Our Favorite Places 

• Infinitec - Infinitec, Inc. is a US non-profit corporation formed to help people with disabilities and their families access life-enhancing technology.

• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a nonprofit grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders.

• National Center for Family Support   - The purpose of the Center is to provide technical assistance and training to 22 states who were awarded grant money from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities to develop, implement, and enhance and/or expand family support systems for families of children with disabilities.

• United Cerebral Palsy of America - The mission of UCP of America is to advance the independence, productivity, and full citizenship of people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

• Ability Hub - Provides information on Assistive Technology for computers and disability.

Illinois Organizations

• Access Services of Northern Illinois.  Access Services of Northern Illinois provides Independent Service Coordination for individuals with developmental disabilities in the thirteen northern Illinois counties of Bureau, Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Davies, LaSalle, Lee, Marshall, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago.

• ARC of IL - The Arc of Illinois is committed to empowering persons with disabilities to achieve full participation in community life through informed choices.

• Aspire - Aspire Children’s Services offers comprehensive specialized services for children, birth to age eight, who have developmental delays and disabilities, and their families. 

• Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois

• Communities United for Exceptional Children - Communities United for Exceptional Children was established to assist families of exceptional children by providing services and information.  

• Community Support Services, Inc. - CSS is a private, not-for-profit service agency that initiates, provides and promotes services for people with developmental disabilities and their families within their own communities, in order to strengthen their independence, self-esteem, and ability to participate in and contribute to community life.

• Designs for Change - Designs for Change (DFC) is a 25-year-old, multi-racial, educational research and reform organization. Our basic mission is to serve as a catalyst for major improvements in the public schools serving the 50 largest cities in the country, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.

• Disability Beat -  Disability Beat is a public affairs program dedicated to people with disabilities. It’s about social justice, community supports, accessibility, integration, inclusion, opportunities, freedom and choice.

• Equip for Equality - A comprehensive statewide advocacy organization providing self-advocacy assistance, legal services, education, public policy advocacy and systems monitoring.

• Family Matters Parent Training & Information Center - assists students with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities to understand their rights and responsibilities to help them become informed participants in the special education process.  Supply information to teachers and other professionals who provide special education and related services to children with disabilities.

• Family Resource Center on Disability  - Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers work with families of children and young adults from birth to age 22 with all disabilities: physical, mental, learning, emotional, and attention deficit disorders. Parent Centers train and inform parents and professionals, help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities, work to improve educational results for all children, resolve problems between families and schools or other agencies and connect children with disabilities to community resources that address their needs.

• Illinois Assistive Technology Project - IATP helps people with disabilities in Illinois find the right technology . . . technology that helps them learn, work, play with greater independence.

• IDHD (Department on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago) - Disability and Human Development is dedicated to the scholarly, interdisciplinary study of disability and related aspects of human development.

• Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities - The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities believes in and supports the independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion of people with disabilities of all ages.

• Illinois Life Span Project - The Illinois Life Span Project is the statewide information and advocacy coordination system for people with disabilities.

• Illinois State Board of Education

• Managing the Art of Living - Managing the Art of Living is a project of the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities.  The project is aimed at helping people live the lives they want to live, with the support of family, friends, community and public resources, through the development of microboards and human service cooperatives.

• NAMI Illinois - NAMI Illinois is a non-profit, self-help organization whose goal is to improve the quality of life for persons with mental illness and their families.

• Peoria ARC - Parc is a not-for-profit community service agency that provides numerous services to persons with developmental disabilities in the Peoria area.

• Project CHOICES - Project CHOICES provides collaborative support to schools, families, children, and youth; to ensure that all learn in general education and community settings, and address and show progress toward the Illinois Learning Standards.

• Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois - SILC's mission is to provide leadership, research, planning and education required to support independent living services in Illinois.

• Health & Disability Advocates - The mission of the Health & Disability Advocates Coalition (formerly known as SSI Coalition) is to work with low-income people of all ages who are disabled, have long-term illnesses, or are elderly to assure security and dignity.

• Voices for Illinois Children - Voices for Illinois children is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan group of child advocates who champion the full development of every child in Illinois to assure the future well-being of the people of the state.

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