Springfield City Library: Library Links

Disability Resources

General

The Access Board: An independent Federal agency, the Access Board provides training and develops and enforces accessibility standards.
DisabilityInfo.gov: DisabilityInfo.gov is a Federal government site, whose mission is to bring information on Federal programs, services, and resources to Americans with disabilities, their families, employers, and service providers, and seeks to promote awareness of disability issues to the general public.
disABILITY Information and Resources: A long list of links to resources for the disabled, including communities, politics, databases, selected documents, free products, and more from Makoa.org. Makoa is the Hawaiian word for 'courageous'.
Family Village: "A Global Village of Disability-Related Resources" - this is a very user-friendly portal to web-based resources on the topic of health, education, networking, shopping, etc.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY): Provides information to the nation on: disabilities in children and youth; programs and services for infants, children, and youth with disabilities; IDEA, the nation's special education law; No Child Left Behind, the nation's general education law; and research-based information on effective practices for children with disabilities.
New England ADA and Accessible IT Center: Serving individuals with disabilities, government agencies, employers, and business and design professionals with rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Provides technical assistance, training, and materials.
Ragged Edge ONLINE: This hip, online edition of Ragged Edge Magazine attempts to "cover the disability experience in America," focusing on hot issues such as discrimination and medical rights.
Disabled American Veterans: Stay informed on legislation and issues affecting disabled vets.
Access Expressed!: A directory of access information to arts and cultural organizations, such as the location of a wheelchair accessible entrance or a box office TTY telephone number. Includes Massachusetts and several other states including the District of Columbia. Also includes a list of events, web links, and articles on the state of access to the arts. From VSA arts of Massachusetts.

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Deafness and Hearing Impairment

HearingLoss.org (SHHH): News and Information from a non-profit advocacy group "dedicated to the well-being of people of all ages, and communication styles who do not hear well."
National Association of the Deaf: Current, news, events, and legislation of interest to deaf people.
ASL Fingerspelling: Includes a dictionary, an ASL converter, a quiz, and a downloadable ASL program for Macintosh computers. See also A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms .
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: This advocacy organization provides parents with a wealth of information on pediatric hearing loss. The site provides membership information and a full-text catalog of publications.
Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Find out about the services and resources offered by this state agency, as well as contact information and directions for the Springfield office.
Subject-Based Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Internet Resources: Extensive directory of resources from the RIT Library at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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Blindness & Vision Impairment

Assistive Media: Exploring the World of Reading: "The mission of Assistive Media is to heighten the educational, cultural, and quality-of-living standard for people with disabilities and help achieve independence and become better integrated within the mainstream of society and community life in general. Assistive Media accomplishes this by providing free-of-charge, copyright-approved, high caliber audio literary works to the world-wide disability community via the Internet effectively, inexpensively, and efficiently." Requires the RealPlayer plugin, available at the site.
Blindness Resource Center: Many helpful links to sites on access, braille, deaf-blindness, low vision, eye conditions, organizations, research, universities, vendors, and more. Large-print version available.
Massachusetts Association for the Blind: This organization offers comprehensive employment, educational, and residential programs to children and adults who have vision loss or other disabilities.
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind: This state agency "offers vocational rehabilitation, independent living social services, home care and respite assistance, radio reading programs, resource information, community systems and advocacy, and residential and day services." Many helpful links to other organizations are also listed.

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Physical Disabilities

Arthritis Foundation Home Page: Lots of information from this research and support organization. Frequently asked questions about arthritis, membership information, and state chapter listings are included.
National Spinal Cord Injury Association: Serving people with spinal cord injuries as well as those with other physical disabilities, this organization provides advocacy support for all aspects of community life.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society: New England Chapter: Find out about events and issues in Massachusetts, as well as the programs, publications, and research of this national organization.

Developmental Disabilities

Community Resources for People with Autism in Western Massachusetts: General information about autism, and links to local and national autism organizations.
Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council: A valuable resource which supports self-advocacy and coalition building by families and by local agencies.
Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation: This state agency helps individuals live and work in their communities. Learn more about the scope of service and get helpful contact information.
Down Syndrome Information Network: Research, publications, resources, online discussion lists, and more are available at this site, a service of the Down Syndrome Educational Trust. Note that some services require registration and/or a contribution to the trust.

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Learning Disabilities

National Center for Learning Disabilities: Information from this leading learning disabilities organization on symptoms, evaluation, and helpful resources.
International Dyslexia Association: Find out more about this key organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of dyslexia. Includes links to local branches.
LDOnline: A leading site on learning disabilities for parents, teachers, and other professionals.
Learning Disabilities Association of Massachusetts: Find out about conferences, publications, and membership.

Mental Illness

National Institute of Mental Health: Link to full-text brochures and information sheets on a wide range of disorders. You can also follow links to research overviews and statistics.
National Mental Health Association: This organization "works to improve the mental health of all Americans, especially the 54 million individuals with mental disorders, through advocacy, education, research and service." Included is an online depression screening test.
National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A program of the U.S. Dept. of Veteran's Affairs, the center conducts research, education and training about PTSD. The site includes numerous factsheets and articles on coping with the condition.
Schizophrenia.com: A non-profit web community offering news, discussion groups, blogs, research material, book reviews, and much more.

Computer Resources & Assistive Technology

Ability Hub: Assistive Technology for people with a disability who find operating a computer difficult, maybe even impossible. This web site will direct you to adaptive equipment and alternative methods available for accessing computers.
ABLEDATA: A seachable database of over 30,000 assistive technology products. ABLEDATA provides information on as wide a variety of products as possible, from widely available commercial designs to one-of-a-kind prototypes.
Alliance for Technology Access: A national network of community-based Resource Centers, the ATA provides public education, advocacy, and referral services. Visit their "Family Place in Cyberspace " for resources for the "transitioning" high school student, accessibly toys, and much more.
The Blind Readers Page: A directory of sources of information in alternative formats (braille, recorded cassettes, large print, e-texts, web audio) accessible by people with print disabilities--those with visual and physical handicaps as well as dyslexia. It is also a guide to information about blindness, visual handicaps and other physical handicaps.
Information Technology Technical Assistance & Training Center: "The Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC) is charged with providing accessibility training and technical assistance related to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. We want to help our audiences - industry, state officials, trainers, and consumers - to understand the requirements of Sections 508 and 255 and to achieve success in their efforts to develop, market, and buy accessible E&IT."
Massachusetts Assistive Technology Partnership: A clearinghouse for assistive technology training, advocacy, and information.

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Employment

Office of Disability Employment Policy: Lots of helpful information for disabled individuals, advocates, rehabilitation specialists, and employers. Links and articles on hiring, business communication and human resource strategies, as well as local, state and national resources.
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission: Helpful to both job seekers and employers, this agency provides "public vocational rehabilitation, independent living and disability determination services."

Recreation

Access-Able Travel Source: Includes information about airport access, travel agencies experienced in serving clients with special needs, a helpful directory of TTY numbers, a list of accessible cruise ships, and tips on how to obtain transportation and accommodations.
Massachusetts Special Olympics: Upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, how to become an athlete, and more.
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped: Find detailed information about free library service by mail available through the Library of Congress.
SATH: A great deal of information, including bibliographies, "need to know" facts, tips for travel agents, and many links, from the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality.

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Legal Rights

Americans With Disabilities Act Information: Includes the Act, Technical Manual, and Q & A. From the U.S. Department of Justice.
Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law: From the American Bar Association. Contains breaking news and recent cases in the field of disability law, a lawyers directory, publications, links to related resources and more.
The Disability Law Center: Serving severely disabled individuals in Massachusetts, this agency focuses on investigations of abuse and neglect, denial of services or benefits, rights to community placements, human rights violations, life sustaining treatment and discrimination.
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund: This is a "national law and policy center dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities through legislation, litigation, advocacy, technical assistance, and education and training of attorneys, advocates, persons with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities."
Wrightslaw: "Accurate, up-to-date information on special education law and advocacy for children with disabilities." Detailed articles and other resources for parents, teachers, and attorneys.

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updated : June 2, 2010