These days most of us can be found using the Internet to check e-mail, update our Facebook status, using smart phones and other devices to keep up with busy schedules and look for information. Parents are no different. And parents of children with special needs frequently turn to the Internet to find information, advice, and support for caring for their children. It can sometimes be hard to find local support groups or the time to attend workshops, but online communities are only a click away. However, some parents may not be as savvy as others in conducting searches online, so the public library is a natural place to seek information and resources to support their needs.
A great way that your library can begin to serve the needs of children and families dealing with disabilities is to provide a list of resources, be it national, regional or local. Knowing where to go to gain support and access to services is the first hurdle to providing specialized care to children with disabilities. Knowledge is power and when parents are armed with the knowledge of where and how to seek support or services for their children, the library is doing its part to serve the community.
Your library might already provide pathfinders or bibliographies of service organizations and materials to assist individuals and families dealing with special needs. If not, consider making handouts, bookmark bibliographies or creating a section of your library’s website dedicated to sharing resources for parents and caregivers.
Below are some resources to help get you started making a pathfinder as well as some examples of libraries across the country that currently offer a space on their websites with information to support families and individuals in their communities with special needs.
Online Resources:
- Autism Society
http://www.autism-society.org/
The Autism Society, the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism.
- NAEYC Technology & Young Children Interest Forum
http://www.techandyoungchildren.org/children.html
Links that provide information and resources for using technology with young children in a center or classroom setting.
- National Down Syndrome Society
The mission of the National Down Syndrome Society is to be the national advocate for the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.
- The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (nectac)
NECTAC is the national early childhood technical assistance center supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). NECTAC serves Part C-Infant and Toddlers with Disabilities Programs and Part B-Section 619 Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities in all 50 states and 10 jurisdictions to improve service systems and outcomes for children and families.
- National Parent Technical Assistance Center (a project of PACER center)
http://www.parentcenternetwork.org/national/aboutus.html
The ALLIANCE National Parent Technical Assistance Center (NPTAC) provides Parent Centers, Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs), with innovative technical assistance, up-to-date information, and high quality resources and materials.
- PACER Center
PACER Center is a parent training and information center for families of children and youth with all disabilities from birth through 21 years old. Located in Minneapolis, it serves families across the nation, as well as those in Minnesota. Parents can find publications, workshops, and other resources to help make decisions about education, vocational training, employment, and other services for their children with disabilities.
- Parenting Special Needs – The Online Magazine Serving the Special Needs Community
http://www.parentingspecialneeds.org/
An exclusively online magazine for parents of children with special needs.
- Support Organization for Trisomy 18, 13 and Related Disorders (SOFT)
Support Organization for Trisomy 18, 13, and Related Disorders (SOFT) is a nonprofit volunteer organization offering support for parents who have had or are expecting a child with a chromosome disorder (especially Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13), and education to families and professionals interested in the care of these children.
Public Library Examples:
San Jose (CA) Public Library
http://www.sjpl.org/specialneedschildren
Fairfield (CT) Public Library
http://www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/child-specialneeds.htm
Elmhurst (IL) Public Library
http://www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/Kids/SpecialNeedsMaterialWebsites.php
Longwood (NY) Public Library
http://longwood.suffolk.lib.ny.us/CommResources_SpecialNeeds.html
Melissa Bossert
Find Play Smart! on Apple’s APP STORE & I-Book Store
Play Smart! empowers parents with the tools needed to stimulate learning and development. Parents are provided with activities and strategies that are easy to read, understand and use. The activities will enhance your child’s cognition, play skills, social skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, expressive language and receptive language skills. Most importantly, Play Smart! provides parents with activities that can be done within the home environment or out in the community without having to buy anything! Imagine being able to improve your child’s overall development without having to purchase expensive materials. Parents often think that they need to buy expensive educational materials in order to help facilitate learning and development, when we have the tools within our homes. As working mothers, the authors of Play Smart! know that making time to work with your child on their development may be difficult to fit in to a busy schedule. Play Smart! provides you with activities that can be done in an unstructured way during day to day interactions with your child. You will be amazed how you learn to incorporate the strategies and activities into your daily routines with your child. Once you are exposed to the tools you need to stimulate learning and development, you will become a natural at utilizing the Play Smart! activities.
Play Smart! was written collectively by speech and language pathologists, special educators, occupational therapists, teachers of the speech and hearing handicapped, and elementary educators. After many years of working with young children and parents, the authors, in a collaborative effort, came up with the idea Play Smart! The authors know that it is not a matter of what toy you buy, what book you read, or how many craft activities you have for your child. What really matters is how you utilize what you have.
What’s inside Play Smart! ?
Our book provides 150 activities for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children. Each activity tells you how and why the play activity is important for your child. You will be amazed at how simple it is to stimulate and enrich your child’s overall development with everyday routine activities. Simple activities such as “peek-a-boo” and blowing bubbles can be done in a more enriching way. Bath time and cooking in the kitchen are perfect opportunities to enhance growth and development in your child. Play Smart! will teach you how to play and why you are playing. Play Smart! teaches parents to play with a purpose. The knowledge and experience the authors have attained over the past years has allowed them to develop this much needed helpful and creative book. Their hope is that they provide you with all of the tools that will allow you to PLAY and learn with your child without the need to purchase any materials, books, or toys while enhancing their overall development. Play Smart! teaches parents how to play with a purpose.
Added Features:
The authors provide you with contact information so that you can email the Play Smart team with questions. If you have questions regarding the empowering activities included in Play Smart! you can email the Play Smart team. If you have questions regarding your typically developing child, email the Play Smart team. If you have questions regarding your special needs child, email the Play Smart team. The Play Smart team can also answer specific questions related to speech and language development, fine motor development, cognition, play skills and adaptive skills. The Play Smart team can answer your specific questions related to therapy, goals, and the most effective types of intervention. The Play Smart team wants to empower you.
Best regards,
The Play Smart Team! LLC
Kim, Melissa, Alyson, & Jen
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