The Internet is an amazing place to search for information and support related to disabilities, young children and parenting. It brings you a speedy connection to information from agencies, hospitals, libraries and people all over the world. If you use your computer wisely, information is just a mouse click away. The downside is that it is anonymous and you must judge whether the information you receive is valid and applies to your family and situation. Searching can be frustrating and lead to many dead ends and irrelevant information. Please visit our "Favorite Links" page where we provide you with links to sites that we have selected for their useful information related to disabilities, young children and parenting.

The Internet can help you feel supported in your journey of parenting a child with special needs by helping you find other families who are having similar experiences. You can share information and give and receive emotional support, without ever leaving your computer. You can access this support at any time of day, no babysitter or car required. There are a variety of ways to find people with whom you can share your experiences and seek and give support.

One way of connecting with others is through a list serve. When you subscribe to a list serve you join a mailing list community of people who want to discuss a particular topic. You send a message asking to subscribe and then all messages that are sent to the list will be sent to your address as well. Everything you write to the list serve will be sent to everyone who subscribes to the list. You can also choose to correspond with someone from the list privately, by sending that person an e-mail to his or her address directly, rather than to the list. There are lists on every topic imaginable and many specifically for parents of children with disabilities.

The New Jersey Early Intervention System sponsors a list serve for families of children who receive early intervention services in New Jersey. We are proud to announce the creation of "New Jersey Early Intervention Families". We also sponsor a list serve, "NJ Early Intervention Professionals" for early intervention providers. Please see our "Disability Support" page for more information on these lists and many others.

Finally, we provide information that may help your physician to better understand the New Jersey Early Intervention System at "Physician Information".