DISABILITY RELATED ORGANIZATIONS & LINKS Follow these links for more information on services for persons with disabilities.

Able Data - A national database of information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment.  Provides publications and data research. ADA Information Center for Mid-Atlantic Region - Provides technical assistance and training to businesses and people with disabilities regarding the ADA.  Maintains a database of resources available throughout the United States.  Materials are available on alternative formats - Braille, large print, computer disk, cassette tape, etc. Additions and Mental Health Center, Montgomery General Hospital - Psychological inpatient care, detox programs; partial hospitalization and dual diagnosis programs.  Therapy services (individual, group, family) and after-care programs.  Alcohol treatment day program.   Outpatient rehabilitation, geriatrics, adolescent and alcohol programs. Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc. - Provides advocacy training to parents and children located primarily in Wards 6, 7 and 8 who are being denied educational services. Alzheimer's Association, Greater Washington Chapter - Education programs for caregivers, Caregiver Support groups, referrals to daycare, nursing homes and physicians.  Descriptive literature available on disease. Advocates for appropriate legislation. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Referral services to local practitioner, advocacy in area of mental health. American Association of Mental Retardation - International, multi-disciplinary association of professionals working in the field of mental retardation. American Civil Liberties Union (National Capitol Area) - Monitors legislation that may impinge on civil liberties; takes on some cases of persons claiming infringement of civil liberties. American Council of the Blind - Bi-monthly newsletter, "Braille Forum"; referrals to agencies working for the blind. American Psychiatric Association - National association of psychiatrists; authorizes publications and advocacy dealing with mental illness. American University, Office for Disability Services - Offers support for students with disabilities. Answers Please (D.C. Department of Human Services) - Information and referral service by the Department of Human Services. Arc of D.C.- Advocacy for the mentally retarded and developmentally delayed.  Direct services include adult day treatment program; job training and placement, supported and sheltered employment; health services. Archdiocesan Legal Network of Catholic Charities - Provides pro bono attorneys for family law cases. Arena Stage - Services include two shows for each production shown in American Sign Language; audio-described shows; touch-tours of stage arena; full wheelchair access to theaters; flexible seating; assistive listening devices; audio loops; handicapped parking; wheelchairs for loan; scripts in Braille and large-print programs for all productions. Army Community Service Walter Reed Army Medical Center - Information and referral, financial counseling, emergency financial aid, food coupons; employment assistance, family advocacy. Assistive Technology Program of University Legal Services - Provides information on assistive technology for persons with disabilities, training sessions, equipment recycling lending center, advocacy and funding information for assistive technology devices and services. AT&T Relay Service of D.C. - Relays telephone conversations for persons who are hearing or speech impaired. Autism Society of America - Non-profit organization that provides information about autism and the various options and approaches available to parents of children with autism, family members and others.  More than 225 local chapters and support groups. Barney Neighborhood House - Day program providing socialization, nutrition education and counseling, education and recreational services, psychological counseling; home delivery of meals.   HIV Education services and services for seniors provided. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law - National organization providing advocacy and technical assistance on mental health issues.  Legal support center on national issues. Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts - Performing arts activities for persons with disabilities; includes 4-year-long performing companies producing theater and musical productions (for teens and adults).   Classes for children through adults. Blinded Veterans Association - National headquarters offers medical, rehabilitation, employment information and assistance, information about benefits, and equipment for blind veterans. Brain Injury Association, Inc. - A national association seeking to create a better future through brain injury prevention, research, education and advocacy.  Bread for the City's Legal Clinic - Opportunity to confer with a pro bono attorney on civil legal problems.   Will provide advice and possibly referral with no guarantee of representation.   Also provide Legal Services, Medical Related Services and Services for Seniors Calvary Baptist Church, Downtown Social Club - Weekly socialization program offering recreational activities, arts and crafts, field trips, and music.  Serves persons with physical and mental disabilities; including formerly institutionalized persons living in the community Cancer Information Service (CIS) - Comprehensive information services about cancer, funded by the National Cancer Institute.  Provides up-to-date information in English and Spanish, and referrals for local services. Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation - Information and assistance to children with cancer and their families.   Network of peer-support groups for parents.  Child Center - Day programs with special/early childhood education/medical consultation; speech/language, occupational, physical therapies; computer-assisted education; mainstreaming with typical peers. Children's Law Center - Provides direct legal representation to abused, neglected and at-risk children and juvenile and their caregivers.  Pro-bono Adoption project, Special Education project. Christ House - Homeless persons who are sick or injured.  Patients must be homeless and referred by physician. Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind - Services for persons who are blind or visually impaired.  Includes an early intervention program for blind children from birth to 3 years of age.  Also programs for children of all ages.  Also provide Diagnostic and Evaluation, Employment, Medical, Services for Seniors and Treatment and Rehabilitation Services. Community Connections Mental Health Center - Assessment and treatment for Individual and group psychiatric services, residential facilities.  Also provide housing and support services. Community Family Life Services - Food, clothing and employment assistance. Housing referrals; tutoring. Compulsive Gambling Center, Inc. - Information and Referral for residential placement.  Also provide Advocacy Services, Diagnostic and Evaluation, Education Related Services, Services for Seniors and Mental Health Services. Crisis Hotline of Commission on Mental Health Services - For persons in severe emotional distress. David A. Clarke School of Law Clinics (University of the District of Columbia Law School) - Juvenile Special Education Clinic - HIV & Public Entitlements Legal Clinic D.C. Action for Children Today - Gathers information about conditions and policies affecting children.  Seeks to empower and mobilize a city-wide constituency to become involved in improving the lives of the city's children.  Seeks to hold officials accountable and to advocate for systems reform. D.C. Office of Aging - Programs for seniors; recreation, socialization, transportation, nutrition and health services, senior day care, job training.  Six cities.  City-wide programs.  Shiloh Center for Hearing Impairment and Hard of Hearing; Hearing Aid Delivery Program at D.C. General; Extended Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Seniors; Counseling for Psychologically-Disoriented Seniors. D.C. Rehabilitation Services Administration - Administers services available under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.  Also provide advocacy services, information and referral, support services, vocational counseling education and medical related services. Deaf REACH - Programs provide referrals to appropriate services for deaf and hearing-impaired persons; public advocacy; education services.  Case management, counseling, housing placement services, group homes, and day program services for deaf MI and deaf MR, substance abuse counseling for the deaf.  Also provide Housing Related Services. Disabled Sports USA - National organization works to ensure that people of all ages with physical disabilities have access to sports, recreation, and physical education programs from early childhood through college and adult sports programs.  More than 80 chapters nationwide. Equal Rights Center - Housing Discrimination complaints Eye Associates - Vision care for visually or hearing-impaired.  Low-vision aids.  Also provides Services for Seniors and Rehabilitation Services Family and Child Services - Family Child Care Homes - day care for children with special needs; Foster Care Program - provides foster care for children with special needs from birth through 18 years of age.   Also provide Recreation Services and Services for Seniors Federation of Families of Children's Mental Health (FFCMH) - Parent-run organization.  Mission to provide leadership in the field of children's mental health; address needs of children with emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders from birth through transition to adulthood; ensure the rights of full citizenship, support and access to community-based services for children with mental needs and their families; provide information and engage in advocacy regarding research, prevention, early intervention, family support, education, transition services and other supports needed by target group For Love of Children (FLOC) - Programs primarily address needs of homeless families, at-risk youth and abused and neglected children Gallaudet University, Office for Students with Disabilities - Therapeutic services; academic and remedial services. Mentorship programs, including Big Brother/Big Sister; transition program; adaptive physical education; survival skills training; Also assists students who need accommodations due to their disability George Washington University, Disability Services - Assists students who need accommodations due to their disability Georgetown University Legal Clinics - Diverse clinical programs including special education and appellate work in civil and disability rights Georgetown University Child Development Center - Provides services for children with special needs.  Also provide information and referral, advocacy and medical related services Goodwill Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries - Services for persons with developmental disabilities and physical or emotional disabilities, as well as vocational advantages (illiteracy, welfare dependency, homelessness) Handicapped Plates for Motor Vehicles Health Services for Children with Special Needs (HSCSN) Hear Now - Hearing Aids Helen Keller National Center for Deaf and Blind Youths and Adults - Assessments; short-term personal adjustment and rehabilitation program Holy Cross Hospital Caregiver Resource Center - Adult day care program. Hospital for Sick Children and Health Care for Children with Special Needs, Inc. - Rehabilitation services for children up to 21 years with developmental disabilities. Howard University Clinical Law Center - Clinical programs for poor and unrepresented Howard University Research and Training Center for Access to Rehabilitation and Economic Opportunity - Research in the specific needs and status of persons with disabilities from multicultural communities Human Rights Commission of District of Columbia - Adjudicates complaints of discrimination in any one of the 15 categories of discrimination (race, age, religion, ethnicity, etc.) Info-Tech Training Institute - Provides comprehensive instruction and training for individuals with physical disabilities and mental illness Iona Senior Services - Professional services for seniors including adult day health care, care management and counseling, geriatric assessment, mental health counseling, private care management, social work assistance, healthy aging programs Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, Gallaudet University - Elementary school for the deaf Kids on the Block - A curriculum using interactive puppet theater to teach children about disability awareness, medical differences and social issues Lab School (Night School, K - 12) - Provides assistance for adults and children with learning disabilities: night school, career and college counseling, tutoring, psychological evaluation, occupational therapy, speech and language pathology Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia - Legal representation to indigent and underprivileged persons Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped - Services for the blind and physically disabled, deaf, homebound and senior mobile service for lifelong learning for seniors Library of Congress, National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped - Provides free loan of recorded and Braille books and magazines to anyone unable to read standard and printed materials because of visual or physical disabilities Library Services for the Deaf Community, (c/o Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, Special Services) - Sign-language classes; tutoring, literacy training; weekly book-talks; Internet training Low Vision Information Center - Comprehensive resource center for visually impaired persons and their families.   Computerized database of resources and services in the area; demonstrations of adaptive products and strategies; community presentations, advocacy and information Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute - Rehabilitative, learning and training services for adults and children with developmental disabilities Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. - Publications, information and advocacy concerning treatment of lupus Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area Mental Health Program - Intensive case management support to assure housing, health care, income, and psychiatric treatment of mentally-ill individuals March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation, National Capital Area Chapter - National organization seeking to prevent birth defects and reduce infant mortality Melwood Training Center - Provides resources to promote and provide full employment and social empowerment to persons with disabilities, increasing vocational, employment, residential and recreational services Mental Health Association of D.C. - Advocacy, information and referral on issues related to mental illness; consultive services Metro ID Card for Persons with Disabilities - A reduced fare program for persons with a disability affecting ability to use mass transit Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) Gallaudet University - Secondary school for deaf children Multicultural Services Division, Commission on Mental Health Services - Medical treatment and services, including psychiatric assessment and medications; crisis intervention; individual, group and family therapy; case management; professional nursing services Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Capital Chapter - National organization representing interests of persons with MS and their families Muscular Dystrophy Association - National organization representing interests of group National Association of Deaf - National organization concerned with issues affecting the deaf persons National Attention Deficit Disorder Association - National organization dealing with problems of persons with Attention Deficit Disorders National Center for Mental Health Information - Information and referral on research projects regarding mental health including substance abuse National Child Research Center - Nursery school and pre-school, can mainstream special education students National Disability Rights Network National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) - Library and information center focusing on information about disability and rehabilitation National Spinal Cord Injury Association - National helpline.  Provide information on spinal cord injuries National Veterans Legal Services Program - Independent non-profit and non-governmental national organization Operation Job Match - An initiative of the National Capital Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  A program that assists people with adult onset of physical disabilities such as Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, Diabetes and Lupus find and retain employment Paralyzed Veterans of America - National headquarters of Paralyzed Veterans of America Partners in Sign - Provides sign language interpreter services President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities - Provides businesses with job accommodation information, training and technical assistance through Job Accommodation Network toll-free telephone service Recovery, Inc. - Self-help support groups for persons with mental illness Social Security Administration University Legal Services E-Newsletter - University Legal Services issues an e-newsletter through Yahoo! Groups for parents of students with disabilities. The newsletter provides information about resources, meetings, trainings, and conferences in teh D.C. area related to DCPS, disabilities, and/or special education. To join, follow this link and click on "Join This Group!" You can also send an e-mail to dc_sped_resources-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Your Ticket-to-Work Program