Disability Resource Links
(including Northern Virginia-specific resources)
Advocacy | Art | Assistive Technology, Communication, Universal Design
Education and Transition Planning | Employment Issues | Housing
Financial Empowerment | Specific Disabilities | General Information and Other Lists
Federal Government | Commonwealth of Virginia | Local Governments
Virginia-Based Organizations | Universities & Research | Commercial Sites
Emergency Preparedness | Direct Support Workforce | Funding and Non-Profit Administration
Open Source Software | Accessible Web Design | Miscellaneous Other Sites
It's Our Story, a blog from The Disability Media Initiative, whose "mission is to evolve policy, attitudes, and employment opportunities for the disability community. This will be achieved through the traditions of storytelling blended with the technologies of today."
World Institute on Disability. An internationally recognized public policy center organized by and for people with disabilities. It works to strengthen the disability movement through research, training, advocacy and public education.
Online courses from Partners in Policymaking. The courses are designed for people with developmental disabilities and their parents and other advocates, and are open to anyone who would like to increase their knowledge and skills in these areas: Partners in Living (self-advocacy, independent living), Partners in Time (the history of society's treatment of people with disabilities), Partners in Education (for parents with children in the special education system), Making Your Case (legislative advocacy), and Partners in Employment (finding a job and planning a career).
Revolutionary Common Sense by Kathie Snow from Disability is Natural. Several short articles suitable for getting people to think.
The Riot! A National E-Newsletter for Self-Advocates from the Self-Advocate Leadership Network.
ACT, a 24-year-old self-advocacy disability rights organization run by and for people with developmental and other disabilities.
The Arc's Legislative Action Center - A wide variety of tools to help you keep on top of current issues and communicate with your national, state, and local legislators as well as local and national media. Very comprehensive.
The State of the States in Developmental Disabilities - statistics on funding for community-based services for people with developmental disabilities. Virginia ranks 50th in the percentage of MR/DD spending allocated for community services.
The National Disability Policy Center offers training materials, policy papers and policy briefs prepared by Robert Silverstein, Director of the Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy.
Commonwealth Coalition for Community, located in Blacksburg, VA and serving southwestern Virginia as well as citizens throughout the state.
An overvied of the Olmstead decision from the PACER Center, with an excellent collection of links to more information.
Ragged Edge Magazine, the successor to Disability Rag. Definitely interesting reading.
Justice For All: information on how to obtain the JFA alerts both by subscribing to the Mailing List and by having access to past alerts via Majordomo, Gopher and FTP access.
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities: coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society."
GLIMPSE, a new publication that showcases the writings and artwork of individuals with a history of autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. We hope to provide a GLIMPSE into the unique perspectives and rich inner lives of people who might otherwise not find a voice. The magazine solicits submissions of poetry, essays, reflections, short stories, photography and two dimensional artwork on any subject.
General Reference
AbilityNet Global Assistive Technology Encyclopedia. "This wiki has been created by AbilityNet, the UK's largest provider of advice and information on all aspects of Access to technology. The purpose of the wiki is to provide live and up to date information on all aspects of Assistive Technology."
The Family Center on Technology and Disability: a resource designed to support organizations and programs that work with families of children and youth with disabilities.
Axistive Assistive Technology News Portal offers free news, articles, product reviews and all product and vendor information of assistive technology devices.
Abledata is an incredibly rich resource for finding all types of assistive technology. Most people will want to use the full graphics site but they also offer a low graphics version for people using screen readers and those on very slow connections.
The Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin: "making information technology more usable for everyone". Lots of resources about universal design.
The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre at the University of Toronto: "Advancing technology to meet challenges faced by people with disabilities."
BBC Accessibility Page with specific information for users of Windows, Mac, and Linux. Web-focused but solutions generally work for other aspects of computer use as well.
OATS is a search tool for users as well as a resource for devlopers of open source assistive technology software.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Everyone Communicates — an introduction to AAC, plus thousands of links to additional information on AAC methods, stories from people who use AAC, and further resources.
Writings by Judy Bailey on AAC in general, and Facilitated Communication in particular.
Input Devices
Loads of One-Handed Typing resources, from an author who has been typing with one hand since she was a child, with a strong preference for using one-handed techniques on a normal keyboard.
Infogrip, Inc. Wide selection of computer access products, including one-hand keyboards, voice recognition software, mouse alternatives, touch screens, switches, and more.
Esmerel's List of resources for one-handed people.
The Optimus keyboard is a revolutionary idea (not actually available for purchase when this link was added) -- each keytop can display any graphic image, in color, even with animation. Pretty amazing.
SafeComputing has a large selection of ergonomic computer input devices, seating, and accessories.
Contour Design offers several unusual mice and mouse-replacement devices.
Datalux, located in Winchester Virginia, has small and special-purpose keyboards.
DataHand Systems manufactures a radically different keyboard and mouse replacement; no driver software required.
Alpha Grip is another radical departure -- handheld keyboard-and-mouse unit frees the user from the physical desktop.
PC Keyboard -- high-quality traditional keyboards with various additional features.
The Typing Injury FAQ has extensive listings of keyboards and mice.
Fentek Industries offers an extremely wide range of products from armrests to custom keycaps and much else in between.
Keyalt.com is a retailer selling a wide variety of input devices and accessories ... braille key label sets, foot and head-controlled mice, one-handed keyboards, and many more. Keyalt.com also sells communication devices, low-vision software, and related accessories.
Kinesis -- A manufacturer of alternative keyboards, mice, furniture and accessories, Kinesis also offers selected products from other sources.
Boost Tracer, a full-featured head mouse.
Handykey Corporation, makers of the Twiddler. A combination keyboard and mouse that weighs 4 ounces and fits in the palm of your hand.
"Keys-U-See" – large print on the keycaps, for those who need to see the letters.
BigKeys from RJ Cooper. Several different models of keyboard with oversized keys arranged in a more regular pattern. Keyguard are available, also ABC format in addition to QUERTY.
Communication
Everyone Communicates — an introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), plus thousands of links to additional information on AAC methods, stories from people who use AAC, and further resources.
Writings by Judy Bailey on AAC in general, and Facilitated Communication in particular.
Affordaspeech -- Add-on and standalone speech synthesizers at [relatively] affordable prices.
CAST eReader is a text-to-speech software tool designed to support users who have difficulty reading.
Speech to Speech Relay is a service mandated by the Federal Communications Commission that enables people with a speech disability to use their own voice, voice prosthesis, or communication device to make a phone call. Check your state's relay status at the STS Relay Directory.
The Morse 2000 Worldwide Outreach promotes research in and use of Morse Code in rehabilitation and education. It is a collaborative effort of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire School of Nursing/Human Sciences & Services Outreach, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education, and the Trace Research and Development Center at UW-Madison.
Breaking The Barriers: "We want the right to communicate and all forms of communication methods to be accepted and respected. We need support and help to clear away the barriers that make it hard or impossible for us to communicate and to actively participate in decision-making and public policy that affects our lives."
Screen Readers and Magnifiers
The last word in computer screen magnification. Includes a download page offering demos and fully functional programs which make computers more accessible to individuals with low vision.
DocMorph from NIH allows users to convert more than 50 types of electronic files into 5 possible outputs, one of which is synthesized speech (the others are PDF, multi-page and single-page TIFF files, or plain text). Unfortunately, the speech option is Windows-only, but users on other platforms can create and download plain text files which can then be read with the user's choice of screen reader.
Miscellaneous
A variety of multi-alarm watches, pendants and pagers
WheelchairNet -- a virtual community for wheelchair-minded people.
TATRA (Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act) focuses on helping families prepare youth with disabilities for employment and independent living. Projects provide information and training on transition planning, the adult service system, and strategies that prepare youth for successful employment, postsecondary education, and independent living outcomes. The free email newsletter Reference Points consists of several short e-mail messages each week featuring resources on a range of issues affecting young adults with disabilities and their families.
PEATC: Northern Virginia's Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center. "PEATC was one of the first parent training and information centers in the nation, funded by the federal government to serve the families of children with disabilities throughout Virginia. Building on our successful history of creating positive futures for children with disabilities, today PEATC serves families, schools and communities who are interested in investing in children with and without disabilities."
Vocational Supports for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome: Meeting the Vocational Support Needs of Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and Other Autism Spectrum Disabilities, by Eve M??ller and others at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University, and Gregory B. Yates of Autastics, a group for adults on the autism spectrum, centered in the San Francisco California Bay Area.
MEDICAID WORKS is a voluntary Medicaid plan option that will enable workers with disabilities to earn higher income and retain more in savings, or resources, than is usually allowed by Medicaid. We have a fact sheet and a short handbook, updated February 2007.
Minnesota Employer Focus Research Survey: a survey of 600 Minnesota employers across a broad range of organizations and businesses. The purpose of the survey was to identify and measure issues and perceptions that are barriers to increasing the employment of people with disabilities. Available in pdf and text versions.
Federal Employment for people with disabilities.
DOL Office of Disability Employment Policy. The mission of the ODEP is "to bring a heightened and permanent long-term focus to the goal of increasing employment of persons with disabilities. This will be achieved through policy analysis, technical assistance, and development of best practices, as well as outreach, education, constituent services, and promoting ODEP's mission among employers."
Workworld is free decision support software designed to be used by people with disabilities, advocates, benefit counselors, and others. WorkWORLD(c) takes into account the complex interaction of earnings, benefit programs, and work incentives to provide individualized recommendations for safe options as well as alerts to possible problems. It calculates the effects on net income of trying different paths to independence, and provides text, numeric, and graphic results.
Chartbook on Work and Disability in the United States, 1998: some useful statistics
Washington Initiative for Supported Employment
The purpose of the National Supported Employment Consortium (SEC) is to critically evaluate supported employment programs nationally and provide technical assistance to state and local agencies.
Work Incentives Transition Network "The purpose of this Network is to increase educators', family members', transition age students', and advocates' awareness of Social Security Work Incentives for school-aged youth with disabilities."
Direct Support Professionals' Website, sponsored by the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration.
Housing & Mortgages for People with Disabilities. From the website: "This guide has been created to help individuals living with disabilities, and their family members, in the process of buying a home of their own. Here you can learn more about the five important steps in buying a home and about financial assistance programs that are available."
CHANCE, the home of The National Home of Your Own Alliance and other resources on home ownership.
Search for Section 8 properties available in Virginia.
Fairfax County Affordable Housing.
Subscription page for Arlington County's Accessible Housing email list (as well as other County lists).
Arlington County Section 8 page.
Arlington County Housing Grants Program. Note that individuals must be current residents of Arlington to qualify.
Access to Assets. People with disabilities are almost three times as likely to live in poverty than any other group. The Access to Assets project opens doors for the disability community by promoting asset-building and financial literacy among people with disabilities.
Asset Building resource at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
ADD/ADHD
CH.A.D.D. -- Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorders, a national parent-oriented organization.
Autism Spectrum
The Autism Acceptance Project will bring forth a different and positive view about autism to the public in order to create tolerance and acceptance in the community and to empower parents and autistic people. This organization does not solicit funds for the cure of autism. We do not see autism as a ???tragic epidemic.??? Its primary mandate is to present critical lectures and exhibitions. The Autism Acceptance Project seeks to debate science, autism belief, and to investigate and support educational needs backed by accurate science. TAAProject is interested in scientific and ethical answers to the question, ???what kinds of help do autistics need in order to succeed and contribute to society as autistic people?"
Vocational Supports for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome: Meeting the Vocational Support Needs of Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and Other Autism Spectrum Disabilities, by Eve M??ller and others at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University, and Gregory B. Yates of Autastics, a group for adults on the autism spectrum, centered in the San Francisco California Bay Area.
autistic.org -- a group of people "working for autistic people's rights, and to debunk some of the tired old myths and misconceptions." Plenty of food for thought.
The Autism Program of Virginia (TAP-VA), whose mission is to maximize the potential, success, and quality of life of each Virginian with autism.
Autism Resources maintained by John M. Wobus ever since there *was* a world wide web. Excellent resource.
Autism Society of America -- Information about autism, with particular emphasis on children, as well as the society's activities.
Heads Up, from the Richmond chapter of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia.
Brain Injury Survival: The Inside Scoop. Lots of good information here on a broad variety of topics.
Northern Virginia Brain Injury Association. Information of local as well as national interest, including the Journey Toward Independence conference held annually in the Northern Virginia area.
John & Clara's TBI/ABI Related Sites and Info. Home of the TBI Cookbook as well as general brain injury information.
TBI Model Systems Project
Brain Injury Association of America homepage -- information of all kinds relating to brain injury.
Brain Injury Association of Connecticut
The Epilepsy Foundation. National organization focusing on seizures,treatment, and related issues.
seizuretracker.com ... dedicated to providing people living with epilepsy and their doctors with free comprehensive tools to help understand relationships between seizure activity and anti-epileptic medications.
Long Term Mental Illness
Bipolar Planet -- This slightly offbeat site has art, resources, stories, and (of course) links to other sites.
Anxiety Panic internet resource
Dr. John Grohol's Mental Health Page
Mental Retardation
The Arc, a national organization on mental retardation -- Information on mental retardation, The Arc's mission and programs, and great links to other sites.
The Arc of Northern Virginia -- A well-made site with a lot of information, much of it applicable beyond the Northern Virginia area.
Down Syndrome WWW Page -- Compiled by members of the DOWN-SYN mailing list. Information on Down Syndrome and links to related sites.
MS
The World of Multiple Sclerosis -- An international site, very well done, with information on MS, MS Societies, publications, research databases, book reviews and more, plus links to other MS websites.
trong>Prader-Willi SyndromeThe Prader-Willi Syndrome Association: comprehensive information and resources relating to Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Polio
Sensory Impairments
Two distributions of the GNU/Linux operating system -- BRLSPEAK is focused mainly on braille output and is targeted at technical-minded users. Oralux is a new project based on the Knoppix run-from-cd distribution, enabling users to try it simply by putting the CD into the CD drive and rebooting the computer. The project is very new and at present users probably need to be familiar with Linux (or at least have a Linux geek at hand). Version 2.0 is planned as an intuitive, ready to use audio desktop for individuals with no particular skill with computers. Both BRLSPEAK and Oralux are free software.
Deafness/Hard of Hearing, from the Mining Company -- Comprehensive site, visually beautiful yet quick-loading, with lots of news on deaf culture, humor, and links to other rich sites.
Deaf World Web -- Aiming to be truly international, this page offers lists of resources in all parts of the world, plus news and other features, including a special area for children.
National Federation of the Blind -- A source for the full text of the monthly Braille Monitor, plus political alerts, lists of resources, reports on research and technology.
Disability Studies Web Ring. Seems to be a bit abandoned, but some interesting sites are here.
Guides to Medicare and Medicaid, prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Commonwealth Community Trust -- a non-profit organization established for Virginia residents to provide a convenient and economical way to have trust funds administered for people with disabilities that will supplement the benefits offered by entitlement programs.
Indie, The Integrated Network of Disability Information & Education, a Canadian site with a wide variety of links.
Webable, a database of disability-related sites with an interesting interface, plus a wealth of information about accessible web page design.
Accessible Vacation Homes program, a free service of the Institute on Independent Living in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Freudian Slip -- information on how to help children and adolescents use popular music as a way to express their feelings.
National Home of Your Own Alliance
FEMA Reference Guide: Accommodating Individuals With Disabilities In The Provision Of Disaster Mass Care, Housing, And Human Services.
DisabilityInfo.gov -- Federal government portal to disability information. Content headers are Employment, Education, Housing, Transportation, Health, Benefits, Technology, Community Life, and Civil Rights.
Information about Medicare, including the new prescription drug benefit: http://www.medicare.gov/
Information about the Medicare Modernization Act from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a division of the Federal Dept. of Health and Human Services.
DOL Office of Disability Employment Policy. The mission of the ODEP is "to bring a heightened and permanent long-term focus to the goal of increasing employment of persons with disabilities. This will be achieved through policy analysis, technical assistance, and development of best practices, as well as outreach, education, constituent services, and promoting ODEP's mission among employers."
Disability Direct is sponsored by the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor and provides news and government resources of interest to the disability community.
The National Supported Employment Consortium, based at VCU. There's some good stuff here.
The National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR). Funded by NIDRR, NCDDR's mission is not only the dissemination of research but an attempt to help research reach those who may benefit from it.
Search The Department of Education's ERIC database of reports, papers, and journal articles. Be sure to read this information page about recent changes to the ERIC system.
NIDRR, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
OSERS, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
The National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) has collected and disseminated the results of federally funded research projects. NARIC's literature collection, which also includes commercially published books, journal articles, and audiovisuals, averages around 200 new documents per month.
Social Security Administration
National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials
RAinfo, The Regulatory Affairs Information Home Page - Federal Register Page -- Links to several sites offering the Federal Register and other government publications online.
Thomas -- A project of the Library of Congress, Thomas (named for Mr. Jefferson) provides information on pending Federal legislation as well as full text of the Congressional Record, Historical Documents, information on how legislation is enacted, and links to other Federal sites.
FedWorld -- Gateway to all kinds of Federal Government information, provided by the National Technical Information Service, an agency of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
FirstGov, the U.S. Government's Official Web Portal, maintained by the Office of Citizen Services and Communications, U.S. General Services Administration.
Official guide to existing and proposed Federal Regulations.
The Virginia Disability Commission seeks to "identify legislative priorities that need to be examined by the Assembly in order to provide ongoing support in developing and reviewing services and funding related to Virginians with physical and sensory disabilities."
Who's My Legislartor? -- For Virginia residents, type in your address and get a list of your state and federal legislators, with informatio n on their record as well as contact information, including in many cases a link to send an e-mail message.
State Employee Directory -- find phone and email information on any state employee.
Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.
Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy.
DRS - The Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services.
DBVI - The Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.
DMHMRSAS - The Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services.
DMAS - Administrators of Virginia's Medicaid Waiver Services.
T/TAC -- Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Tech and Radford University. Serving Southwest Virginia, and focused on technology and software for children (to age 22).
Virginia state Family Services -- including disability-related agencies.
City of Alexandria -- homepage | resident services | departments | disability services.
Arlington County -- homepage | departments | human services.
Fairfax County --
homepage
| resident services (see also the right-hand column on the homepage)
| departments
| disability resources
| CSB
| Map of Supervisor Districts.
Prince William County -- homepage | resident services | departments | CSB
In 2007 the state of Minnesota repeated survey on disability attitudes first conducted in 1962, and has made the results available online in pdf or flash format. Information on other studies, as well as Parallels in Time, Part 2 which provides a look at the history of disabilities from 1950 to the present, is currently available on their main website.
There's a treasure trove of statistics on Employment Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities at StateData.info, a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: CPI information and Inflation Calculator.
Statistics on Disability from the U.S. Census Bureau. (Report released June 2006, statistics from 2002.)
T/TAC -- Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Tech and Radford University. Serving Southwest Virginia, and focused on technology and software for children (to age 22).
Rehabilitation Research & Training Center at VCU -- Your Gateway to Employment for People with Disabilities.
RRTC Town Square -- The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Supported Employment at Virginia Commonwealth University.
VATS -- Information on the programs of the Virginia Assistive Technology System.
RRTC-VCU -- The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Supported Employment at Virginia Commonwealth University.
WVRRTC Welcome Page -- The folks at West Virginia RRTC have for several years run one of the best disability-related bulletin boards in the country, known as Project Enable. This webpage provides limited access to the bbs, plus information on RRTCs across the country, a training calendar, and various tables of statistics relating to disability.
The Center on Human Policy at Syracuse University. Policy, research, and advocacy organization; site contains articles by Syracuse University scholars, opportunity to order publications from the Human Policy Press, and another good list of related sites.
Facilitated Communication Institute -- Information on FC, bibliographies, articles, and abstracts, educational materials.
JAN on the Web -- Home page of the Job Accommodations Network at West Virginia University, funded by the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Job accommodations, ADA information, employment tips, etc.
National Clearing House of Rehabilitation Training Materials at Oklahoma State University -- a federally-funded grant program that collects and disseminates grant-produced rehabilitation materials, and other disability-related materials.
Cornucopia of Disability Information -- This is a Gopher site (no fancy pictures, no clickable links) but it does have a lot of useful information on resources and statistics.
Behavior Analysis -- A list of behavior-related internet resources from the University of South Florida.
Commonwealth Coalition for Community, located in Blacksburg, VA and serving southwestern Virginia as well as citizens throughout the state.
Handinet, a site devoted to disability issues in Virginia. Created and maintained by Warren King. In addition to the website, King maintains several electronic mailing lists of interest to the Virginia disability community.
ARC-VA Home page of the State Offices of the Arc in Richmond, VA.
ARC Greater Prince William in Woodbridge, VA.
"The CURE Network ... sowing the seeds of technology in the disabled community...planting a harvest field of personal and professional empowerment." Based in Northern Virginia.
The Arc of Northern Virginia in Falls Church, VA. Loads of information about resources for people with developmental disabilities in the Northern Virginia area, as well as legislative advocacy information of interest state-wide.
LARC The Loudoun Arc in Leesburg, VA.
ASANV -- The website of the Autism Society of America, Northern Virginia Chapter. Information about the society, its programs and services, and a calendar of meetings and activities.
Endependence Center/Tidewater, the Independent Living Center in Norfolk, VA.
Sheri Abrams' website and blog. Sheri is an attorney specializing in social security, special needs trusts, wills, and associated issues; she is also a long-time member of the Northern Virginia disability community. The website and blog provide general information and up-to-date news about social security and legal planning.
David Pitonyak's website, where you can download David's articles and publications on behavior, belonging, and support. He also provides liks to highly selective list of other web resources.
Positive Power Publishing, home of How to Conquer the World with One Hand ... and an Attitude by local authors Paul Berger and Stephanie Mensh. Mr. Berger and Ms. Mensh (who are husband and wife) spoke at the 2000 Journey Toward Independence conference sponsored by NVBIA.
The website of Claudia Osborn, author of Over My Head, a doctor's own story of head injury from the inside looking out. Dr. Osborn spoke at the 2000 Journey Toward Independence conference sponsored by NVBIA.
The BRAIN BOOK(r) System, a compensatory skills training program for persons with brain injury.
Sign Media Inc.: videotaped and text material on sign language an deaf culture.
disabilityPreparedness.gov from the Interagency Coordinating Council On Emergency Preparedness And Individuals Wtih Disabilites.
Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
National Organization on Disability's Interactive Map of Disability Emergency Preparedness Resources
Northern Virginia Guide to Emergency Preparedness
FEMA Emergency Management Guide for Business & Industry
Red Cross Guides:
National Office on Disability Guide for Emergency Planners and Responders
Research and Training Center on Community Living Direct Support Workforce Development Center, "a comprehensive research, training and technical assistance program in the area of direct support workforce development."
National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce. An "on-line library for people in search of solutions to the direct-care staffing crisis in long-term care." Issues identified as needing improvement include low wages, lack of adequate benefits, lack of respect and professional fulfillment, scarce opportunities for continuing education and professional advancement, inadequate or punitive supervision, and unreasonable workloads.
Northern Virginia Joint Training Online, an ongoing collaborativ e effort to develop a well-trained workforce of direct service staff in the Northern Virginia regional network.
U.S. Tax Code covering non-profit organizations. IRS Application for non-profit status.
Checklist for starting a non-profit organization, from about.com.
The Foundation Center -- Excellent resource on fundraising and grants.
Guidestar, comprehensive information about more than 1.7 million non-profit organizations.
U.S. Department of Education -- Funding opportunities, press releases, current initiatives, and publications, many online in full text versions. Nice presentation.
Action Without Borders -- "Action Without Borders connects people, organizations, and resources to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives." Hosts the Non-Profit FAQ
Philanthropy Journal Online -- "A nonprofit newsletter providing news and information about the nonprofit sector."
Board Source: "Building effective non-profit boards."
Nonprofit Risk Management Center. "A source for tools, advice and training to control risks...so you can focus on your nonprofit's mission."
Virginia Network of Non-Profit Organizations: With the creation of VANNO, Virginia joins 37 other states with statewide nonprofit networks and gains access to the resources of the Nationa l Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA).
Tech Soup, "the technology place for non-profits".
Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network "works to support the diverse people and organizations who help nonprofits understand and employ technology effectively."
Nonprofit Open Source Initiative "The open source community model for software development and support represents a huge potential opportunity for nonprofit organizations. NOSI exists to help non-profits understand and implement Free and Open Source software solutions."
"Free Software" refers to software that is "Free" as in "Freedom" (it's usually also "Free" as in "Free Beer"). The originator of the Free Software movement is Richard Stallman, who founded the Free Software Foundation (and who has described himself as "borderline autistic"). Stallman is also a brillant programmer; the 'infrastructure' software that he created, when coupled with the Linux 'kernel', has given us a truly free alternative to commercial, proprietary systems and has led to the development of a flood of useful software that's free for anyone to use. A few of the disability-oriented projects and communities are:
OATS is dedicated to improving Assistive Technology and computer accessibility through the power of Open Source development techniques. It aims to be "a one-stop "shop for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to meet, exchange notes, promote new ideas, develop new software and download reliable open-source AT software."
The Blind Linux Users email list is intended for the discussion of Linux usage as it relates to the blind and visually impaired community. Red Hat (a Linux distribution company) also hosts a list for developers of software for blind users, as well as one for the announcement of new software and other developments of interest to the blind Linux user community.
Oralux, a complete Linux distribution for visually impaired users. The current version is intended for users who are already familiar with Linux, but version 2.0 is intended be an intuitive, ready to use audio desktop for peole with no particular computer expertise. This site is also a great resource for exploring individual text-to-speech and related projects.
There are thousands of open source accessibility projects; Linux Accessibility is a good overview from the University of Toronto.
"Cognitive Disabilities and the Web: Where Accessibility and Usability Meet" from the National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE). The article notes that the diversity of ability and experience of users with cognitive disabilities has thus far thwarted attempts to develop web accessibility guidelines for this population. To design websites that are easier for users with cognitive disabilities to use, the author offers suggestions based on basic usability principles. Many of these recommendations make the web easier for everyone to use.
"Learn how to make online presentations more accessible for people with disabilities". A "lay friendly" web tutorial by the United States Department of Agriculture's Target Center on ways you can adapt web technologies to make presentations more accessible to people with disabilities. (Ironically, this tutorial uses flash technology, but may be of use as an introduction to the issue.)
DataPlace aims to be your one-stop source for housing and demographic data about your community, your region, and the nation. The site not only assembles a variety of data sets from multiple sources, but it also provides tools and guides to assist you in analyzing, interpreting, and applying the data so you can make more informed decisions.
RxList -- Information on drug actions and reactions.
CTAA On Line -- "The Community Transportation Association of America is a nonprofit membership organization whose members are dedicated to mobility for all people, regardless of wealth, disability, age or accessibility."