Who We Are
We are the center that provides information to the nation on:
- disabilities in children and youth;
- programs and services for infants, children, and youth with disabilities;
- IDEA, the nation's special education law;
- No Child Left Behind, the nation's general education law; and
- research-based information on effective practices for children with disabilities.
Anyone can use our services—families, educators, administrators, journalists, students. Our special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22). Here, on our Web site, you'll find an abundance of information on:
We are very pleased to offer:
- a toll-free number (1.800.695.0285), bilingual services, and a team of research and information specialists who are available to talk with you and address your individual questions and concerns in English or in Spanish;
- a bilingual Web site; and
- an eNews service, where you tell us what type of information you're interested in and we send you occasional emails highlighting that type of information; and last but not least...
- the Research Center where you can find out what research has to say about effective educational practices for children with disabilities.
Oh, and by the way---feel free to share our materials with others. Everything we offer on our site is copyright-free and intended to be shared far and wide. We hope that you will.
What We Do
Connect You with the Research
What does the research have to say about effective educational practices with children who have disabilities? How can we use research to inform our decision making and improve early intervention and special education services? Find out in our Research Center, which is growing every day!
Offer Publications in English and Spanish
Check out our publications right here online. You can download them, or ask for them in print. We offer fact sheets on specific disabilities, state resource sheets, parents guides, resource lists, and much more. All of our publications here on our Web site are free! If you'd like a copy in print, or you need one in an alternate format, give us a call or email us. For print copies of some publications, we charge a small cost-recovery fee, but we are pleased to provide most of our publications free of charge.
Connect You with Others
Let us put you in touch with disability organizations around the country, parent groups, state agencies, and others who can offer you yet more assistance and information. Here, on the Web site, you can search for organizations addressing your areas of interest, find resources in your state, identify available materials, and much, much more. To start, we recommend that you visit our Search for Info page and take a look at the State Resource Sheet for your state.
Respond to Your Questions
Our information specialists are available to speak with you in English or Spanish about your areas of interest or concern. Call us toll-free at 1.800.695.0285, or email us at: nichcy@aed.org.
Provide You with Information Tailored to Your Needs
The National Dissemination Center can provide you with an information search that addresses your unique needs and concerns. We search our resources and what's available nationally — free! And you can sign up for our eNews service, tell us what you need, and we'll send it to you — also free!
Who Funds Us
Our services are made possible through funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education. Our Project Officer at OSEP is Dr. Judy L. Shanley. NICHCY is operated by the Academy for Educational Development (AED).
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The Center's Partnerships
TA&D Network
The National Dissemination Center is part of the Technical Assistance & Dissemination (TA&D) network. This network includes over 40 projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). These projects offer information and technical assistance on a broad range of disability and special education issues. You can search our Resource Library of products (publications, videos, CDs, Web sites, etc.) available from projects within the TA&D network.
Collaborative Information Centers
The National Dissemination Center is also part of Collaborative Information Centers (CIC), a consortium of six national resource centers that provide information on disability-related issues. We meet regularly to discuss our work, our current projects, and our plans for future projects to assure coordination, share resources, prevent duplication of effort, and avoid gaps in information.
Special Partners
The National Dissemination Center also works in partnership with other projects funded by OSEP. Two of particular interest at this time are:
- CADRE, the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, which shares information and best practice on dispute resolution procedures such as mediation.
- FCTD, the Family Center on Technology and Disability, which offers information and services on the subject of assistive technology (AT) to organizations and programs that work with families of children and youth with disabilities.
 NICHCY
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