The birth of a child is an exciting, life-changing event. A beautiful new baby comes to your house, family, and neighborhood. It is a time for joy and celebration. Family members look at the new child and wonder: Will he be a football star, will she be a famous musician, will he discover the cure for cancer, will she become President of the United States!

But what happens when this new child has a disability? What if there are health problems? What if there are questions about the special needs this child may have? What happens now, and who can help?(NICHCY, 2005. Click here to download the complete article.)

In fact, there are many supports for children with disabilities. If you are concerned about your child’s development or suspect that your child may have special needs, Parents Helping Parents can help. When parents learn that their child has a disability or a chronic illness, they begin a journey that takes them into a life that is often filled with strong emotion, difficult choices, interactions with many different professionals and specialists, and an ongoing need for information and services. Initially, parents may feel isolated and alone, and not know where to begin their search for information, assistance, understanding, and support. (NICHCY, 2003. Click here for complete article.)

Parents Helping Parents offers a variety of ways for families to connect with other parents for emotional support.

Support and Information Groups: PHP offers a variety of parent education, networking opportunities, and support systems in the Santa Clara County and its surrounding area. Most groups are facilitated by volunteers that have a special interest in the condition. It is also possible for PHP staff members to connect you with another parent who shares a similar circumstance. For a complete list of PHP SIGs, click here.

Mentor/Support Parent Match: The Mentor/ Support Parent component of Parents Helping Parents (PHP) is the major reason for which the organization was formed. By this method, new parents (and/or old parents with a concern about their child) are matched with a veteran parent. They will have a one-to-one friendship and peer counseling relationship with someone who has been in a situation very similar to their own. Whenever possible, the client is matched with a Mentor/Support Parent whose child has the same disability, illness or concern, and who lives nearby. Some disabilities are so rare that it is impossible to find a parent with an identically diagnosed child, so a similar disability is matched locally, and an identically diagnosed match is searched for nationally or internationally. For more information and resources concerning Mentor Parents, click here.

PHP and RiSE Libraries: Our two onsite libraries, PHP and RiSE (Resources in Special Education), provide a resource of over 9,000 books/videos to parents and professionals on the special needs of children and their families. Our librarian, Judy Bower, is here to assist you between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM Monday through Thursday. There is no librarian available on Fridays. To reach Judy via email please write to judy.bower@php.com. The RiSE Lending Library offers a variety of library materials and resource assistance. Funded by the California Department of Education/Special Education Division, these items are available on loan to any resident of California. Educators, parents, specialists, professors, students and community group members are encouraged to access the collection, which encompasses books, manuals, research articles, audiotapes and more than 500 videos. For more regarding PHP libraries and to search the online card catalog, click here.