Parent Resources

PACER (http://www.pacer.org/)

The mission of PACER Center (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) is to expand opportunities and enhance the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families, based on the concept of parents helping parents. With assistance to individual families, workshops, materials for parents and professionals and leadership in securing a free and appropriate public education for all children, PACER’s work affects and encourages families in Minnesota and across the nation.

Parents Helping Parents (http://www.php.com/)

Parents Helping Parents (PHP) strives to improve the quality of life for any child with any special need of any age, through educating, supporting and training their primary caregivers.

E-Ready Special Education Information for Parents (http://www.pta.org/advocacy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3713)

This page provides parents, as well as teachers, of children with disabilities with information on specific disabilities, a glossary of special education terms, and links to helpful resources.

AllExperts – Special Education (http://www.allexperts.com/cl2/636/education/Special-Education/)

This website allows parents to ask questions of AllExpert’s volunteer experts regarding all aspects of special education; questions and answers are available for search as well.

U.S. Department of Education (http://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/edpicks.jhtml)

The Department of Education provides a list of resources pertaining to the needs of children with disabilities.

Special Education News (http://www.specialednews.com/)

Special education News is a newspaper that provides information on issues related to special education.

The Sturge-Weber Foundation (http://www.sturge-weber.org/)

The Sturge-Weber Foundation is a non-profit organization for parents, patients, and all others concerned with SWS.

The Federation for Children with Special Needs (http://fcsn.org/index.php)

The Federation for Children with Special Needs provides information, support and assistance to parents of children with disabilities, their professional partners and their communities. We are committed to listening to and learning from families, and encouraging full participation in community life by all people, especially those with disabilities.

Family Voices (http://www.familyvoices.org)

Family Voices aims to achieve family-centered care for all children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Through our national network, we provide families with tools to make informed decisions, advocate for improved public and private policies, build partnerships among professionals and families, and serve as a trusted resource on health care. For example, since 1982, Support for Families of Children with Disabilities has offered information, education, and parent-to-parent support free of charge to families of children with any kind of disability, concern, or special health care need in San Francisco. Support for Families is the coordinating office for Family Voices of California, a statewide collaborative of locally-based parent-run centers working to ensure quality health care for children and youth with special needs.

Stop Bullying Parent Guide (http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-you-can-do/parents/index.html)

StopBullying.gov provides information from various government agencies on what bullying is, what cyberbullying is, who is at risk and how you can prevent and respond to bullying.