 |
About the Project |
|
Events & Egroup |
| Focus on the Family |
|
Resources |
| Creating Change |
| Updates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check Out the
Resources by Topic Section |
Whether you have just found out that a person in your family has a developmental disability; you want information concerning your infant or toddler; your family member is entering into a new phase of life such as: going to school, the teen years and young adulthood, adulthood, is thinking about retirement; or you just need some general family resources or would like to join a support group, the right kind of encouragement or resource can help ease the transition or stress, and provide you with the tools you need. It's never too early to start Planning for the Future for your loved one. An excellent resource is Planning Now: A Guide for Parents of Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities which can be downloaded from the internet. All children and adults with disabilities, regardless of their perceived level of ability, should have the services and supports that they need to live at home with their families, or in the home of their choice. Services should be based on the principle "whatever it takes" and should be flexible, individualized, and recognize that families and individuals are diverse, and therefore have separate and unique needs. Supports may be "natural supports" meaning that they are provided by people who are not disability service providers, who provide assistance with daily living or employment responsibilities, feedback, contact, or companionship, to enable people labeled with severe disabilities to participate independently, or partially independently, in the community. Natural supports can be either paid or unpaid, depending on the situation. An example of natural supports would be a neighbor that cuts the grass or helps with laundry, or a co-worker who teaches an employee how to use the copier. Many of the state funded services in Maryland are provided through the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration. Families in Maryland who have a child with a developmental disability who is living in the home, or individuals with disabilities may be eligible for services. Services are not an entitlement, which means that they may not be available to all eligible families or individuals because of limited funding, but they can help in very significant and important ways. DDA funds a full range of services or support services, which include Individual (ISS) and Family (FSS) Supports, Behavioral Support Services, Residential, Vocational/Day Services, Resource Coordination, or other programs. You or one of your family members may apply for one or more of these services. Once your application has been received, DDA will assign a representative to conduct a personal interview with you and ask questions about your application. This representative may be an employee of the Developmental Disabilities Administration, or a Resource Coordinator. Resource Coordinators do not work directly for DDA, but do work closely with DDA. Service or Resource Coordination is provided by agencies contracted by the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) to assist people who have applied for DDA funded services. Service coordinators assist individuals and families in the development of plans to meet their needs by exploring options in the family network, generic services, and state funded services, then helps to arrange and monitor needed supports providing advocacy as necessary. There are two types of Resource Coordination, ongoing service coordination, and eligibility and access service coordination. Each county of the state has different providers of resource coordination. To find out more about services in your region, contact your DDA Regional Office. 
Maryland Resources
Families Involved Together (FIT) Phone: (410) 235-5222 Families Involved Together is staffed entirely by parents of children with special needs. FIT offers peer support for families of children with special emotional, developmental, educational, and medical needs. Services include monthly support groups, and educational workshops. Families Together - National Capital Region (301) 330-7725; (888) 303-3277 FAX 301-990-4362 Email: FTNCR1@earthlink.net A nonprofit organization serving families who have a child with a disability. Programs focus on education, recreation and support. Provides parent-to-parent mentoring, assistance with collaboration and mutual support between parents, educators, health care providers and social service providers. Also offers parent training on education-related issues. All services provided for free. Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration Phone: (410)767-5600 The Developmental Disabilities Administration provides a coordinated service delivery system so that individuals with developmental disabilities receive appropriate services oriented toward the goal of integration into the community. These services are provided through a combination of four state residential centers (providing services to 587 individuals with mental retardation) and a wide array of community based services delivered primarily through a network of non-profit providers (approximately 20,000 individuals served by 160 providers). Maryland Family Support Network Phone: (800) 535-0182 MD Relay: (800) 735-2258 The Family Support Network is one way Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program offers support to families receiving early intervention services. The Family Support Network provides information about available programs and services; offers specialized workshops and seminars; and establishes Family-to-Family Support Networks to help meet needs in local communities. Maryland Fatherhood Initiative (Phone) 410-767-4982 The Fatherhood Initiative is a comprehensive effort designed to coordinate programs that promote responsible fatherhood, provide services for fathers and their families as well as promote the importance of being an active parent. The Parents' Place of Maryland Phone: 410-766-4300/4400 (Voice and TDD) The Parents Place of Maryland offers parent education classes, resource help, organizational referrals, and parent educators to support and assist families concerning issues in special education. The parents place also maintains a library, a database of support groups, and a quarterly newsletter. 
National Resources
The DRM WebWatcher: Just for Parents (and Service Providers) This is a selected list of resources for parents of children with disabilities and service providers. This site has a unique feature, which is a Matching Service that lists sites to help "match" parents of children with rare disorders or parents who have specialized concerns about their children. Exceptional Parent Phone: (201) 634-6550 Exceptional Parent is a magazine for parents of children with special needs. They have both an on-line version and a printed version. Fathers Network Phone: (425) 747-4004, ext. 218 The fathers network provides support for fathers of children with developmental disabilities and special health care needs. The network provides information including links to a variety of farther oriented websites as well as links to family and disability related sites. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities web site offers families, service providers, and other interested individuals information about advocacy, education, employment, health, housing, recreation, technical assistance, and transportation covering a broad array of developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities. National Parent Network on Disabilities Phone: (202) 463-2299 The National Parent Network on Disabilities provides news and updates on policy related to the disability community. This site includes a Friday Fax for current issues. National Resource Center for Parents with Disabilities Phone: (800) 644-2666 This national resource center is operated out of the organization Through the Looking Glass. The Center continues TLG's mission of empowering parents and potential parents with disabilities by disseminating disability information regarding parenting to parents, disability advocates, and legal, medical, and social services providers. TLG provides technical assistance via: telephone; correspondence; facilitated chat rooms and list serves, and on-line distance learning; and intensive trainings and training of trainers at selected regional sites across the country. The New York Times Parent Navigator - this site has an extensive list of links on issues of general parenting, parents& education, ask an expert, financial aid, on-line security and more! Parents Anonymous, Inc. Phone: (410) 889-2300 Help Line: (800) 243-7337 Parents Anonymous is a national network of support groups for families, dedicated to strengthening families with innovative strategies that promote mutual support and parent leadership. Parents with Disabilities Online If you are a parent with a disability, a person with a disability who is planning to become a parent, or a partner of a parent with a disability, this page provides a parent empowerment network, resources, medical information, adaptive parenting aids, and more! Our-Kids-Adult This site is provided by a group of parents who crgated an on-line community to share information on raising children with disabilities. Our-Kids-Adult is a general site providing mailing lists and other Website links related to individuals with disabilities. Parent Information and Training Centers Phone: (952) 838-9000 or (888) 248-0822 E-mail: alliance@taalliance.org Parent centers in each state provide training and information to parents of infants, toddlers, school-aged children, and young adults with disabilities and the professionals who work with their families. The Maryland PITC is The Parents' Place of Maryland. This assistance helps parents participate more effectively with professionals in meeting the educational needs of children and youth with disabilities. The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers (the Alliance) coordinates the delivery of technical assistance to the Parent Training and Information Centers. The Sibling Support Project The Sibling Support Shop is a program that provides networking and resources for brothers and sisters of children with disabilities. The site provides resources, SibShop Directory and lots of information about siblings, including SibKids, a listserve for brothers and sisters. QualityMall.org QualityMall.org, a showcase of promising practices and innovations that promotes quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities, uses the concept of an on-line shopping mall. The primary purpose of QualityMall.org is to collect and disseminate information related to or useful in promoting quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities. 
Publications
Baltimore's Child: A Special Edition Phone: (410) 367-5883 Baltimore's Child provides an annual statewide information guide for children with special needs. They also provide a variety of other general guides including a camp guide on a monthly basis. Brookes Publishing Phone: (800) 638-3775 Brookes Publishing carries a wide variety of publications on topics that are of concern to families of children with special needs. Woodbine House Phone: (800) 843-7323 Woodbine house publishes books for parents with special needs as well as for the professionals that work with them. |
 |