Helping to Facilitate the Participation of Children with Disabilities in Community Settings
Support and Encouragement
This
page lists support groups and other groups that offer encouragement
for families of children with special needs in the local metropolitan
area.
Be sure to visit our Upcoming Events
page for more information on meetings.
Please note: The resources
spotlighted are identified through recommendations by community members.
This is not an advertisement or an endorsement by Community Connections
or the University of Maryland.
| Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder | |
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Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) |
| Prince George's County: 301-498-2162 | |
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Individual
Differences in Learning, Inc. (IDL) Gifted Different Learners Association (GDLA) |
| Provides information
and support for the parents and teachers of highly able children
with learning disabilities (including ADHD). Holds open monthly
meetings on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm, and maintains
website and listserv. Meetings held at the Board of Ed Building 10910 Route 108 Ellicott City, MD Contact Trish Budd, President, for more information. Email: GiftedLDandADHD@aol.com Phone: 410-531-0764 Online support group through the GDLA Yahoo Web Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HoCo-Gifted-LD-ADHD/ Yahoo Group Moderator - Lynne D’Autrechy: HoCo-Gifted-LD-ADHD-owner@yahoogroups.com |
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| Autism, Asperger Syndrome & Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) | |
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Autism Society of America |
| Prince George's County: 301-627-5150 | |
| MCASA:
The Montgomery County Chapter of the Autism Society of America Dedicated to the health and welfare of all persons within the autism spectrum. 301-652-3912 |
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Coffee Break for Families of Children with Autism |
| Coffee Break provides
families of children with autism a chance to get together and discuss
issues surrounding their child’s disability. The groups also
provide great mingling opportunities for young children with disabilities
as well as their typical siblings and friends. To reserve your coffee
cup email or call the Arc
of Prince George’s County. 1401 McCormick Drive Largo, Maryland (301) 925-7050 ext 232 Mary Funk, Coordinator |
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FIAT (Families for Intensive Autism Treatment) Support Group |
| Meets the first Wednesday
of the month at 7:30 p.m. in Auditorium #1 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. |
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For Parents of Children with Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, PDD |
| Meets the first Monday
of each month, 7:00-8:15 pm Call 301-468-9343 |
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Maryland Asperger Syndrome and HFA Parents Support Group |
| Prince George &
Southern Maryland Chapter Karen Reznek, karenreznek@erols.com Careen Wallace, cwall3412@aol.com |
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| Developmental Disabilities, Various | |
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The Arc of Prince George's County |
| (301) 925-7050 | |
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Coffee Break for Hispanic Families of Children with Disabilities |
| Coffee Break provides
families of children with disabilities a chance to get together
and discuss issues surrounding their child’s disability. The
groups also provide great mingling opportunities for young children
with disabilities as well as their typical siblings and friends.
To reserve your coffee cup email or call the Arc
of Prince George’s County. 1401 McCormick Drive Largo, Maryland (301) 925-7050 ext 232 Mary Funk, Coordinator |
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Family Friends Program – Easter Seals |
| Matches a trained
volunteer to your family and child. The volunteer visits for a
few hours a week offering extra support by playing, reading, and
spending time with the child with special needs and the family.
Program is free of charge. |
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Family Service Foundation |
| Prince George's County: (301) 459-2121, ext. 32 | |
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For Parents and Family Members of Children with Disabilities |
| Meets every third Tuesday
of the month. 6123 Montrose Road Rockville, MD Contact: Martha Mervis, 301-990-6880, ext 316 |
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MCneeds: Montgomery County parents of children with special needs |
| Montgomery County parents
of children with special needs, is a parent group for children with
all levels of disabilities who receive special education services
through the county. MCneeds maintains a website
and listserv and meets monthly from 4:00 pm - 6:00
pm at the Bauer Community Center. 14625 Bauer Drive Rockville, MD |
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On Our Own |
| Prince George's County: (301) 699-8939 | |
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| Down Syndrome | |
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Andrews Area Parents of Children with Down Syndrome (PODS) |
| (301) 918-8256 | |
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PODS of Montgomery County |
| P.O. Box 10416 Rockville, MD 20849 Hotline: 301-916-4985 Affiliated with The Arc of Montgomery County and National Down Syndrome Congress |
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| Emotional/Behavioral Disturbances and Mental Illness | |
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Maryland National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) |
| Prince George's County: (301) 322-1900 | |
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EDAct |
| EDAct is a group of
parents that advocate for students with emotional and behavior problems who are enrolled in Montgomery County Maryland Public Schools or referred by the County to an out-of-county school. We are working to establish programs with appropriate academic and vocational opportunities as well as effective therapeutic environments for these students as well as be supportive to our members. All members are parents or advocates of children with Emotional Disabilities and/or Autism Spectrum Disorders. You may subscribe to our e-group by sending email to EDAct-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. |
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| Learning Disabilities | |
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Individual
Differences in Learning, Inc. (IDL) Gifted Different Learners Association (GDLA) |
| Provides information
and support for the parents and teachers of highly able children
with learning disabilities (including ADHD). Holds open monthly
meetings on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm, and maintains
website and listserv. Meetings held at the Board of Ed Building 10910 Route 108 Ellicott City, MD Contact Trish Budd, President, for more information. Email: GiftedLDandADHD@aol.com Phone: 410-531-0764 Online support group through the GDLA Yahoo Web Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HoCo-Gifted-LD-ADHD/ Yahoo Group Moderator - Lynne D’Autrechy: HoCo-Gifted-LD-ADHD-owner@yahoogroups.com |
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| Military Families | |
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Exceptional Family Member Program |
| Ft Meade Maryland: (301) 677-5590 | |
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| Parents and Families | |
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Birth to 5 network |
| Announcing a new list serve for parents and friends of children age birth (or earlier for those who parents know ahead of birth that their child has a disability) to 5 years old. This network will focus on issues facing children with disabilities younger than 5. This list serve is hosted and moderated by parents of children with disabilities. To subscribe, send a message to: birthto5network-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You will be asked the birthdate of your child and the school system where your children gets services from. | |
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Family Support Network |
| Abilities Network is pleased to announce the start of the Family Empowerment Network in its Towson office. This service is designed to address needs that are not currently being met by other resources and programs that provide services to persons with a disability. They are open to people of all abilities regardless of the area in which they live. The Family Empowerment Network will create opportunities to meet and socialize with other individuals and families, develop an informal support network and learn about resources and educational opportunities. For more information or to have your name added to the email/mailing list, please contact Tomeaka Stokes at tstokes@abilitiesnetwork.org or 410-828-7700, ext. 1228. | |
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Howard County Moms of Children with Special Needs |
| Howard County moms of children with special needs meet for dinner and conversation (Moms night out!) on the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm. | |
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MAPS-Mothers Alliance for Prayer and Support |
| Meets at 7:30 p.m. on
the third Wednesday of every month. MAPS is a spiritual support
group for mothers of special needs children. It is an interdenominational
support group - all are welcome. For more information: Jeanne Taylor, 301-879-9539 |
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Maryland Family Support Network |
| The FSN offers parents
of children in the Montgomery County Infants and Toddlers Program
(MCITP) the opportunity to meet with other parents with children
in the MCITP, to support one another, learn new ways to work with
your child, and to become a better advocate for your child. FSN
is a collaboration of The Arc
of Montgomery County with MCITP. Contact Melanie Miller, 301-984-5777, ext. 283 |
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MCASA Parent Support Group |
| Meets the second Thursday of every month during the school year, from 7:30 to 9:00 at the Twinbrook Recreational Center, 12920 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville 20851. Call Liz at 301-924-2211 for more information. | |
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MOMs Support Group |
| For moms of children with disabilities. Meeting the second Wednesday of the month from 12:00- 1:30 pm and first Tuesday of the month 7:30-9:00 pm. Contact: Judy Byer at 301-984-5777 ext. 284 for more information. | |
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Parent to Parent |
| A mentor program in
which parents of children with disabilities are matched with requesting
parents of children with similar disabilities. Contact Judy Byer, 301-984-5777, ext. 284 |
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| Physical Disabilities | |
|
Coffee Break for Families of Children with Physical Disabilities |
| Coffee Break provides
families of children with physical disabilities a chance to get
together and discuss issues surrounding their child’s disability.
The groups also provide great mingling opportunities for young children
with disabilities as well as their typical siblings and friends.
To reserve your coffee cup email or call the Arc
of Prince George’s County. 1401 McCormick Drive Largo, Maryland (301) 925-7050 ext 232 Mary Funk, Coordinator |
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United Cerebral Palsy |
| Montgomery and Prince
George's Counties Phone: 301-262-4993 Toll free: 1-800-621-9403 |
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| Prematurity | |
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Preemie Support Group |
| For families of preemies.
Meets quarterly through the Arc of Montgomery County County. Contact: Judy Byer, 301-984-577, ext 284 |
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| Seizure Disorders | |
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Epilepsy Foundation/Abilities Network |
| Prince George's and Montgomery Counties: (301) 431-7740 | |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | |
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Head Injury Support Group |
| Prince George's County: (301) 618-2790 | |
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© 2004 University of Maryland. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated on
October 29, 2007
.