Resources

VAP Resources
*Click on the name of the resource to access their website.

FAMILIES
Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee (DSAMT)
DSAMT is a website offering resources, programs, and advocacy to support individuals with Down syndrome and their families. The site promotes awareness, inclusion, and provides educational and social opportunities across all ages.

Parent Technical Assistance Centers
The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) serves as a central resource of information and products to the community of Parent Training Information (PTI) Centers and the Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs), so that they can focus their efforts on serving families of children with disabilities.

Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER)
Through more than 30 projects, PACER provides individual assistance, workshops, publications and other resources to help families make decisions about education and other services for their child or young adult with disabilities.

National Center for Learning Disabilities
The mission of NCLD is to improve the lives of the 1 in 5 children and adults nationwide with learning and attention issues – by empowering parents and young adults, transforming schools and advocating for equal rights and opportunities.

Great Schools
This section on learning difficulties includes information on learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, family support, health & development, legal rights & advocacy, and assistive technology. GreatSchools’ mission is to help parents get a great education for their kids.

Support and Training for Exceptional Parents
TN Step works to improve the outcomes of TN families by providing resources and services to guide them through the challenges they face accessing education and community programs.

Tennessee Disability Pathfinder
Tennessee Disability Pathfinder is a free, statewide, clearinghouse of disability-related resources and services for persons with disabilities, their family members, service providers, and advocates. IT is a joint project of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Vanderbilt Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

Tennessee Early Intervention Services
Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS) is a voluntary program that offers therapy and other services to families of infants and young children with developmental delays or disabilities. Services are provided at no cost to families. TEIS is critically important to supporting the development of Tennessee children with disabilities and developmental delays as they prepare for school.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
The Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is established by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to define, develop, implement, and evaluate a multi-tiered approach to Technical Assistance that improves the capacity of states, districts and schools to establish, scale-up and sustain the PBIS framework. Emphasis is given to the impact of implementing PBIS on the social, emotional and academic outcomes for students with disabilities.

Intervention Central
Intervention Central provides teachers, schools and districts with free resources to help struggling learners and implement Response to Intervention and attain the Common Core State Standards.

The IRIS Center
A national center dedicated to improving education outcomes for all children, especially those with disabilities birth through age twenty-one. The website contains access to resources, including online modules on a variety of disability-related topics, including evidence-based practices.

The Arc of Tennessee
The Arc Tennessee is a grassroots, non-profit, statewide advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The Arc Tennessee advocates for the rights and full participation of all people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Through family-based network of members and chapters, they support and empower individuals and families; connect and inform individuals and families; improve support and service systems; influence public policy; increase public awareness; and inspire inclusive communities.

School & Learning: Understood
This website contains resources and tools for parents with children with learning disabilities and concerns.

ADVOCATES

TN Department of Educaction
This website includes links to useful resources relating to special education in the state of Tennessee. The special education department promotes educational services and programs for all Tennessee’s students with special education needs. The department is committed to systematic planning along with plan implementation, tracking and accountability as a vehicle for providing the leadership necessary for fulfilling this purpose.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education
This site was created to provide a “one-stop shop” for resources related to IDEA and its implementing regulations, released on August 3, 2006. It is a “living” website and will change and grow as resources and information become available. When fully implemented, the site will provide searchable versions of IDEA and the regulations, access to cross-referenced content from other laws (e.g., the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), etc.), video clips on selected topics, topic briefs on selected regulations, links to OSEP’s Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) Network and a Q&A Corner, and a variety of other information sources.

Wrightslaw
Wrightslaw provides information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, organization of attorneys, advocates, parents and related professionals. COPAA is dedicated to protecting and enforcing legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families.

The Advocacy Institute
The Advocacy Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of products, projects and services that work to improve the lives of people with disabilities. The website includes resources and projects.

TN Disability Coalition
The Tennessee Disability Coalition is an alliance of organizations and individuals joined to promote the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. To support this mission, the Coalition offers the following programs:
• Public Policy Program
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Network
• Family Voices of Tennessee
• Benefits to Work
• Tennessee Autism Plan
• Project BRAIN
• Discretionary Small Grants Program

Disability Rights
Disability Rights (formerly the Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee) advocates for the rights of Tennesseans with disabilities to ensure they have an equal opportunity to be productive and respected members of our society. DLAC provides help, support, information and direct services to help persons with disabilities and their families.

Americans with Disabilities Act National Network
Through its ten regional centers, the ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Services are tailored to meet the needs of business, government and individuals at local, regional and national levels.

U.S. Department of Education
This website of the U. S. Department of Education provides information about legislation that affects individuals with disabilities.

RESEARCH

National Longitudinal Transition Study
The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) website, provides links to programs and research related to special education and disability issues.

National Center for Education Statistics/Institute of Education Sciences
The National Center for Education Statistics/Institute of Education Science provides reports and statistics on the progress of US schools and students. The site provides links to the reports as well as visual and graphic ways of viewing federal, state, and district statistics across the United States.

What Works Clearinghouse
WWC reviews the different programs, products, practices, and policies in education in order to provide teachers with information and resources on evidence-based teaching practices. Topics include, “Publication & Reviews,” “Find What Works!” and “Topics in Education.”

National Autism Center: National Standards Project
The National Autism Center (NAC) is May Institute’s center for the promotion of evidence-based practice. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by providing reliable information promoting best practices, and offering comprehensive resources for families, practitioners, and communities. The National Standards Project, completed by the NAC, reviewed and summarized information about effective, research-validated programming for children with ASD.

National Professional Development Center on ASD
The NPDC on ASD is a multi-university center that operates through three sites: the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, theM.I.N.D. Institute at University of California at Davis Medical School, and the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison to promote evidence-based practice for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The website includes internet modules, evidence-based practice briefs, an evidence-based practices report, and additional resources.