Differently
www.mdsc.org - Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress 1-800-644-MDSC Melrose, MA
www.allkindsofminds.org - All Kinds of Minds, for students struggling with memory/attention/language issues.
www.friendshipconnectiononline.com - Center for Social Skills Development at Riverstones Counseling (offers parent advocacy, parent training/support, home-based intervention, social skills development groups, school consultations.
www.socialthinking.com - Maria Garcia Winner, Teaching Social Thinking to Individuals……
www.earlyinterventionsupport.com - special needs resources & support (Welcome toHolland)
www.childrensdisabilities.info - Children’s Disabilities Info – articles & resources + books
http://parentpals.com/gossamer/pages/ Special Education Resources & Guide
http://dyslexia-parent.com - Dyslexia Parent Resource
http://www.ricklavoie.com/gateindex.html
Accommodations & Modifications/Classroom Strategies
http://www.dphilpotlaw.com/html/accommodations.html - Dorene J. Philpot, Esq.
http://www.ldat.org/ld_info/accommodations.html - Classroom A&M for students with learning disabilities, The Learning Disabilities Association of Texas
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/teacher.shtml - - Child Development Institute: Suggested Classroom Interventions
http://www.mindspace.bravepages.com/strategies.htm - Classroom Strategies for students with attention difficulties.
Section 504
www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/504_IDEA_Rosenfeld.html - Section 504 and IDEA
http://www.ldonline.org/article/Understanding_the_Differences_Between_IDEA_and_Section_504
http://www.ldonline.org/article/5975
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Including/chapter3.html - Finding Services and Supports Under the Law
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/sec504.html - Section 504 and ADA
Title 1 (reading & math)
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html - US Dept. of Education, Title 1 description
Reading Programs
www.readnaturally.com - Read Naturally (computer-assisted, builds fluency)
www.greatleaps.com - Great Leaps (builds fluency)
www.orton-gillingham.com - Orton Gillingham Inst. For Multi-sensory education
www.wilsonlanguage.com - Wilson Language Training/Reading System
www.readingrockets.org - Reading Comprehension Strategies & Language Arts Teaching
www.sra4kids.com - The Reach System
www.benchmarkschool.org - Benchmark Word Detectives Program
www.writegroup.com - Fast Trace Reading Program
www.scholastic.com - READ 180
www.language-use.net - Language! A Literacy Intervention Curriculum
www.sopriswest.com REWARDS (Reading Excellence: Word Attach and Rate Development Strategies)
www.hampton-brown.com - High Point
www.spellread.com - Spell Read P.A.T (Phonemic Analysis Training), small groups
www.readwritetype.com - The Read, Write & Type! Learning System
www.lblp.com - Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program
Special Education Schools & Summer Programs
www.landmarkschool.org - The Landmark School - Embracing potential, empowering lives. A school for students with language-based learning disabilities. 429 Hale St., Beverly, MA
www.learningskillsacademy.org - Learning Skills Academy in Rye, NH
www.melmark.org - The Melmark School (PA & MA) for those with developmental disabilites
www.perkins.org - Perkins School for the Blind
www.bu.edu/mysummer/reading - Boston U. Reading and Study Skills Program
www.sstcinc.net - Stepping Stones Therapy Center – Mass therapy center for children with sensory integration.
www.newenglandacademy.net - New England Academy
www.riverviewschool.org - Riverview School, East Sandwich, MA
Other Special Ed Advisory Council Websites with lots of great information!
www.absepac.org - Acton-Boxborough Special Education Parent Advisory Council
www.andoversepac.org - Andover SEPAC
www.brooklinesepac.org - Brookline SEPAC
www.concordspedpac.org - The Concord SPED PAC website, check out for DOE info, testing and evaluation, IEP’s, 504’s, team meeting preparation, conflict resolution, parent education, recommended books, specialized school programs, therapy methods, professional help, laws, local recreation, and more! This site has won national recognition for “Best PAC website”!
www.concordspedpac.org/Pacs-in-Mass.html - Alphabetical listing--117 Mass SPED PAC sites
www.cohassetsepac.org - Cohasset Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
www.lexsepac.org - Lexington SEPAC
www.masspac.org - Massachusetts Association of Special Education Parent Advisory Councils
http://www.northandoverpublicschools.com/parent/naps_parent_advisory_council.cfm
www.ttsepac.com - Masconomet (Tri-Town) Parents Advisory Council
www.ssepac.org - Sharon Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC)
www.westonpac.org - WestonPAC for Special Education
www.winspecialedpac.com - Winchester Special Education Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
Other Local Schools
www.aps1.net - Andover Public Schools
www.beverlyschools.org - Beverly Public Schools
www.chelmsford.k12.ma.us - Chelmsford Public Schools
www.masconomet.org - Masconomet school district
www.methuen.k12.ma.us - Methuen Public Schools
www.newburyport.k12.ma.us - Newburyport Public Schools
www.northandoverpublicschools.com - North Andover Public Schools
www. ps.north-reading.k12.ma.us/Pages/index – North Reading Public Schools
www.prsd.org - Pentucket Regional School District
www.trsd.net - Triton School District
Bullying, the Law & Prevention
http://www.olweus.org/public/laws_massachusetts.page - MA State Laws
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/harassment.index.htm - Wrightslaw: Bullying & Harrassment
http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/learning--schools/bullying/articles/walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes.pdf - Bullying and the Child with Special Needs
http://parentingsquad.com/five-ways-protect-your-child-with-special-needs-from-bullying