It’s All About Belonging

A new awareness of racism and systemic bias arose in the summer of 2020 during the pandemic. After witnessing the murder of George Floyd and the many more examples of inequity that we’ve seen recently, the early childhood field along with many other groups have recognized the urgent need for understanding of systemic bias and […]

The resources in the Coping with Trauma section of MAP will help you address the needs of children in times of violence and trauma. Some of the resources are specific to children with special needs and others are more general. Some of the resources are available in other languages as indicated.

In response to requests from the field for resources to support culturally competent work with children and families as well as easy access to resources in multiple languages, additional web resources have been identified and collected below.

Information, resources, national associations, and support groups are grouped alphabetically by specific disability. Under “General Disabilities” you’ll find helpful resources from the Center for Disease Control and information on rare disorders at the NORD website.

In collaboration with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Learn the Signs Act Early Grant partners in California, this area of MAP promotes the distribution of the free CDC materials on developmental milestones to aid families, early care and education providers, home visitors, health care providers and others in identifying the early signs of a developmental delay.

The MAP… Making Access Possible Project team has identified the following websites and resources that support family engagement and promote partnerships with families.

First Lady, Michelle Obama's national health initiative, "Let's Move," encourages physical activity for children and adults. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services all Americans, including those with disabilities, need physical activity to support physical and emotional health.

Links to information, tools, websites and other resources that support the development, management and sustainability of inclusive practices in early care and education settings are found in this area.

This area of the website includes information about infant and early mental health initiatives in California and throughout the nation, organizations promoting infant and early mental health and research on brain development.

State and federal organizations providing oversight of and services to children and families with disabilities, regulatory agencies and advocacy groups are found here. Key organizations in this area include the California Department of Developmental Services and the California Department of Education, Early Education and Support Division.

The organizations in this area of the website specifically address the information and support needs of families. Many of them are developed and managed by parents of children with disabilities. National, state and local websites with information specifically for families are also found here.

Associations, organizations promoting knowledge, information and best practices, research based organizations and newsletters on topics related to early education, child care and disability topics for children birth to age 21 are found here.

To more effectively address the needs children older that five years of age the Map Team has focused attention on identifying resources to support youth and young adults in their school, after school programs and community activities.

For this area of the MAP, research, tools, articles, resources and websites have been gathered to help explain and support the social and emotional development of children from birth through adolescence.

The organizations in this area of the website provide technical assistance and/or training that may be useful to families, childcare providers, or preschools who are developing or supporting an inclusive setting for children. State and national organizations are listed here.

The MAP Video Collection was created in response to the need for easy access to videos that promote inclusion and support the needs of children with disabilities and/or special needs and their families.

This area of the website identifies visual support websites with tools, tips and guidance to facilitate understanding, communication, organization, literacy and independence for all children.

This set of videos was compiled to inform and inspire educators and families to work together to support the education needs of children with disabilities. The focus is on family participation in developing and implementing meaningful Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), but other topics around family engagement are also covered. The information in yellow highlights key […]

The COVID-19 Pandemic has given us all the opportunity to participate in virtual conferences that may not have been within our reach with the cost of travel. Find descriptions and links to upcoming virtual conferences supporting inclusion of young children with disabilities. Smaller bites of professional development are available with links to different webinars with […]

For your convenience, the contents of this page is available for download (PDF). Please distribute to families, child care providers and health care providers in an effort to identify children with developmental delays early! A Message from California’s Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris about Free Early Start Services The Early Start program, California’s early […]