Resources for Parents and Families

Fostering independence, reaching full potential and finding joy along the way are all part of our mission at Springbrook. Parents who are informed and have the resources and support they need create the strongest team and best chance for achieving those goals. Information on advocacy, services, programs and support can be found on the following sites.

If you have a suggestion for other resources we can link to please send us an email at news@springbrookny.org, we would love to expand our lists.

State Agencies

Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) offers access to a full range of services that may be needed by persons with disabilities through their lives.

Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) – OPWDD's vision of productive and fulfilling lives for people with developmental disabilities is achieved by creating opportunities and supporting people in ways that allow for as many as possible to access the supports and services they want and need.

Developmental Disabilities Planning Council is a federally funded state agency working under the direction of Governor David A. Paterson and is responsible for developing new ways to improve the delivery of services and supports to New Yorkers with developmental disabilities and their families.

Social Security Disability - Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are the two largest Federal assistance programs that offer financial support to those with disabilities. To qualify for benefits, you must meet specific medical criteria outlined by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Educational & Training Resources

A Parent’s Guide to Special Education in New York State

Glossary of Special Education Terms

Parent to Parent Online Training - This Online Training Center offers  the opportunity to increase your knowledge in a variety of topic areas. The training format is similar to a self-study course allowing a person to progress at their own pace. Examples include: Home Medical Care, Advocacy Skills, and Parent-Professional Collaboration.

Medicaid Service Coordination Family Training - Learn what Medicaid Service Coordination is and how it works and the benefits of the service. 

Parents & Families

Family Resource Network, Inc. is a parent-run, parent-driven non profit organization serving families of children with special needs in Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Broome, Tioga and Tompkins counties.

Resources for Children with Special Needs – Resources shares knowledge and support to empower parents and other New Yorkers who care about young people with disabilities. Founded in 1983 by three moms who were looking for resources for their children, Resources has grown to be the premier source for knowledge and help with systems, programs and services affecting young people with disabilities.

New York Families for Autistic Children (NYFAC) serves any family within New York that has a child with a developmental disability. Our doors are open to any family member, friend, professional, or student who wants to learn, to develop, and to grow.

Parent to Parent of NYS is a statewide not-for-profit organization with a mission to support and connect New York families of individuals with special needs. A Support Parent Network is the backbone of the Parent Matching Program, a model program used across the country to put parents in touch on a one-to-one basis with other parents who have a child with a chronic illness or disability.

The Sibling Support Project - Dedicated to the interests of over six million young and adult brothers and sisters of people with special health, mental health, and developmental needs.

Mission of Complex: Our Journey Through Hyperlexia - Often stories about developmental disabilities focus solely on children, leaving parents to ask, "What happens when my child grows up?" In this blog, one Springbrook family hopes to provide some answers. Follow them as they chronicle the life of their 20-year-old son, Nate, and share their observations on dealing with autism, in order to provide other parents with hope and solace. 

Autism

National Autism Center (NAC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting effective, evidence-based treatment approaches, and to providing direction to families, practitioners, organizations, policy-makers and funders. NAC has issued its long-awaited National Standards Report, examining the evidence base of autism treatment. If you've been following the work of the NAC,  this has been a several year project reviewing hundreds of papers from the scientific literature to provide a standardized evidence-based report newer than many of the extant reports available.

NYACTS is a website designed to provide current information on New York State services and supports for individuals with autism. Autism is on the rise in New York State and around the country. It is estimated that more than 60,000 New York State residents have a diagnosis of autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and that the incidence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.

Project Link is a not-for-profit organization established in 2005 by parents and educators to provide opportunities for training the educational community in both the service provision and understanding of children with severe developmental delays in language.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention - launched NEW Autism Spectrum Disorders website.

Autism Speaks - was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Since then, Autism Speaks has grown into the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

Autism Society of America - Inspiring the lives of all people touched by Autism.

National Autism Association - The mission of the National Autism Association is to educate and empower families affected by autism and other neurological disorders, while advocating on behalf of those who cannot fight for their own rights.

Assistive Technology

Proloquo2Go - Proloquo2Go™ is a new product from AssistiveWare that provides a full-featured communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking. It brings natural sounding text-to-speech voices, up-to-date symbols, powerful automatic conjugations, a default vocabulary of over 7000 items, full expandability and extreme ease of use to the iPhone and iPod touch. Proloquo2Go includes natural sounding text-to-speech voices, up-to-date symbols, powerful automatic conjugations, a default vocabulary of over 7000 items, full expandability and extreme ease of use.

The Alliance for Technology Access is a growing national and international network of technology resource centers, community-based organizations, agencies, individuals, and companies. The mission of the ATA is to increase the use of technology by children and adults with disabilities and functional limitations. ATA encourages and facilitates the empowerment of people with disabilities to participate fully in their communities.

Other Agencies

DisabilityInfo.gov is a comprehensive online resource providing people with disabilities access to disability-related information and programs available across the government, including benefits, civil rights, community life, education, employment, housing, health, technology and transportation.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self-determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities.

The National Organization on Disability works in partnership with businesses, government, national philanthropies and local organizations to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.