Today, we’d like to invite you to take advantage of one of our most powerful labors of love — the recently redesigned Gateway to National Organizations.

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Find the help you need

The Gateway to National Organizations can help you find national organizations across the disability and education spectrum. We’ve collected information on over 700 disability groups, assistive technology organizations, research institutions, federal agencies, and more. Here are the topics and a small sample of sub-topics you can search:

• Babies and Toddlers
  • Early Childhood
  • Early Intervention
  • Transition to Preschool
• Disability
  • ADD/ADHD
  • Down Syndrome
  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
  • Rare Disorders
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
• Families
  • Families
  • Family Support
  • Health
  • Independent Living
• Laws
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Assistive Technology Act
  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Research
  • Research
  • Statistics
• School-age Children
  • Accessibility
  • Behavior
  • Dropout Prevention
  • Effective Practices
  • Teachers/Teaching
• Spanish/en español
  • Agencia Federal
  • Apoyo Familiar
  • Discapacidad
  • Edad Escolar
  • Niñez Temprana
• Technical Assistance
  • Comprehensive Center
  • Equity Assistance Center
  • Parent Technical Assistance Center
  • Regional Resource Center
  • Technical Assistance & Dissemination
• Other
  • Child Welfare
  • Communities
  • Employers
  • Employment
  • Federal Agency

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The Gateway’s easy to use

The Gateway to National Organizations is online at: http://nichcy.org/org-gateway

Once you’re on the Gateway page, simply select your topic on the left drop-down menu (e.g., Disability) and then narrow your search by selecting a subtopic on the right (e.g., Autism). You’ll automatically get a list of the organizations focused on your area of concern.

Example | Let’s say you’re interested in early childhood and its expert organizations. Set the left drop-down to  Babies & Toddlers and the right drop-down to Early Childhood. You’ll see a list of 27 organizations, with descriptions of their work, contact information, and links to their email addresses and websites.

 Example | Looking for resources to support students who have emotional disabilities? Set the left drop-down to Disability and the right drop-down to Emotional Disorder. You’re instantly connected to 22 helpful organizations.

Spanish example | Perhaps you’d like to connect Spanish-speaking families with information on early childhood resources. Set the left drop-down to Spanish/en español and the right drop-down to Niñez Temprana. Result? You’ll be given a list of 11 organizations.

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The Gateway awaits you

Start exploring our database of national organizations today, and you’ll find a wealth of resources! Our National Organizations Gateway is available from every page of our website, in the Quick Links box on the right-hand side of the page.

Pretty soon, you’ll be your own Information Specialist!

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Cross-posted with permission from our friends at Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center (ECAC). ECAC is a Regional Parent Technical Assistance Center and the Parent Training and Information Center in North Carolina serving families of children with disabilities, their teachers, and other professionals. Visit ECAC’s 

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Question:  Is having a one-on-one assistant the “most restrictive” setting for a student with a disability?

Answer:  No. The type of support that a student requires has nothing to do with the degree to which her educational placement is considered to be “restrictive” under IDEA, the Federal special education law.

What does IDEA say?

IDEA requires that students with disabilities are served in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) where their needs can be successfully met.  The continuum of alternative educational placements that goes from least restrictive to most restrictive is based on the amount of time that the student is removed from the regular education setting and  non-disabled peers.  The continuum includes the following placement options: Regular, Resource, Separate, Separate School, Residential, Home/Hospital.  Each step along the continuum reflects less and less contact with typical children, and would be considered to be more restrictive than the ones listed before it and less restrictive than the ones listed after it.

Children can receive special education services in the regular education classroom, in a special education classroom or therapy room, or in the total school environment.  Some students receive a lot of special education services, accommodations and supports in the regular education setting and are not removed from their non-disabled peers at all.  This would still be considered to be the least restrictive placement on the continuum.

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The truth about LRE

Some parents who ask about a one-on-one assistant for their child are told that this kind of individual support would be the most restrictive setting for their child, and that moving the child into a separate classroom or separate school would actually be less restrictive.  This is simply not true, and probably reflects a lack of information on the part of the person making that statement.

If this happens to you, talk to someone who would be expected to have a greater understanding of special education rules and regulations.  Even if you have to speak with the Director of Exceptional Children’s services (or whatever title your state or district calls the head of special education) for your entire school system, it will be good for them to know that there is a need to correct misinformation.  This may not get a one-on-one assistant for your child, but at least the decision would not be made for the wrong reason.  The IEP team has an obligation to consider the use of supplementary aids and services that could increase the amount of time that a child with a disability would be able to be educated with non-disabled children.
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