Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation

The Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation (ITAC) is a not-for-profit that issues equipment to provide telephone access to Illinois residents who are hard of hearing, late deafened, deaf-blind or speech-disabled.

ITAC provides both the Illinois Relay phone service and an equipment program, which are both required by state law. Its equipment is designed specifically for people who are having difficulty hearing on the standard phone system. Information is also available in Spanish.

Ray Graham Association

The Ray Graham Association provides individuals with disabilities and their families in DuPage County and the surrounding area with recreational, residential, family support, employment and life skills services.

The Ray Graham Association website also includes links to advocacy and legislative resources. The association’s goal is to empower people to:

  • Reach their potential by providing access to therapeutic programs, recreation and family support resources.
  • Grow their future through neighborhood living, life-skills training and employment opportunities.
  • Achieve their goals by pursuing personalized plans with measurable actions and results.

The Nest Postpartum

The Nest Postpartum is a nonprofit that serves families with a child in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Carle Hospital in Champaign.

It provides services such as transportation, lodging, prepared meals, care coordinator check-ins and links to other community support programs for families staying in the NICU.

The Arc@School Special Education Initiative

The Arc@School‘s online advocacy curriculum provides the basic information that parents, educators and other advocates need to support students and families in navigating the special education system, including understanding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Early Intervention services, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 and more.

The program offers information on the supports, services and rights for students with disabilities.

The Arc@School program is also available in Spanish.

The September 26th Project

The September 26th Project focuses on helping families and caregivers of children or adults with cognitive, behavioral and/or physical impairments prepare for wandering and elopement and disasters such as fires floods, or earthquakes.

The September 26th Projects assists and encourages families to do a checkup at least annually and not put emergency preparedness on the back burner. They provide checklists and information on:

Emergency Preparedness Planning for Families and People with Disabilities

Ready.gov provides emergency preparedness tools and information to help families before, during and after disasters. This site includes:

Resources are also available in American Sign Language (ASL)  and other languages including Spanish, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps eligible low-income households pay for home energy services (primarily heating during winter months).

Illinois residents with a household income that does not exceed an amount determined annually by the Department of Commerce are eligible. The program determines annual eligibility levels based on available funding and may not exceed 200 percent of the federal nonfarm poverty level.

See the How to Apply for LIHEAP page for more information. To help find an office serving your area, visit this complete list of LIHEAP application agencies based on county.

For more program information, check out the LIHEAP frequently asked questions or call the Help Illinois Families Call Center at (833) 711-0374.

Adaptive Adventures Recreation Opportunities

Adaptive Adventures focuses on providing children, adults and veterans with physical disabilities the opportunity to achieve greater independence in outdoor sports while experiencing camaraderie and the benefits of recreation and adventure. Their ongoing programs, camps and clinics include cycling, climbing, kayaking, paddle boarding, dragon boat racing, skiing, snowboarding, waterskiing, wakeboarding and rafting.

Adaptive Adventures travels the country to provide direct program services. Programming is offered to participants and their families free of charge or significantly subsidized. Adaptive Adventures believes cost should never be a barrier to someone’s participation in quality outdoor adaptive sports opportunities.

Visit the Adaptive Adventures website for information about programs and events in Illinois.

Home Care Physician Letter of Medical Necessity Examples

Physicians must provide current medical reports and details necessary to support the need for in-home nursing and Home Care services for Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) participants.

We developed these sample letters of medical necessity for home nursing to help physicians in this process.

For more helpful information on in-home nursing services, visit our Home Care Nursing Information for Families page.

American Sign Language Lessons

If you are interested in learning or practicing the basics of American Sign Language (ASL), these sites provide free lessons to get you started:

There are also free YouTube videos available to help you learn, practice and supplement your sign language instruction: