|
by Lynda Scarrow
 KidKanuck
http://www.kidkanuck.com/Special_Needs_Kids/
Proudly Canadian, KidKanuck offers a well-organized list of links to resources for kids and
devotes an area to special needs. This area includes links to sites that focus on: AIDS, Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Diabetes, Learning Disabilities, and Vision, Hearing and Speech .
As a bonus, KidKanuck's education section has information and links organized under headings including: educational software, K-12, pre-school, public schools and teaching resources.
Overall, it's a nicely designed site that's a good source of Canadian-specific materials.
GrievingChild.org
www.grievingchild.org
 Assisting
a child through the grieving process requires special resources. Unfortunately,
there are few online materials available to assist children in dealing
with death. Most sites offer in-house or in-school program information
rather than tools for helping children.
The only web site that I came across that provides some decent information
is GrievingChild.org. Created by the Dougy Center for Grieving Families
and Children located in Portland, Oregon, the site is divided into "I'm
an adult" and "I'm a kid" categories.
The kids' section is divided even further into two more sections: for
children 12 and under or children 13 and older. These areas have a minimal
number of activities to assist children and a list of books and resources.
The adult section includes some good articles that may be helpful, such
as "A Dozen Lessons I've Learned from Grieving Children and Adolescents"
written by the executive director of the Center and "How to Help a Grieving
Child/Teen".
Resources specifically for teachers include: "Helping the Grieving Student:
A Guide for Teachers" and "When Death Impacts Your School: A Guide for
School Administrators" which are excerpted from books of the same title.
 The
AngerOnline.com Children's Booklist
www.angeronline.com/html/kidsbooks.html
Here's a quick site to check out for books geared to children and anger
management. Choices are sorted into: Books for Helping Children Understand
Anger, Games for Helping Children Understand Anger, Other Tools for Helping
Children Cope with Anger.
 Healthfinder
www.healthfinder.gov
It's rare to find an online resource that provides so much useful information.
Created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthfinder
has an easy-to-use searchable database with comprehensive information
on asthma, allergies, deafness, diabetes, abuse and other health issues
that may affect a student.
 KidsHealth
www.kidshealth.org
KidsHealth is a great site for both young children and teenagers and
includes information on complex and difficult topics, such as cheating,
parents fighting, running away, hazing, self-cutting, tattooing and plastic
surgery.
The site is beautifully designed and makes good use of age-specific,
kid-friendly colours and graphics. It also includes a number of interactive
features such as the Daily Brain Buzz, memory games and quizzes.
 Struggling
to Learn: A Learning Disabilities Resource
www.pbs.org/parents/issuesadvice/strugglingtolearn/
PBS's Struggling to Learn site may be geared to parents but it has well-written
information on learning disabilities. Sections are broken into reading,
writing, math and attention disabilities. Content delves into the complexities
of learning disabilities and how they affect children and their ability
to function.
A frequently asked questions section provides responses from doctors
and education specialists and a link to the Misunderstood Minds web site
(www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds).
Here you will find testimonials about specific children with specific
learning disabilities. Both sites are nicely designed and offer solid
information for anyone working with a child who has difficulty learning.
Lynda Scarrow is the College's web editor. She can be reached at lscarrow@oct.ca.
|
