Services

Welcome to the Family Resource Center: Special Needs Essentials Section

This section provides information on the essentials you should know if you have a child with special health care needs, in four tables:

Table A focuses on general information about special health care needs and disability topics
Table B focuses on screening services to determine if your child has special health care needs
Table C focuses on how you can find reliable information to guide you in making sound decisions about your child's care
Table D focuses on parent and family support organizations

Scroll to the table you need and click on the links below to access the information each resource provides.

If you know of additional resources that provide valuable information in this area, please email us at learning@medhomeplus.org so that we can include these resources in this database.

Table A: UNDERSTANDING SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS

Organization	Link	What You'll Find There
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)	www.nichcy.org/general.asp	A wealth of general information about special health care needs, including definitions of disabilities which may qualify for special education and a 13-page guide to over 90 national disability organizations
Partnership for People with Disabilities	http://www.vcu.edu/partnership/	A broad array of materials and services for individuals and families with disabilities, especially in the areas of advocacy, early intervention and family involvement

Table B: SCREENING FOR SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS

Organization	Link	What You'll Find There
Care Connection for Children	www.vahealth.org/specialchildren/cccprogram.asp	A statewide network that provides health care services, community support and resources to children with special health care needs and their families. Among many other services, they offer family to family support.
Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia	www.infantva.org	This organization provides referrals to the "central point of entry" for services for children with special health care needs in each locality.
Virginia Child Development Services Program	www.vahealth.org/specialchildren/cdsprogram.asp	A program in which a local team of medical and educational specialists can provide assessment, care planning, care coordination and referral help, available through 11 offices across Virginia
Virginia Community Service Boards or Behavioral Health Authorities	www.vacsb.org	These are the local government agencies which serve as the "single point of entry" for services for individuals with mental health, mental retardation or substance abuse disorders
Virginia Comprehensive Services Act for At Risk Youth and Families	http://www.csa.state.va.us/	A Virginia program that can pay for comprehensive services for children and youth with serious emotional problems through the Family Assessment and Planning Team (FAPT) process
Virginia Early Intervention Program	www.infantva.org	Contact the Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia for more information
Virginia Pediatric Screening and Genetics Service	www.vahealth.org/services.asp	Information on newborn and early childhood screening services

Table C: FINDING RELIABLE INFORMATION

Organization	Link	What You'll Find There
Campbell Collaboration	www.campbellcollaboration.org	Education research that has been reviewed by experts
Center for Evidence-Based Practice	http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/index.html	Research on effective intervention procedures to help children with special needs who have challenging behaviors
Clinical Trials.gov	http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/screen/SimpleSearch	Authoritative, evidence-based research on effectiveness of treatments for people with disabilities, among other conditions
Council for Exceptional Children	http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home	What works with young children with special needs from birth to age eight
Medline Plus	http://medlineplus.gov	Comprehensive online resources for healthcare information in an easily searchable format on over 700 health topics with over 165 online tutorials
Merck Manual Online	www.merck.com/mmpe/index.html	Searchable online database of authoritative, concise information on diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)	http://research.nichcy.org/research101.asp	Research 101 - How to identify research and studies that you can base decisions on
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)	http://research.nichcy.org/research102.asp	Research 102 - Explains how the findings from several research studies can be combined to give you even more actionable information
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)	http://research.nichcy.org/weighinginfo.asp	Weighing Information for its Worth, a guide to how to find information you can trust in books, journals and online
National Library of Medicine	www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html	Gateway to a vast array of authoritative health care information
PubMed	www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed	One of the most comprehensive online directories providing access to authoritative information on medical conditions, treatment options and evidence-based research
Research and Training Center on Early Childhood Development	www.researchtopractice.info/	Evidence-based research on what works in early childhood intervention practices
US Department of Education	www.w-w-c.org and www.whatworks.ed.gov	What Works Clearinghouse, an authoritative source of scientific evidence on what works in education
Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers	www.taalliance.org/research/research.htm	links to resources on evidence-based best practices for children with special needs

Table D: PARENT AND FAMILY SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS

Organization Link What You'll Find There

Family Involvement Project www.arcfip.org Helps families find opportunities to become involved in advocacy programs and provides referrals to experienced parents who can provide emotional and informational support.

Family Voices www.familyvoices.org/pub/index.php?topic=advocacy A national grassroots network of families and friends that advocates for health care services for children with special needs, offering several publications on how to advocate on behalf of your child

Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) www.peatc.org Provides information and assistance to families in understanding and negotiating the special education and disability service systems, and training to enhance collaboration between parents and professionals.

Parent to Parent of Virginia www.ptpofva.com A network of parent volunteers who provide families of children with special needs with emotional support, coping skills and a model of positive family integration, as well as information about services and support programs.