Autism
Autism Society of America
This is the homepage of the Autism Society of America (ASA) Autism Society of America
(ASA) which bills itself as "the leading voice" and resource of the entire autism community in
education, advocacy, services, research and support. ASA, a chapter and member-based
organization, is committed to meaningful participation and self-determination in all aspects of
life for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. ASA accomplishes its ongoing
mission through close collaboration with a successful network of chapters, members, supporters
and organizations.
Autism Resources
This site is owned by John Kobus who is the father of an autistic son. This site is bare-bones yet
provides links to many other web resources.
National Institutes of Mental Health
This site is the web version of a detailed booklet on Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive
Developmental Disorders) published by the U.S. government that describes symptoms, causes,
and treatments, with information on getting help and coping. This site is very easy to use.
Autism/PDD Support Network
Autism-PDD.Net is an information and resource site for parents of children and caregivers
coping with Autism. They provide an online support community forum for parents and
caregivers to express their thoughts, ideas and to seek help. This site is easy to navigate and is
very informative.
National Alliance for Autism Research
This is the best autism website. The information is up-to-date and easy to understand. This site is
easy to navigate and is extremely informative. The mission of the National Alliance for Autism
Research is to aggressively fund global biomedical research accelerating the discovery of the
causes, prevention, effective treatments and cure for autism spectrum disorders and to educate
the public on the critical role research plays in achieving these goals. This site is easy to
navigate and is extremely informative.
Communication Disorders
Emotional/Behavioral Disorders
PACER Center Parent Advocacy Center for Educational Rights
The PACER center was originally organized to assist parents and families in understanding their
rights and responsibilities in accessing educational and mental health services for their children.
At that time, state-provided services were extremely limited in nature and scope, and seldom
involved families in making decisions about their children's needs. This site has a great deal of
information that will be of use to anyone seeing information about emotional and behavioral
disorders.
United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
This page has information about programs, news, research and publications about mental health
issues. It is easy to navigate and has a wealth of information.
Giftedness
KidSource Online
This is a publication about giftedness from the Council for Exceptional Children through the
ERIC clearinghouse. It doesn't have links but it does list references. It is informative and it is a
good place to start for anyone seeking information about giftedness.
About.com Gifted Education
This is a site with articles and links to other websites regarding giftedness. Unlike other
About.com sites, this one has no moderator. It is easy to navigate and it is a good place to start
when seeking information about giftedness. This is not an ERIC nor is it a US Government
website.
ERICDigest.org
This is an ERIC digest on giftedness from 1985. It is dated but offers a good initial lesson on
giftedness.
Hearing Impairments
Ability Project
The Ability web site is an index to thousands of links on a multitude of topics on sites located
worldwide. It is bare bones yet quite comprehensive. This particular page deals only with sites
dealing with hearing impairments.
Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia
This is a great page developed by the Department of Special Education at the University of
Virginia. It provides information about hearing impairments and links to many organizations.
They link to schools for the hearing impaired as well as information on deafness and on sign
language. This site is well laid out and very easy to use.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
This is the website of one of the National Institutes of Health. NIDCD supports scientific
discovery. To understand both normal processes and those processes that disrupt or devastate
human communication systems, NIDCD supports a wide range of research approaches and more
than two dozen strategies. These can include, for example, molecular genetics, the development
of assistive and augmentative devices, biomedical imaging, nanotechnology, linguistics,
psychoacoustics, and structural biology. To ensure a continuous scientific effort, NIDCD
encourages scientists at all points in their careers, from high school to senior scientists, through a
variety of research training mechanisms that help to shape superior research careers. To
encourage the greatest public benefit from funded research, NIDCD broadly disseminates
research results to the public and to medical and health professionals. This website is
exceptionally comprehensive and is suitable for researchers of all levels.
Learning Disabilities
LD Online
This site bills itself as the web's leading website on learning disabilities for teachers, parents and
other professionals. There are links to CHADD, the CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) as
well as to practically every national organization, federal agency, state agency, Canadian agency
as well as many international organizations. This site is huge and is easy to navigate.
National Center for Learning Disabilities: Resources on Learning Disabilities
This site can be read with BrowseAloud. There is an icon on the home page that allows people
to don't read well to have the site read to them. The National Center for Learning Disabilities
(NCLD) works to ensure that the nations 15 million children, adolescents and adults with
learning disabilities have every opportunity to succeed in school, work and life. NCLD provides
essential information to parents, professionals and individuals with learning disabilities,
promotes research and programs to foster effective learning, and advocates for policies to protect
and strengthen educational rights and opportunities. This site has a great deal of information on
the types of learning disabilities and has links to advocacy groups.
Council for Learning Disabilities Home Page-The Council for Learning Disabilities
The Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) is an international organization concerned about
issues related to students with learning disabilities. Working to build a better future for students
with LD has been the primary goal of CLD for more than 20 years. Involvement in CLD helps
members stay abreast of current issues that are shaping the field, affecting the lives of students,
and influencing professional careers. CLD members are committed to standards of excellence
and innovation in educational research, practice, and policy. This site is more for the academic
researcher. It is useful to others; however, in that it provides factsheets and links to many, many
other organizations.
Intellectual disability
American Association on Intellectual disability
The AAMR prepared an on-line resource that will augment our activities and give you rapid
access to information about the intellectual disability and disabilities field.
The Arc of the United States
The Arc of the United States advocates for the rights and full participation of all children and
adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Together with our network of members
and affiliated chapters, we improve systems of supports and services; connect families; inspire
communities and influence public policy. Current, up-to-date information about The Arc and its
activities is available on this site and is updated frequently. You will find the weekly Capitol
Insider and Monday Memo, the monthly Government Report and a wealth of information about
an array of intellectual disability issues.
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (CDC)
This is the intellectual disability website of the National Center on Birth Defects and
Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), which falls under the United States Department of
Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It promotes the health
of babies, children, and adults, and enhances the potential for full, productive living. Their work
includes identifying the causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities, helping children
to develop and reach their full potential, and promoting health and well-being among people of
all ages with disabilities. Their website has research reports, information regarding intellectual
disability and links to many other organizations.
Orthopedic Impairments
Severe/Multiple Disabilities
NICHY National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
This is a bare bones page that is simply a fact sheet about severe and multiple disabilities.
However, it is useful in that it links back to its home page which has a wealth of information
about many disabilities and links to national organizations offering help and information to
individuals seeking information on visual impairments. This can be read by BrowseAloud.
About.com Special Education
This is the section on About.com that deals with special education. It is moderated by a special
educator and offers information, support and links to many organizations. It is very easy to read
and easy to navigate.
Visual Impairments
American Council of the Blind
This is the homepage of the American Council of the Blind is the nation's leading membership
organization of blind and visually impaired people. This service provides general information
about the Council, including recent issues of their monthly publication, The Braille Forum. This
site is laid out in a very simple, orderly fashion and instructions for changing the color, font size
and type style are virtually the first thing explained. This is a good site that is visually different
from most others.