Resource Directory /

Rockford Resources

  • Long COVID under Section 504 and the IDEA

    The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for schools. These challenges continue as schools and public agencies seek to ensure support and equity for children and students experiencing the long-term adverse health effects of COVID-19, commonly referred to as long COVID.

    This resource provides information about long COVID as a disability and about schools’ and public agencies’ responsibilities for the provision of services and reasonable modifications for children and students for whom long COVID is a disability. It is issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and focuses on two Federal laws: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities  Education Act (IDEA).

  • Cued Speach Program for Families of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

    Cue College’s Cue Family Program provides a free, online Cued Speech class to families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

    Cued Speech combines a small number of simple hand cues with the natural mouth movements of speech to make the sounds or “phonemes” of spoken language clear through vision alone.

    The Cue Family Program includes free access for one year to the online Cue College course, “CS100 – Introduction to Cued American English – Self Study”, for parents, guardians, additional family members and caregivers of a child with hearing loss or other communication challenges.

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments and COVID-19 Financial Assistance

    The Social Security Administration updated its rules about what financial assistance can affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or their monthly SSI payment amount.

    The administration no longer counts Economic Impact Payments, State Stimulus Payments and other COVID-19 financial assistance against an individual’s eligibility or payment amount. Visit the Social Security Administration’s website for the full list of financial assistance programs that do not affect SSI eligibility or payment amounts.

  • Toilet Training Children with Special Needs – HealthyChildren.org

    The American Academy of Pediatrics’ website HealthyChildren.org provides parents of children with disabilities information for determining when to start and how to begin the toilet-training process.

    The information includes:

    An overview of physical and developmental challenges and how they can impact toilet training
    Tips on when and how to begin toilet training
    The importance of having a parent support network and focusing on celebrating your child’s overall growth, not the mistake

    This information is also available in Spanish.

  • American Society for Deaf Children / Sociedad Americana para Niños Sordos

    The American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) is a national, non-profit organization providing support, encouragement and information to families raising children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

    ASDC offers deaf mentors and online American Sign Language (ASL) classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.  To help support language development, families and providers can also access ASL stories to watch and read together.  Resources are available in English and Spanish.

  • Understanding Inclusion Online Series for Parents of Young Children With Disabilities

    Early CHOICES  offers a free, online series for parents of young children with disabilities, practitioners, educators and administrators in Early Intervention or early childhood programs. The Understanding Inclusion series covers everything from defining inclusion to dreaming big for your child and includes:

    • Short videos
    • Activities to promote inclusion
    • Topic guides to support you in reflection and resource gathering

    Flyers outlining the series’ details are available in English and Spanish.