Sharon Special Education PAC

Welcome to the SSEPAC Site

This page is often updated with many more links to be added. So please check back often.

General

Massachusetts State Government. This site provides Information about special education services. Mass Gov

Massachusetts Department of Education Mass DOE

Office of Special Education And Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), U.S. Department of Education OSERS

Massachusetts Association of Special Education Parent Advisory Councils MassPac

Federation for Children with Special Needs FCSN

Special Education Advocacy Wrightslaw

Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC)'s model policy for special education classroom observations. Class Observe

Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) - Special Education Mass Advocates

Massachusetts Department of Education Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Search. How do I know if my child is making "effective progress"? First you need to understand The Curriculum Frameworks which are the general curriculum for all Massachusetts students. Here is a new search function for the curriculm. Search Mass DOE Curriculum

Education Advocates Lists

Special Needs Advocacy Network (SPAN) statewide advocacy list. SPAN

Special Needs Mass Advocates List SPAL

MassPac Advocates and Other Resources MassPac

For Educators

Transition Coalition. Providing online information, support, and professional development on topics related to the transition from school to adult life for youth with disabilities. Transition

Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC). Resources about bullying and cyberbullying. They provide services for schools and conferences and workshops for educators. MARC

SchoolBehavior.com. This site was created to help educators learn about neurobehavioral disorders -- the "hidden" disabilities that can impair a student's academic, behavioral, and social-emotional functioning and that can occasionally create chaos in your classroom. SchoolBehavior.com

Legal

Massachusetts Special Education Laws and Regulations Mass Laws

A Guide to Disability Rights Laws published by the United States Department of Justice Civil Right Division. This publication contains reference to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, General sources of Disabilities Rights Information etc. Disability Rights

Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries Mass Law Libraries

Cornell University Law School Cornell

The Disability Policy Consortium, Inc. is an organization of volunteer disability rights activists who share a common goal of equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities in Massachusetts. The DPC

Other

Massachusetts Family Ties Mass Family Ties

Massachusetts Family Voices Mass Family Voices

SPED Child and Teen lists disability services and events in Massachusetts. The site has an impressive selection of current conferences, programs and resource listings. SPED Child Mass

Information about Special Needs Children About.com

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children MSPCC

Peter Pan Center resource for families Peter Pan

Center for the Improvement for Child Caring. CICC , offers a web site of numerous programs and materials to help parents become more effective and numerous continuing education programs and materials for professionals who work with children and families.

Special Education Activism SPED Watch

Special Needs Parent Coaching Special Needs Coaching

Special Needs Answers provided by the Academy of Special Needs Planners. SN Answers
Here are a couple of great articles provided by the Academy. The first article explains a special needs trust and how one that is set up properly will allow the beneficiary to still receive government benefits. What is a Special Needs Trust? The second article explains what is involved in representing a special needs person (such as your son or daughter) in terms of receiving and administering their SSI and SSDI payments. Representative Payee - Not a Job to be Taken Lightly

Formerly HandiKids now The Bridge Center. This organization provides support to families by providing children opportunities to build social, emotional and physical skills. Bridge Center

Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC). Free resources about bullying and cyberbullying. They also conduct workshops for a small fee. MARC

Other Special Education PACs

Here are a few links to other towns special education parent advisory council. The Concord site has many links to a great deal of information. The Brookline site has a list of great resources from previous workshops and events.

Concord Special Education PAC Concord SEPAC

Brookline Special Education PAC Brookline SEPAC

Parent Special Education Information

Massachusetts Department of Education Parent Information Mass DOE Parent Info

Massachusetts Department of Education Special Education Eligibility Initial and Re-evaluation Determination Mass DOE Eligibility

Federation for Children with Special Needs: A Parent’s Guide to Special Education FCSN Parent Guide

Massachusetts Coordinated Program Review (CPR) Mass CPR

Articles containing information about Special Education About.com

Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE)'s guidance on classroom observations. DESE Class Observe

Wrightslaw reference section on Response to Intervention (RTI). RTI

Transition Coalition. Providing online information, support, and professional development on topics related to the transition from school to adult life for youth with disabilities. Transition

Parent Support Information

Want to attend a conference? Need funding assistance? Check the requirements and get the application form at this link for the Massachusetts Council Empowerment Funds Program.
Assistance

Listing of various parent support groups - most of the local listings are found in the metrowest region guide for some reason not the greater boston region.
Support

Mass.gov Community Support Line offers information, technical assistance and referral for families with children with special health needs.
Community Support

Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC). A statewide grassroots coalition dedicated to individual and family supoort.
MFOFC Support

Specific Disabilities

National Disability Rights Network Disability Rights

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities National Disability

Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) Helpful Links and Other Resources MDDC

The Parents' How-To Guide to Children's Mental Health Services in Massachusetts written by the Boston Bar Association in association with Childrens Hospital. How-To

Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. Sensory Processing Disorder is sometimes referred to as SI sensory integration. SI

Children's Disabilities Information. Articles and resources empowering parents of children with disabilities and special needs. SCNARC

PBS Parents Disability Information

NICHQ. The National Initiative for Children's HealthCare Quality. This site contains information for children with special healthcare needs with sections on ADHD, the pediatric home for children with chronic health issues and more.

The Massachusetts Mental Health Parity Law explained. Mental Health Law

What should I look for in a doctor to do Neuropsychological testing? Neurophysch guide

Autism and Asperger's

South Norfolk County ARC SCNARC

AutismLink. Linking Parents Together for over a Decade. This link gives a list of service providers in Massachusette. AutismLink

Asperger's Association of New England. AANE

Executive Function

Explaining Executive Function. Exec Function Article1 Exec Function Article2

Executive Dysfunction (EDF). Good articles, and overview of EDF, transitions(switching tasks), time management etc.. This site is good for parents and teachers. EDF

The Center for Excecutive Function Skill Development. Holds several workshops on executive function. Exec Function Skill

Emotional

Gateway to resources for enhancing mental health in schools. Gateway

Center for Collaborative Problem Solving resource for families. Center for CPS

Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice. This site is dedicated to improving services to children and youth with emotional and behavioral problems.CECP

The Child Anxiety Network. Child Anxiety

Think:Kids an evidence based approach to helping kids with behavorial challenges. Think:Kids

Learning Disability

Learning Disability OnLine. Web site for learning disabilities and ADHD. LD

NLDLine. Web site for Non Verbal Learning Disorders. NLD

CHADD. Web site for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) CHADD

The Hallowell Center. Web site for Treating Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) as well as emotional and mental health issues. Locations in Massachusetts are Sudbury and Needham.
Hallowell ADD/ADHD

Russell Barkley. Internationally recognized ADHD authority. Barkley ADHD

Physical

The Arthritis Foundation. Arthritis

Sensory Impairment: Hearing/Vision/Deaf-Blind

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Web site for Building Bridges Between Print Disabilities and Educational Success. RFB&D

FamilyConnect for parents of children with visual impairments. FamilyConnect

SHARON SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL

Links