Attorneys & Advocates

Provides customized services to children, adults, and families of differing abilities that focus on one-on-one supports to foster broadened, more inclusive communities through education, training, and advocacy.

As the federally designated Parent Training and Information Center for Washington DC, AJE’s mission is to empower families, youth, and the community to be effective advocates to ensure that children and youth, particularly those who have special needs, receive access to appropriate education and health services.

AJE provides:

• FREE monthly trainings and workshops for parents and professionals in navigating special education systems and supports (including assisting families to prepare for IEP meetings and understanding educational services and parent and student rights); youth leadership and self-advocacy trainings;
• individual assistance and legal representation to address educational issues; assistance with accessing health services for children and youth with special health care needs; referral support for families to obtain housing, child care and other social services;
• legal services for school discipline issues;
• a resource library with information on various disabilities and treatment options

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) works to increase the political and economic power of people with disabilities.

AAIDD promotes progressive policies, sound research, effective practices, and universal human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

AAIDD's goals are to:

• Enhance the capacity of professionals who work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Promote the development of a society that fully includes individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Sustain an effective, responsive, well managed, and responsibly-governed organization.

AAIDD's principles* (or core values) that guide the achievement of its goals relative to its mission are to:

• Cultivate and provide leadership in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities that encompasses a diversity of disciplines, cultures, and perspectives.
• Enhance the skills, knowledge, rewards, and conditions of people currently working in the field and encourage promising students to pursue careers in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Advance basic and applied research to prevent or minimize the effects of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Advance the assurance of all human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including equality, individual dignity, choice, and respect.
• Promote genuine accommodations to expand participation in all aspects of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, opportunities for choice and self-determination, and access to quality health, education, vocational, and other human services and supports.
• Influence positive attitudes and public awareness to contributions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Establish partnerships and strategic alliances with organizations that share our values and goals.

ASAN is proud to announce the release of a comprehensive toolkit to empower people with disabilities and their families to manage their own health care as they transition to adulthood.

Transition to Adulthood: A Health Care Guide for Youth and Families provides people with people with disabilities and their families with information on how to choose a source of health care coverage, create a health care support network, integrate health care transition goals into their educational plans, and manage their health care. It includes useful guides and worksheets for keeping track of health care records, making doctor's appointments, and talking to doctors about health concerns.

The toolkit also includes Model Supported Health Care Decision-Making Legislation and its accompanying Questions and Answers resource. The model legislation, which ASAN developed in collaboration with the Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, would enable people with intellectual or developmental disabilities to name a trusted person to help communicate with doctors, understand health care information, make informed decisions about health care, and/or carry out daily health-related activities. Advocates can use this model legislation when talking to their state legislators about ways to support people make independent health care decisions.

ASAN's policy brief, The Transition to Adulthood for Youth with ID/DD: A review of research, policy, and next steps, discusses the range of challenges facing youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities as they approach adulthood, including potential loss of health care coverage, barriers to obtaining adult-oriented care, and lack of support in making health care decisions. It outlines several policy recommendations to eliminate these barriers, including expanding access to income-based Medicaid coverage, increased education and awareness of the importance of transition and decision-making supports, and increased research on best practices in transition planning.

The DC Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) advocates for the inclusion, empowerment, and independence of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

We are dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. We accomplish this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill; and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life.

• Providing free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies of government.
• Providing outreach concerning its program services to the American people generally, and to disabled veterans and their families specifically.
• Representing the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress, the White House and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government.
• Extending DAV’s mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local chapters.
• Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs.

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation exists to provide critically needed support to disabled and at-risk veterans who leave the military wounded—physically or psychologically—after defending our safety and our freedom.

We achieve this mission by:

• Providing an online resource database that allows veterans to navigate the complex process of seeking benefits that they are entitled to as a result of their military service, as well as additional resources they need.
• Offering direct financial support to veteran organizations that address the unique needs of veterans, and whose missions align with that of DVNF.
• Providing supplemental assistance to homeless and low-income veterans through the Health & Comfort program and various empowerment resources.
• Serving as a thought leader on critical policy issues within the veteran community, and educating the public accordingly.

A grassroots coalition of family and advocacy organizations dedicated to improving services for children with mental health needs and their families and building a network of information and support for families across Maryland.

WE SUPPORT NATIONALLY:

• RESEARCH related to Autism and related neuro-developmental disorders,
• PUBLIC AWARENESS about incidence of disorders and effective treatment,
• ACCURATE INFORMATION dissemination of up to date, research based information to families, educators and medical professionals, and
• EDUCATION of parents, advocates, clinicians, educators, lawyers and the community as to best practices and appropriate treatment. Promoting a collaborative, cross training approach.

THIS IS DONE THROUGH:

• BEING A SOURCE of accurate, up to date, research based information,
• TRAINING families, educators and clinicians and lawyers, through community training programs,
• SUPPORTING community programs that promote awareness about disabilities and support families and individuals with disabilities,
• PROMOTING INDEPENDENCE through education advocacy, self advocacy, independent living and home and community based services for children and adults with Autism and related neuro-developmental disorders,
• FUNDING of research that addresses the quality of life for parents and their children with Autism, and
• SPONSORING quality Special Education Advocacy trainings through NSEAI, which provides on-site, on-line training, and conferences.

NCIL represents thousands of organizations and individuals including: individuals with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), and other organizations that advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities throughout the United States.

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) works to improve the lives of people with disabilities by guarding against abuse; advocating for basic rights; and ensuring accountability in health care, education, employment, housing, transportation, and within the juvenile and criminal justice systems. NDRN is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.

NAPTAC is a project within Education for Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs (EPICS) to provide training and technical assistance to Parent Training Information Centers (PTI’s) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRC’s) nationwide on providing effective, culturally responsive services to Native American families of children with disabilities, as well as youth with disabilities. The NAPTAC will also provide differentiated, targeted and intensive technical assistance to parent centers requesting additional support to build their capacity to provide services to Native American parents of children with disabilities, as well as youth with disabilities. The staff and consultants of the NAPTAC are experienced professionals who are ready to provide each Parent Center with high quality services and supports. A Technical Assistance Specialist will be assigned a region as organized by the Regional Parent Technical Assistance Centers (RPTACs). EPICS is a non-profit entity providing training, advocacy and supports to families of Native American children with disabilities and special healthcare needs. EPICS houses the Community Parent Resource Center (CPRC) and the NAPTAC.

Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities is an advocacy organization that is an independent catalyst for change in the lives of people of all ages with developmental disabilities. Quality Trust advocates, monitors, provides legal education, training, and family navigation to residents of the District of Columbia.