People with Disabilities, Caregivers, and Parents

For People with Disabilities, Caregivers, and Parents

• A Guide to Disability Rights Laws (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm).
• The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) is the national network of community-based resource centers, developers, vendors, and associates that connects people with disabilities to technology tools (http://www.ataccess.org/).
• The AT Network provides information, referrals, training, and technical assistance to those who share an interest in and commitment to the practical and effective use of technology by people with disabilities. (http://www.atnet.org/).
• California Department of Development Services Regional Centers are nonprofit private corporations that contract with the Department of Developmental Services to coordinate or provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities, including access to assistive equipment, and have offices throughout California (http://www.dds.ca.gov/rc/RCinfo.cfm).
• Center for Technology in Education (CITEd) is a national center that provides teachers, administrators, and IT and professional development coordinators with resources, online tools, best practices, and related research to improve the integration of technology in the classroom (http://www.cited.org/).
• The Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet), a national member network of community technology centers and other nonprofits committed to underserved communities’ technology access, has a resource list on disability and inclusion (http://www.ctcnet.org/resources/dir/index.php?sid=884403345&t=cat_expert_page&cat=3).
• The Family Center on Technology and Disability provides resources on assistive and accessible technologies to organizations serving families of children with disabilities (http://www.fctd.info/).
• A network of 45 Microsoft Accessibility Resource Centers are located throughout the U.S. and can demonstrate accessible technology solutions available on today's computers. (http://www.microsoft.com/enable/centers/default.aspx).
• National Center on Disability & Access to Education (NCDAE) promotes universal access to distance education to enhance the lives of people with disabilities and their families (http://ncdae.org/).
• National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) is a national center that spurs innovation of technology for individuals with disabilities by fostering collaboration between researchers and developers. The Center also tracks trends, research, and policy (http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/).
• U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) provides support to parents, individuals, school districts, and states in the areas of special education, vocational rehabilitation, and research (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html).
• PACER Center (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) is a national resource center for and by parents of children with disabilities and provides assistance and materials to individual families, workshops, professionals, and leadership to help ensure a free and appropriate public education for all children (http://www.pacer.org/).
• PBS Kids features games for kids who are deaf or hard of hearing (http://pbskids.org/lions/cornerstones/fox/games/).
• Schwab Learning: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Kids with Learning Disabilities has a section called Technology that Supports Learning (http://www.schwablearning.org/resources.aspx?g=4&s=3).

For Policy-Makers

• The Americans with Disabilities Act Web site offers federal resources and ADA-related publications for state and local governments (http://www.ada.gov/).
• National Rehabilitation Informaion Center (NARIC) provides disability- and rehabilitation-oriented publications and information databases and offers direct information services nationally (http://www.naric.com/).
• National Task Force on Technology and Disability Within Our Reach Report(http://www.ntftd.org/report/tableofcontents.htm#report).
• Over the Horizon: Potential Impact of Emerging Trends in Information and Communication Technology on Disability Policy and Practice, a National Council on Disability report (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/emerging_trends.htm).
• Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI) advances the rights of people with disabilities in California (http://www.pai-ca.org/).
• Speed Matters’ new report “Affordable High-Speed Internet for All” offers concise telecommunications policy recommendations (http://files.cwa-union.org/speedmatters/SpeedMattersCWAPositionPaper.pdf).
• WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) is a nonprofit organization offering Internet accessibility solutions and disability simulations (http://www.webaim.org/simulations/).

For Advocates

• Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) works to improve learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through research and development of innovative, technology-based educational resources and strategies (http://www.cast.org/).
• Protection and Advocacy provides advocacy services for people with disabilities (http://www.pai-ca.org/).
• Universally Designed Technology for Schools (UDT) from the PACER Center is an online training course about accessible and universally designed technology (http://www.pacer.org/stc/udt).
• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) works with organizations internationally to create strategies, guidelines and resources to make the Internet accessible for everyone and has recently released its recommended guidelines for accessible Web publishing (http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php).
• WebXACT, previously known as “Bobby,” allows users to test the accessibility of a Web page for free by entering the site’s URL (http://webxact.watchfire.com/).

For Direct Service Providers

• C4All Tip Sheet: Government Funding Sources for Assistive Technology (PDF) (http://www.ctcnet.org/what/initiatives/C4All/resources/C4All_Tip_Sheet_AT_Funding_Sources.pdf).
• Closing the Gap offers a resource directory and forums on assistive technology for children and adults with special needs (http://www.closingthegap.com/).
• Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) has created a short video, Finding Gold: Hiring the Best and the Brightest, and a publication of the same title for employers (http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/fndgld.html).
• IP-Relay allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to place phone calls over the Internet for free. The company also offers video relay calls (http://www.ip-relay.com/index.html).
• President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative is a nationwide plan to remove barriers to community living for people with disabilities and includes provisions to increase assistive technology access and education and workforce opportunities (http://www.hhs.gov/newfreedom/init.html).
• The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers project supports a unified technical assistance system to develop, assist, and coordinate Parent Training and Information Projects and Community Parent Resource Centers under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (http://www.taalliance.org/).

For Educators

• The Alliance for Technology Access’s Assistive Technology in K-12 Schools Web site has information, best practices and student success stories about assistive technology integration in schools (http://www.ataccess.org/resources/atk12/default.html).
• The Assistive Technology Training Online Project (ATTO) at the University of Buffalo provides information and tutorials on AT applications that help students with disabilities learn in elementary classrooms (http://atto.buffalo.edu/).
• Edyburn, D.L. (2006). “What’s new about assistive technology outcomes in education?” Technology Special Interest Section Quarterly, 16(2), 1-4. PDF available (http://www.uwm.edu/%7eedyburn/publications1.html).
• National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum provides information about universal design and research-based tools (http://www.cast.org/ncac/).
• National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education Through Technology, Media and Materials offers resources on technology and special education (http://www2.edc.org/NCIP/library/toc.htm).
• T.H.E. Journal informs and educates K-12 senior-level district and school administrators, technologists, and educators to improve and advance learning through the use of technology (http://www.thejournal.com/).
• “The Public School's Special Education System as an Assistive Technology Funding Source: The Cutting Edge” article by Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. (http://www.nls.org/specedat.htm).
• WestEd’s Using Technology to Support Diverse Learners Web site offers resources, handouts and PowerPoint presentations highlighting free and low-cost resources to improve learning for students with alternate learning styles or native languages other than English (http://www.wested.org/tdl).