Resources

Educational Options

  • Accessible Academics

    Accessible Academics helps young adults with disabilities find success in school, career, and independent living. Services offered: academic support, life skills support, job skills support and social emotional support. Contact: 716-492-8656.

  • Aspire Center for Learning

    Preschool and school-aged program ages 5-21.
    Traditionally for physically involved children.   Utilize computers as communication device, augmentative communication etc.

  • Bornhava

    An early intervention and preschool program, nurturing and educating children with developmental disabilities. 716-839-1655

  • Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center

    Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center offer a variety of communication-based therapies to service Niagara and Erie counties and school-based programs in Chautauqua County. Programs and services offered are Oral Deaf Education program, Language to Literacy, Social Communication program, Bridge Builders and Autism program, Early Intervention program, Preschool program and Clinical Services to include hearing and speech evaluations. 716-885-8318

  • Cantalician Center

    Cantalician Center provides evaluations for children birth-5 years; integrated and non-integrated daycare and preschool programs birth-5 years; school age programs ages 2-21 years; vocational and day services; and supported employment. Contact: Academic Campus, Early Childhood Center & Administration 716-901-8700; Community & Day Services 716-901-8900

  • The Children's League

    The Children’s League serves children (birth-8 yrs.) in a center-based program, while also providing therapeutic and special education services for children in their homes or in other community-based settings. Referrals are made through your home county’s Early Intervention Program and your local school district’s CPSE and CSE programs. The Children's League offers a highly specialized program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related disorders. Instructional methods are based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) with a special focus on Verbal Behavior Training. 716-592-9331.

  • Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

    HSLDA passionately advocates for the freedom to homeschool and offers support for every stage of your homeschool journey.
    Provides homeschooling-related legal advice and representation to member families, promotes homeschool-friendly legislation at the state and federal levels, and offers information and resources to encourage and support all homeschoolers.

  • OLV Human Services

    OLV Human Services offer Education Services, Community Based Services (including Adult Behavioral Health Home and Community Based Service, Children Home and Community Based Services, and The Work Appreciation for Youth – WAY – Program), and Residential Services. 716-828-9500

  • Parents Instructing Challenged Children (PICC LEAH)

    A statewide homeschool support organization for families who wish to educate their special needs children at home. PICC LEAH is accessible to any current LEAH member family homeschooling a child with special learning needs in New York. You can join as a full member or for a lesser cost, as a regional member.

  • The Summit Center

    Broad range of services for children and adults with ASD.  Intensive 1 to 1 ABA intervention for preschoolers.   Preschool and school-aged ABA-based classrooms to age 21.  After school, evening and weekend respite.  Day program for adults.   Behavioral Health and WNY Regional Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Contact: 716-629-3400.

College Options

  • Achieve Program at Villa Maria College

    The Achieve Program at Villa Maria College provides specialized services to students with learning differences. At Villa, we look at students’ needs individually, and develop a plan to help ease their transition into college. Through the Achieve Program, students can build their confidence as they develop the skills that are critical for achieving academic and social successes at the collegiate level and beyond.

  • Autism Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM)

    The mission of the Autism Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM) is to facilitate and support the successful adjustment and progression of college students on the autism spectrum in all domains of college life, thereby broadening their vocational opportunities, and enhancing social and community engagement. The AIM program strives to accentuate each student’s abilities within the academic, social, emotional, and independent living domains, while building new skills within the domains where the student may be deficient.

  • College Autism Spectrum

    College Autism Spectrum (CAS) provides college and career resources and training for students, parents and professionals in the autism community. They have 2-year and 4-year Post-Secondary Support Programs listed by state.

  • College Internship Program (CIP)

    The College Internship Program is a comprehensive post-secondary transition program for individuals ages 18-26 with autism, ADHD, and other other learning differences offering comprehensive and specialized services. Students receive individualized supports in the area of social skills, college academics, internship and career development, and life skills.

  • Spectrum Support Program RIT

    The Spectrum Support Program provides innovative supports that positively impact the college experience for RIT students, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders. We are committed to helping students build the connections to RIT that will assist them in achieving academic, social and career success. The program seeks to create a campus culture of acceptance and support through collaboration, consultation, and training.

Recreational Options

  • The Arts Access Pass Program

    The Arts Access Pass Program is designed to give eligible members increased opportunities to participate in the arts in their communities. In order to be eligible for the program, you must currently be on income based Public Assistance (SNAP, Medicaid, TANF) and present an active benefit card when signing up for the Arts Access pass. Registration forms are available online or at sites throughout Western New York. After you register, a welcome packet will be sent to your home address. The welcome packet will include your Arts Access Pass, more information about the program, and a list of participating organizations that offer Arts Access tickets. The pass is only good for one year. After that year you must register again by filling out a new application. The Arts Access season runs from 9/1-8/31.

  • Au-some Evenings at Explore & More

    Once a month, Au-Some Evenings give children with autism and sensory processing needs, their friends and family an opportunity to play and learn together in an understanding and supportive environment. In addition to a fun night of play with access to the museum space and exhibits, we have special programming for families! The evening features themed Art Studio projects, sensory exploration in our Tinkering Tank, therapy animals from the SPCA and student volunteers from SUNY Buffalo State’s Exceptional Education program. Register online.

  • Buffalo Sabres Thunder Ice Hockey

    Buffalo Sabres Thunder Ice Hockey is a coed team for individuals with special needs who have some ice-skating experience. Practices are Sundays 9:00 a.m. September - April at North Buffalo Ice Rink, 156 Tacoma Ave., Buffalo, NY 14216. Contact by email at bsthockey2008@gmail.com.

  • Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center

    The Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center currently offers programs for mentally and emotionally impaired, learning disabled and developmentally challenged children ages 5 to 18. Programs are designed and taught by a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH). (716) 877-9295

  • CAUSE-Center for Allied and Unified Sport and Exercise

    CAUSE-Center for Allied and Unified Sport and Exercise at Daemen College provides opportunities for people ages 5+ to participate in unified sport and recreation alongside college students and students-athletes. Activities vary. CAUSE sports sessions primarily take place at Daemen's Academic and Wellness Center Gym, 4433 Main St., Amherst, NY 14226. Pre-registration is required. Questions, contact Brooke Densing 716-566-7894 or email bdensing@daemen.edu.

  • Clarence Adaptive Learn to Swim Program

    Clarence Learn to Swim offers several programs to children and their families. Two of their programs are specifically geared towards children with special needs or a significant medical condition.

  • Danceability

    Danceability offers a full-season program from September – May including weekly 45-minute classes in the afternoons and evenings. Danceability welcomes all ages and abilities from age 3 to senior adults and offers many styles of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, creative movement and more!

  • EMW Dream League Baseball

    EMW's Dream League was formed to give children ages 5-18; or up to age 21 (18 - 21 will need to be approved by the Dream League Coordinator) the opportunity to play baseball in an environment that is flexible and based on participants' abilities. Both resident and non-resident are welcome. Each player is paired with a "buddy" who provides encouragement and assistance as needed.

  • Fantastic Friends of WNY

    Fantastic Friends of WNY is an all volunteer organization that provides recreational activities for individuals of all ages with developmental disabilities. Check out their website and Facebook page to learn more about their Fantastic Events and Learning opportunities. If needed, they have one on one volunteer peers.

  • Grand Island Recreation Department Adaptive Programs

    Adaptive Program: Adaptive Bowling, My Special Chef & Baking Buddies, and Art-abilities - Youth and Young Adult.

  • Hamburg Adaptive Recreation

    The goal of all of Hamburg Adaptive Recreation programs is to provide the participants with opportunities to
    socialize & strengthen basic motor skills, through a variety of skill development stations in a safe, nurturing, yet challenging environment to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other Neurobiological/Behavioral challenges.

  • The Miracle League of Western New York

    Provides opportunities for children and young adults with disabilities to play Miracle League baseball, regardless of their abilities.

  • Moving Miracles

    A dance and movement program for children, adolescents and adults with special needs serving WNY. Located at 954 Union Rd., Suite 1, West Seneca, NY. 716-656-1321

  • New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Access Pass

    The Access Pass permits residents of New York State with disabilities, as defined in the application, free or discounted use of state parks, historic sites, and recreational facilities operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

  • SABAH

    SABAH athletes engage in physical education and therapeutic recreation to achieve their full potentials. SABAH programs enable our athletes to improve skills for independent living and foster a healthy lifestyle. Special Needs Recreational Fitness Programs include Adaptive Ice Hockey, Evening and Weekend Ice Skating, Fit and Fun for Adults with Disabilities and Summer Skates.

  • Sensory Friendly Film Series at Flix Stadium 10 in Lancaster, NY

    Flix Stadium 10 sensory friendly family film series slated to run the first Saturday of every month at 10am. The films will be presented with the theatre lights on and the sound lowered. Dipson Theatres, Inc. acknowledges the needs of social engagement and environmental factors affecting people on the autism spectrum, and hope that this family film series will create an entertainment venue for families to enjoy new releases in a presentation that will suit unique and special needs.

  • The Summit Center's S.T.A.R. Recreation program

    Your child may be interested in a sport or activity, but a challenging behavior stands in the way. Maybe you would like to take them to the mall, a restaurant, playground, or museum, but just need a little extra help. The Summit Center’s STAR Recreation program will give you the skills you need to support your child in community activities. The program provides up to ten sessions of 1:1 training/support (up to two hours per session) helping children with disabilities and their families become more engaged in their community.

  • Sweet Charlottes

    A Sweet Start Preschool located in Clarence, NY is a fully inclusive program. We recognize that every child possesses unique abilities and skills. Our classes love exploring and engaging in fine-motor, gross-motor, sensory, literacy, and math games, especially because they get to play with their friends at the same time! Contact Molly at 716-320-5848.

  • TOPSoccer-The Outreach Program for Soccer

    TOPSoccer, The Outreach Program for Soccer, is a New York State West and US Youth Soccer official program. This program is designed for children with disabilities, ages 5 to 21. This program accommodates all disabilities whether mental or physical. This is an exciting program that brings the joy of playing soccer to players who have not traditionally had a place in the youth soccer system.

  • The Town of Cheektowaga Adapted Recreation Program and Special Olympics

    The Cheektowaga Adapted Recreation Program is for youth with developmental and other disabilities, ages 5-21, and youth with learning and other disabilities, ages 5-16. The program is in session from October -May.

  • WNY Adaptive Water Sports

    This program is designed to accommodate people with a wide range of disabilities. Adapted equipment and careful coordination between instructors and volunteers helps the participants spend time enjoying the water by fishing, sailing, scuba diving, waterskiing, or just lounging in the water on a beautiful day.

  • Summer Recreational Resources

  • Cradle Beach Camp

    Cradle Beach, located in Angola, NY, serves the needs of children between the ages of 8 and 16 with disabilities and those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds in their summer camping program. Summer camp is an overnight program. Each session is 5 days of residential programming in an inclusive setting where they are provided a healthy environment and organized activities to promote socialization, self-worth, and decision making, in an atmosphere of love and acceptance. Cost is a sliding fee scale based on family income. For more information, or to request an application, please call the Cradle Beach Office at 716-549-6307.
    Cradle Beach also offers overnight weekend respite in the fall, winter, and spring. Must be enrolled into the NYS Home & Community Based Waiver System and have a documented developmental disability.

  • Dunkirk Camp and Conference Center

    Dunkirk Camp and Conference Center “One Piece at a Time – Autism Spectrum Disorder Camp” is a three-day vacation designed for families with children up to 12 years old who have autism. There will be volunteer support for each family. Please call Jennifer Vacanti at 716-479-6156.

  • Excalibur Leisure Skills Center Inc.

    Excalibur is a private, non-profit all volunteer, charitable organization dedicated to providing adaptive boating and fishing opportunities for developmentally challenged and disadvantaged persons. Its goal is to provide access to Lake Erie, as well as offer developmental, therapeutic and recreational opportunities for Human Service Agencies and their related programs.

  • The Summer Family Film Series at the Aurora Theatre

    Each summer, through the generous support of our local sponsors, The Aurora Theatre offers Western New Yorkers a FREE film series for families. Every Wednesday at 11 am throughout the summer, The Aurora Theatre shows popular and classic films perfect for some family fun.

  • Holiday Recreational Resources

  • Wellness G.I.F.T.S. Retreat Weekend

    Wellness GIFTS, a program by Pathways, Inc., provides camping retreats for families who have individuals with developmental disabilities. The retreats provide respite, recreation, rejuvenation, education, and social networking opportunities for the entire family.

  • Summer Therapy Programs

    • Buffalo Hearing and Speech Summer Program - ages 5- high School

      Buffalo Hearing and Speech www.askbhsc.org
      Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center's Social Communication Program is available
      to students age 5 through high school who have social communication
      deficits. This program helps students to develop successful social
      communication skills in the areas of Conversational Skills, Self-Regulation
      Skills, Cooperation Skills, and Generalization Skills. They also run programs in the fall and spring. Costs are covered by some insurance plans.

    • Institute for Autism Research (IAR) at Canisius - Ages 4-6

      The Institute for Autism Research at Canisius College offers a social development program for children ages 4-6 years with high functioning autism spectrum disorders

    • Institute for Autism Research (IAR) at Canisius - Ages 7-12

      The Institute for Autism Research at Canisius College offers two social development programs for children ages 7-12 years with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. The summer-max program seeks to maximize social competencies by providing instruction and therapeutic activities and runs Monday thru Friday from 8:50 a.m.-4:10 p.m. for five weeks at Canisius College. The Max-out program is based on the summer program and runs during the school year. The 90 minute sessions are held two times per week for 18-24 weeks from 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

    • UB Hearing and Speech Clinic - Six age groups

      Call 716-829-5575 or email ubspeechandhearingclinic@gmail.com
      Six Mini-Camps: 1. The Language Focused Preschool Program (ages 3-5); 2.Communication Café for Older Teens (ages 16-19) focuses on developing social language skills.
      3. Social Language Skills to Go (ages 9-13) focuses on building meaningful and reciprocal conversations)
      4. Verbal Communication Skill Building Program (ages 2-16) ABA principles of reinforcement, prompting and learning)
      5. Articulation Boot Camp (Grades 6-12)
      6. Listening to Learn Skill-Building Mini-Camp (Grades 3-6) focuses on the needs of children
      who struggle to listen and learn.

    National Resources

    • Autism Research Institute

      Founded by Bernard Rimland, the A.R.I. publishes a quarterly newsletter, the "Autism Research Review International," that covers biomedical and educational research in the field of Autism and related disorders. The Autism Research Institute holds Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) Conferences twice a year to bring researchers and parents together. The ARI is also a good source for books on the biomedical issues in Autism. To subscribe to the Autism Research Institute's free monthly e-Newsletter visit Autism.com and click on "subscribe".

    • Interactive Autism Network (IAN)

      The Interactive Autism Network (IAN) is an innovative online project bringing together tens of thousands of people affected by autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and hundreds of researchers in a search for answers. Individuals with an ASD and their families can share information in a secure setting to become part of the largest online autism research effort. The data collected by IAN both facilitates scientific research and empowers autism community leaders to advocate for improved services and resources. In addition, anyone impacted by an ASD can become part of IAN's online community to stay informed about autism research and make their voices heard.

    • National Autism Society

      The leading voice and resource of the entire autism community in education, advocacy, services, research and support. The Autism Society is committed to meaningful participation and self-determination in all aspects of life for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. The Autism Society accomplishes its ongoing mission through close collaboration with a successful network of chapters, members and supporters. Contact Phone (301) 657-0881 or 1-800-3AUTISM (1-800-328-8476)

    • Wrightslaw

      Parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys go to Wrightslaw for accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.

    • National Autism Association

      Helping Hand, Financial Aid for Autism Families. The NAA's Helping Hand Program provides grant funding for medical treatment, lab testing, supplements and therapies not covered by insurance.

    Publications

    Books & VIdeos

    • Coulter Video

      You’ve come to the right place to find practical, effective DVDs, articles and other resources for people with Asperger Syndrome and autism and those who support them. We have videos that teach social skills, navigating puberty, and how to succeed at work or in college. We have videos that help family members, teachers, classmates, employers and others understand people who think differently. We have a wealth of free articles you can read, download and share – and online links to other sites we’ve found particularly helpful.

    • Future Horizons, Inc.

      A Leader in Books, DVDs, and Conferences on Autism and Asperger's Syndrome

    • Jessica Kingsley Publishers

      Jessica Kingsley Publishers are an independent publishers of accessible books on Autism and Asperger's Syndrome that make a difference. Their books are for parents, professionals, academics and the general reader.

    Downloadable Resources

    Information Coming Soon

    Articles

    Information Coming Soon

    Local Resources

    • Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR)

      Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) assists individuals with disabilities to achieve and maintain employment and to support independent living through training, education, rehabilitation, and career development.

    • Autism Up!

      Autism Up! provides support and education to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, their families/caregivers, and professional service providers by offering information, resources, programs, classes, workshops and conferences. in the Greater Rochester, NY and surrounding areas. 585-248-9011

    • CARD Albany

      The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University at Albany (CARD Albany) is a university - affiliated resource center that brings research and practice together in community settings. CARD Albany provides evidence-based training and support to families and professionals, and through ongoing research, contributes knowledge to the field of autism spectrum disorders. They have five Regional Centers for Autism Spectrum Disorders located in Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, NYU, and Old Westbury.

    • Parent Network of Western New York

      A community resource for families/caregivers of individuals with special needs and for professionals who work with these families. Parent Network’s goal is to empower families/caregivers to successfully advocate for children/adults with special needs and to see that they receive proper care and education by offering seminars, workshops, conferences, information and referral services, and resources. 716-332-4170

    • Parent to Parent of NYS

      Parent to Parent of NYS supports and connects families of individuals with special needs. They provide the support and connection through their parent matching program; information and referral; and trainings.