Special Education Sites

ADD AND ME
A page for kids with ADD with links for parents and teachers.
http://www.add.org/content/kids1.htm  

LD ONLINE
Where kids with learning disabilities can play and learn.
http://www.ldonline.org/kidzone/kidzone.html  

THE LD CHILD
http://www.raevans.com/  

DOSITEY.COM
Involving interactive activities to boost a child's success in school.
http://dositey.com/  

SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCES
Direct from teachers with special education experience, find a great resource at this site of ideas, activities, lesson plans, strategies for various classroom situations, and helpful articles, all dealing with some aspect of special education.
http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/SpecialEducation.html  

COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
http://www.cec.org  

COPING WITH ADD STUDENTS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Find suggestions on how to set up your classroom, improve social skills, use worksheets successfully, deal with impulsive behaviors, and improve consistency in performance with ADD students.
http://www.addinschool.com/elementary.htm  

ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER--DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND STRATEGIES
"This ADHD resource is for parents, teachers, and students. All sites have research-based facts from recognized medical experts. All information is either written by physicians whospecialize in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, or the articles have been reviewed and approved by the doctors who oversee that website. The Internet contains hundreds of websites on ADHD, many of which are helpful. However, others [may] contain misleading, unsubstantiated opinions which[might] confuse and frighten those seeking help for an ADHD child. Others [may] exist only as a forum to promote an unqualified individual's 'miracle' treatment. Users of this TrackStar may rest assured that information contained on these websites is accurate and unbiased. These sites contain information covering the description, history, causes, symptoms,diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of ADHD and ADD (attention deficit without hyperactivity). Educational, organizational, and emotional strategies are included for teachers, parents, and children to help them cope with, and successfully overcome, the negative effects of the disorder. The first section of the Track Star lists comprehensive sites which cover all aspects of the disorder. The next [section] gives search engines designed for research in medical journals, and the last section consists of individual articles which are especially useful in the areas of parent information, medication, and teaching strategies."
http://trackstar.hprtec.org/main/category_search.php3?cat_num=14  

NATIONAL ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER ASSOCIATION
The directors are physicians, many of whom are also noted authors and educators. It is a very comprehensive site with information on all aspects of ADHD in articles by doctors, parents, and adults with ADHD. There is a section just for kids [ages] 7-12, a family issues forum with advice from healthcare professionals and parents, educational strategies, personal success stories, a section which addresses legal issues, and links to other websites.
http://www.add.org/  

KIDS' SITES FROM NADDA
A website for kids 7-12, produced by the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association. Written in a simple, factual style, articles explain the nature, symptoms, and physiology of the disorder. The site lists strategies a child can do at school to help be successful, things to do at home to make homework easier and to get along with family members, and tips for interacting with friends. Articles also detail the good points of ADHD, and list famous people with the disorder. There is also a bibliography of helpful books written for ADHD children, and a great story to help kids who are self-conscious about taking their medication.
http://www.add.org/content/kids1.htm  

MEDLINEPLUS HEALTH
Health Information from the National Library of Medicine. This is a wonderful site (in English and Spanish) which gives overviews, diagnosis, treatment, research findings, school strategies, legal aspects, government resources, and organizations for ADHD. There is also an online medical encyclopedia, dictionary of medical terms, and a search engine for recent medical articles.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/attentiondeficitdisorderwithhyperactivity.html  

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
The National Institute of Mental Health offers an online 24 page booklet (in English and Spanish) about ADHD, comprised of reports it has prepared for government agencies. This booklet takes an in-depth look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which affects children and adults. It describes symptoms, co-existing conditions, and possible causes of ADHD as well as treatment and education options. The booklet provides sources of information and support and describes new avenues of research that promise to further improve diagnosis and treatment.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/p20-grp.html  

INTERNET MENTAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION
The Internet Mental Health Organization offers a comprehensive site (English and Spanish) with descriptions (American and European) of ADHD, the Surgeon General's Report, an on-line diagnosis, treatment, research, online booklets, magazine articles, and Internet links.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/fr20.html  

KIDS' HEALTH
This site is produced by the Nemours Foundation: an organization of physicians from eight medical universities, including the Mayo Clinic. All features are written by health professionals and reviewed extensively by expert clinicians. Articles are categorized by intended audience: parents, teen, and young children. Topics include physiology, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, coexistent disorders, treatment, and helpful suggestions.
http://kidshealth.org/  

INTERNET MENTAL HEALTH
Internet Mental Health link to the National Library of Medicine: offers research articles in 44 different aspects of ADHD.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis-rs/frs-ch01.html 

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
Database search for the thousands of articles contained in the National Library of Medicine: a more-complex version of the previous site, it is more complicated to use, but allows a search of any topic. Read "Help" and "FAQ" for suggestions on how to search and save articles.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi/  

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH
National Institute of Health: search 650 documents about ADHD.
http://search.nih.gov/  

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICINE
The Journal of American Medical Association: over 17,000 articles about ADHD.
http://pubsearch.ama-assn.org/search?action=FormGen&Template=search.hts  

OVERVIEW FOR NADDA BY DR. JAKSA
This overview is written in layman's terms and gives the definition, symptoms, causes, physiology, research, and treatment. Dr. Jaksa also lists his email address for those who wish to contact him with questions.
http://www.add.org/content/abc/factsheet.htm  

OVERVIEW FROM AACAP
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: definition, symptoms, prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/noattent.htm  

PARENT INFORMATION ON ADHD MYTHS
National Attention Deficit Disorder: myths--and factual responses--have been collected from rebuttals to recent media articles about ADD/ADHD. This article addresses common misconceptions about causes, treatment, medication, and the roles of parents and teachers.
http://www.add.org/content/abc/myths.htm

MEDICATION UPDATE FROM DR. JOHN RATEY
The National Attention Deficit Disorder Association article by Dr. John Ratey discusses the dopamine deficiency in individuals with ADHD, and gives reviews of medications currently used in treatment. Dr. Ratey lists the advantages and drawbacks of each medication.
http://www.add.org/Focus/medupdate.htm  

MEDICATION BASIC FACTS
The National Attention Deficit Disorder Association article gives basic facts on ADHD medications using research reported by the National Institute of Mental Health.
http://www.healthline.com/channel/add-adhd.html 

TEACHING STRATEGIES IN CASE STUDIES
The National Attention Deficit Disorder Association gives educational strategies in three case studies of successful ADHD students, involving medication and/or behavior modification, in both the regular classroom and special education settings.
http://www.add.org/content/treatment/strategy.htm  

SPECIAL EDUCATION FORMS AND READY-TO-USE MATERIALS
From teacher evaluation and strategy resources to specific subject helps, such as setting a book to the correct reading level, this site provides excellent aid to special education teachers.
http://www.teachertools.org/documents/Data.doc  

PERSONAL DRAGONS AND OTHER INSPIRING STORIES
These personal stories may be just the ticket--try the first one especially, Personal Dragons, to help your students reflect on the value of others.
http://specialed.about.com/education/specialed/library/weekly/aa121800c.htm  

PAULA TRANSLATES SPEECH INTO SIGN LANGUAGE
Paula is a computer-generated synthetic interpreter capable of translating spoken English into American Sign Language (ASL). Using speech recognition, the animated figure of Paula delivers the translation through hand gestures and facial expressions on the computer screen.
http://asl.cs.depaul.edu  

WHY ARE SO MANY CHILDREN LABELED AUTISTIC?
You may already know all that is in this news article about autism, but I found it interesting. It somewhat explained why there are so many children being diagnosed with autism now vs ten years ago.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/03/02/autism.ap/index.html