Jenna Koehn

Parent and Family Based

Web Sites
Hodan Center, Inc.
http://www.hodancenter.org/
The Hodan Center has three locations in Wisconsin in Iowa, Lafayette and
Grant counties. In their own words It is the mission of Hodan Center, Inc. to provide
and promote opportunities for work and personal development so that persons with
disabilities can achieve individual life goals. This center provides resources to
people with disabilities and families caring for an individual with a disability. It offers
employment opportunities, food sharing, adult education, enrichment activities,
transportation services, business services and senior day services. It is a non-profit
organization helping families in need of their services.

Special Olympics Wisconsin

http://www.specialolympicswisconsin.org/
Special Olympics Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that offers year round
athletic opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics
teaches children and adults about respect, dedication, teamwork and positivity as
well as providing them physical activity. They offer a variety of activities that people
can participate in including basketball, swimming, gymnastics, cross country skiing,
golf, softball and many others. Anyone who has been identified as having an
intellectual disability or closely related developmental disability by an agency or
professional and is age 8 or older can train and compete as a Special Olympics
athlete.

New-Horizons Unlimited
http://www.new-horizons.org/
This is a very informational website that offers a variety of resources to serve
people with disabilities as well as their families. The website itself has hundreds of

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links to websites themselves that offer support and information. The goal of the
website is to provide the technology and information to people with disabilities so
they can succeed in life. They offer resources to provide computers to people so
they can access information, it provides access to forums so families can talk about
experiences, it also provides information on educational opportunities for people
with disabilities. You can find legal help in any state, find caregivers, find adaptive
technology and even access information to help find independent living
communities.

Help Guide
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities_treatment_help_copi
ng.htm
Help Guide is a non-profit organization that offers a variety of information on
various topics. It is a trusted website that contains fact checked information. This
particular section of the site offers tips on helping children with learning disabilities.
This site helps parents identify what type of learner their child is and offers advice
on how to teach them in a way that facilitates their learning style. It helps promote
self-confidence in learning disabled children and helps parents recognize stress in
their children. It also offers information on parents taking care of themselves as well
as their children. Often parents can become overwhelmed taking care of a child with
a disability and this site offers information on keeping the parent healthy as well as
the child.

Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training

and Support
http://www.wifacets.org/
This website is a great resource for families who have children with special
needs. They offer a downloadable brochure that has services they provide including
referrals, support groups, parent training, individual assistance and leadership
development. WI FACETS also helps parents build partnerships with those who
provide services to their children, connects families to community resources,
educates parents on their rights and how to use those rights to become involved in
their childs education, empowers parents and young adults so they may advocate
effectively for their own needs and provides information and resources to educators
and other professionals who support children with disabilities. WI FACETS also
provides training to parents and teachers to help support their child.

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Disability Information
Learning Disabilities:
National Center for Learning Disabilities
http://www.ncld.org/
This is great website that contains lots of information on many different types
of learning disabilities. It walks browsers through the different types of learning
disabilities and offers warning signs and checklists to see if you or your child may
potentially have a learning disability. It has a great section for parents offering
information on bullying, IDEA, your childs emotions and behavior as well as your
childs rights. It also offers information on assistive technology, finding a school,
your childs IEP and special accommodations a person with an LD may deserve and
need. One section I find helpful is the resources section that provides FAQs, check
lists, videos and e-books among other things to help people with LDs, parents as
well as educators.

Wisconsin Institute for Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia

(WILDD)
http://www.wildd.org/
This is a non-profit organization that provides tutoring to children with
learning disabilities specializing in dyslexia. It is centered out of Madison. The
website provides various information on the services they provide and the methods
they use to help your child find a way to increase their learning potential at school
and in the community. The website also stems off offering other websites that
provide information on learning disabilities, information on IDEA and government
agencies that help children and adults with learning disabilities.

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Emotional and Behavioral Disturbance:

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

http://sped.dpi.wi.gov/sped_ed
This website details the criteria for your child to be diagnosed with an
emotional behavioral disability. It provides a check list parents can use to see if
further testing and diagnosis be done on their children. It also offers a variety of
resources for parents and teachers including programming for students with an
emotional behavioral disability, IEPS and information for transitioning into adulthood
with an emotional behavioral disability. It also provides links to government
agencies that help to provide assistance to people and families with emotional
behavioral disabilities.

Behavior Disorder
http://behaviordisorder.org/
This is a great informational site about behavioral disabilities. It offers
information on a variety of behavioral disabilities and signs to watch for in your
child. One thing I find helpful in the site is information on helping children with such
disabilities such as different types of therapy. It also provides resources and
different types of help such as positive reinforcement and behavior modification
techniques.

Autism Spectrum Disorders:

Autism Society of Wisconsin
http://www.asw4autism.org/

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This society specializes in providing information on autism spectrum
disorders. It also offers referral services, family support, advocacy, professional
development, resource development, and raises awareness and acceptance. The
site is easy to navigate offering tabs that help explain autism, has a calendar of
events, resources and helps families find support for their children. One thing I
found interesting is on its home page it has announcements that show news articles
and recent rulings on all things related to autism and the help of those who have it.
Most recently it talks of Governor Walkers plan to help get employment for those
with disabilities.

Autism Parents of Southeast Wisconsin

http://www.asdsewi.org/
This is a great website for parents who have children with autism. What is
great about it is that there is a discussion board (available for members) where
parents can seek advice from other parents, share their stories and find guidance;
something I find very supportive. Also this website offers resources to parents,
information on autism and local providers in southeast Wisconsin. In the providers
section it offers diagnostic physicians and A.B.A. providers.

Mental Retardation and Severe Disabilities

TASH: Equity, Opportunity, and Inclusion for People with

Disabilities
http://www.tash.org
The focus of TASH is supporting those people with significant disabilities and
support needs who are most at risk for being excluded from society and perceived
by traditional service systems as most challenging. The website is a great resource
for families and teachers; it provides resources and keeps up on current issues
surrounding people with severe disabilities. The website walks people through the
things they are advocating for such as inclusive education for those with severe
disabilities, employment and diversity issues. There is also a blog available to
communicate with families and professionals.

The Arc

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http://www.thearc.org
The Arc is one of the largest national community based organizations that
advocates for people with intellectual disabilities. The website offers a brief history
of the organization as well as things that they offer for those who have such a
disability. They offer information and referral services, individual advocacy to
address education, employment, health care and other concerns, self-advocacy
initiatives, residential support, family support, employment programs and leisure
and recreational programs. The website also allows you to find a chapter in your
community.

Communication Disorders

The Stuttering Foundation

http://www.stuttersfa.org
This is a wonderful website not only for parents and teachers, but children
who suffer from stuttering as well. There are great links on the website that negate
the myths of stuttering, give you tips for talking with your child and tips for teachers
as well. There are specific pages for parents of preschoolers, parents of school age
children, just for kids, teens, adults, speech pathologists, physicians and employers.
They really cover every basis. They have a great list of resources that include
brochures, free e-books, referral lists and blogs among other things. The site also
gives you the facts on stuttering and FAQs.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other

Communication Disorders
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov
This website offers access to a vast amount of information in regards to
communication disorders. One thing I like about it is that it walks individuals
through the speech and language milestones that children should be achieving. It
also offers links to clinical trials that are seeking participants and studies that are
seeking participants. It goes through the different types of research the institute is

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conducting and their findings. It also offers a resources page for those seeking
additional information on communication disorders.

Physical and Health Impairments

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

http://www.rarediseases.org
The National Organization for Rare Disorders provides advocacy, education
and other services to improve the lives of all people affected by rare diseases. What
I like most about the website is that it has a rare diseases database. The database
gives you information on any rare disease you could think of; in this case perhaps
some sort of disease that makes for physical or health impairments. The database
also gives a list of references and organizations associated with each disease so
people may contact the organizations that could help them. There are also
resources for parents and people suffering from these diseases as well as resources
for doctors.

United Cerebral Palsy of Southeast Wisconsin

http://www.ucpsew.org/
United Cerebral Palsy of Southeastern Wisconsin seeks to advance the
independence, productivity and rights of citizenship for persons with cerebral palsy
and other disabilities and their families in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee,
Washington, Racine and Kenosha counties. This organization can help provide in
home care, offers employment services, independent living services and also offers
the Charlie Kapp resource center that spread awareness of Cerebral Palsy. They also
have a list of events that benefit those with Cerebral Palsy.

Hearing Impairments
Raising Deaf Kids
http://www.raisingdeafkids.org
This is a wonderful website for parents who have a child that has hearing
loss. It begins with what types of testing your child can get to test for hearing loss

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to babies, children and teens with hearing loss. It has a tab where you can meet
other parents who have children that are deaf or hard of hearing. What I also like is
the glossary they provide that helps explain a lot of key words about hearing loss.

Abledata
http://www.abledata.com
Abledata is a great informational website on the assistive technologies
available for those who have disabilities. Abledata does not actually sell products
but can give you the information you need to find the companies that do sell
assistive technology. The information they provide for those that have a hearing
impairment are: Amplification Systems, Driving, Hearing Aids, Recreational
Electronics, Sign Language, Signal Systems, Speech Training, Telephones and Time
Devices. It provides a lot of information on each product and helps you find the
company that makes it.

Vision Impairments

Family Connect
http://www.familyconnect.org
This website was created by the American Foundation for the Blind. It was
created for families who have a blind member could connect with each other. There
is great support on the website including information on after the diagnosis. There
are resources available as well as information on assistive technology. I like that it
also gives information on your childs educational rights and provides information
on your childs IEP and IFSP. You can also browse information by age, such as
infants, toddlers, children and teens.

American Foundation for the Blind

http://www.afb.org
One thing I like about this website is it has a section for living with vision loss.
I like how they cater to the different types of vision loss (partial and whole) and the

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age group it relates to. It also has a nice section on Braille and a programs and
resources tab that helps get people the information they need. They also offer
online registration for their yearly leadership conference.

Gifted and Talented Children

National Society for the Gifted and Talented

http://www.nsgt.org
The National Society for the Gifted & Talented is a not-for-profit organization
created to honor and encourage gifted and talented children and youth. The goal of
the organization is to have those children that are gifted and talented recognized
and given the support they need to flourish. There are resources available that help
you find a gifted and talented supporter in your area. There are also offer online
classes for gifted individuals and scholarships.

Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted

http://www.watg.org
This is a Wisconsin based organization that helps gifted and talented children.
Their main goal is to raise public awareness to the needs gifted individuals have.
They offer conferences on gifted children in the classroom and have a list of
resources available. They also have a blog where they talk about gifted in the
classroom and things teachers can do to promote their learning.

Teacher Resources
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
http://www.pbis.org

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This is a great resource for teachers who need guidance on how to create
positive behavior in the classroom. The TA Center on Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports has been established by the Office of Special Education
Programs, US Department of Education to give schools capacity-building information
and technical assistance for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective schoolwide disciplinary practices. This is a topic that can be close to home if a teacher has
a student with a behavioral or emotional disorder. The site has plans, videos and
lots of information on the topic.

Handspeak
http://www.handspeak.com
I feel this website may be an invaluable resource to a teacher that may have
a hearing impaired student. The wonderful thing about this site is that when you
type in a word it gives you the American Sign Language equivalent and shows you
how to do it. It also provides information on signing with babies and toddlers.

National Association of Special Education Teachers

http://www.naset.org
This website has a great resources section for teachers. It has PowerPoints
and videos and offers wonderful descriptions of some of the students they will
encounter being a special education teacher. It offers information on developing
IEPs, a teacher to teacher forum and dates of available special education
conferences. It also has an awesome publications section full of information.

Teacher Vision
https://www.teachervision.com/special-education/teacherresources/6640.html
Teacher Vision is a website that offers free printables, lesson plans and
wonderful ideas that other teachers can use in their classroom. They have a wonder
section for special education teachers. They have information and activities from
everything from learning disabilities to behavior modification. It offers reading,
science and math resources for special education teachers as well as information on
assistive technology.

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Special Education Resources for General Educators

(SERGE)
http://serge.ccsso.org/
The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium published
The Model Standards for Licensing General and Special Education Teachers of
Students with Disabilities: A Resource for State Dialogue. These standards outline
what general and special education teachers should know and be able to do in order
to meet the general classroom needs of students with disabilities. This website
offers the information general education teachers need to be aware of when they
have a special needs child in their class. It helps outline what exactly their role
should be in the classroom and what to expect from their children.