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Yellow Pages for Kids User Guide
To search for a specific resource listing in your state, return to the state pages.
Advertise
With Us!
How
Listings Are Organized
Find educational consultants, psychologists, educational diagnosticians, health care providers, academic therapists, tutors, speech language therapists, occupational therapists, coaches, advocates, and attorneys for children with disabilities on the Yellow Pages for Kids for your state.
You will also find special education schools, learning centers, treatment programs, parent groups, respite care, community centers, grassroots organizations, and government programs for children with disabilities.
Search Tip: So you don't have to scroll through pages of addresses, do this: Press Control+F, then type in your city, zip code, or other search criteria. Try zip codes for other nearby towns.
On
the Yellow Pages for Kids, individuals
and organizations are listed in alphabetical order, not by category (i.e., evaluators,
advocates). At first, we attempted to develop categories. The resources of these
pages are so diverse that this was impossible.
Tip: Bookmark the Yellow
Pages for your state so you can return to the page when you need help. The
listings on these pages change often - sometimes daily.
Learn to Be an Effective Advocate
In the beginning, the process of advocating for your child feels overwhelming.
This is normal. Effective advocacy involves research, planning and preparation.
You will learn how to find accurate information and how to use your emotions as
a source of energy.
When you take the steps listed below, your child's
life will change for the better.
Get Educated
You need to learn about your child's disability, how the disability
affects your child, and about appropriate educational and remediation techniques.
The groups listed in the
Directory of Disabilities Organizations and Information Groups are an invaluable
source of information.
In addition to learning about your child's disability,
you need to learn about your rights and responsibilities. Contact your State
Department of Education and request a copy of your state special education
regulations and other information about special education issues published by
your state.
To learn about special education law and advocacy, subscribe
to The Special Ed Advocate,
the free online newsletter from Wrightslaw.
You can read back issues in the
Newsletter Archives. More
Free Online Newsletters.
Build Your Team
Consult with a child psychologist, educational diagnostician, consultant, or advocate
who can advise you about your child's education and appropriate goals for your
child.
Look for an individual in the private sector who is knowledgeable
about your child's disability, child development, and special education. In addition
to making recommendations about your child's educational program, your advocate
or consultant should be willing to attend school meetings to support these recommendations.
How Can I Find an
Evaluator? Tutor? Advocate? Attorney
Your
Partners: Independent Evaluators and Educational Consultants
What
to Expect from an Evaluation of Your Child
Join a Parent Group
When you join a parent group, you will meet other parents who have traveled
down the same road. You can learn from their successes and mistakes. They will
help you learn the "rules of the game."
To find the right
group for you, read Strategies
to Find a Support or Study Group. Get
Parent Training To
learn about parent training opportunities in your community, contact your state
Parent Training &
Information Center. You will find contact information in the Directory
of Parent Training and Community Parent Resource Centers.
Parent
Training & Information Centers (PTIs) help families obtain appropriate
education and services for their children with disabilities, provide training
and information to parents and professionals, help resolve family-school problems,
and connect children with disabilities with community resources.
Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) provide information about parent
rights in the special education process and how you can help the school understand
your child and your child's needs. Their staff connect families and professionals
with community resources and provide information about "best practices"
in special education and general education.
Get
Legal & Advocacy Training
If you are interested
in legal and advocacy training, contact your state Protection and Advocacy
System (P&A). Their mission is to provide legal and advocacy services
to people with disabilities. Some chapters offer special education training programs.
You will find contact information for your state chapter in the
Directory of Legal and Advocacy Resources.
Find out if your state
offers Partners
in Policymaking Leadership Training. Participants attend advocacy skill workshops,
resource development, and leadership skills training. Sessions take place over
a period of months so participants must be willing to make a commitment of time,
motivation and energy. Expenses for training, lodging, meals and travel are provided
through the program. Overview.
Try to attend a Wrightslaw
special education legal advocacy training program. We do seminars and training
programs around the country and will begin online training programs in the Spring
of 2006.
Find an Attorney or Advocate
If
you have a dispute with the school about your child's special education program,
you may decide to consult with an attorney or an advocate who is familiar with
special education law. Read How
to Find an Educational Consultant, Advocate, Attorney, then check the listings
in the Yellow Pages for your state.
If you are interviewing attorneys
and/or advocates, these guidelines from the Council
of Parent Attorneys and Advocates will help you evaluate the individuals you
interview:
Guidelines
for Choosing a Lay Advocate in Special Education
Guidelines
for Choosing an Attorney to Represent Your Child's Interests
If You Are a "New Parent" ...
If you are a "new parent," you are likely to feel overwhelmed. Read
Advocating
for Your Child - Getting Started and the
Wrightslaw Game Plan for New Parents. If you need immediate help, read Crisis!
Emergency! Help!
Help
Other Parents - Distribute Yellow Pages Flyers
To get the word out about the Yellow
Pages for Kids, please print and distribute your
state Yellow Pages Flyer.
Where?
At schools, day
care centers, libraries, doctor's and psychologist's offices, community centers,
hospitals, and other places where parents congregate. Get your State
Yellow Pages Flyer.
How to Get Listed in the Yellow
Pages
Do you help
parents and caregivers get services for children with disabilities (i.e., you
are an evaluator, educational consultant, tutor, advocate, attorney, special education
school, etc.)? Do you belong to an organization that provides parents with information
and assistance? Do you facilitate a support or study group for parents of children
with disabilities?
If the answer is "yes," please complete
the application be listed on your state Yellow Pages for Kids.
Listings
are free!
If you know a provider who may want to be listed in
the Yellow Pages, please send them information about the
Yellow Pages or a
link to the Yellow Pages application. Please do not list others. Let them
make this decision for themselves.
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