Our aim is to provide our participants, families, staff, and the community at large with a jumping off point to access learning, recreation, and advocacy opportunities in Anchorage and beyond.  

Bookmark this page and check back in with us later for updates  - and please contact us to suggest additional resources.  


Most of these links lead to websites, but some are connected to email addresses which will open in your default program.

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Training Toolbox
  • Alaska Training Cooperative  "The Learning Management System (LMS) is a collaborative effort with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, University of Alaska, and The Trust beneficiary providers statewide. The ATC LMS is a web-based catalog of both face-to-face and distance training opportunities in Alaska."  Alaska Training Cooperative, formerly known as TTC,  provides many training options for Direct Support Professionals in Alaska.  They offer online and in-person trainings, both introductory as well as in-depth.  Many of their trainings are free or very low in cost, and scholarship funds are available in some cases.  
  • Association of University Centers on Disabilities Webinar Library "Webinars are a great way to gain information. They offer timely information from experts and have the flexibility of being viewed at your convenience without the expense of travel. AUCD's new Webinar Library puts all AUCD-hosted webinars at your fingertips – when you want them."
  • Home & Community Based Setting Requirements Published in August of 2014 and revised in 2017, this paper provides an overview of HCBS & Person Centered requirements and how they impact organizations providing services to people who experience disabilities.  

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Community Opportunities

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Local Agencies & Advocates
  • Alaska Association on Developmental Disabilities  "AADD is the largest network of agencies serving the community members who experience developmental disabilities in Alaska. We have formed strategic alliances between providers, national associations, the State of Alaska, the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, the people we serve and their communities."
  • Alaska Care Coordination Network  "Our goal is to provide a forum for Care Coordinators to communicate & gain information to better serve their clients."  
  • Anchorage School District ACT Program "A post-secondary community based instructional program for adult students needing additional transitional supports."
  • The Arc of Anchorage  "From birth to old age, The Arc of Anchorage has a full array of disability services for Alaskans with intellectual and developmental disabilities."
  • ATLA: Assistive Technology of Alaska "ATLA is Alaska’s only comprehensive assistive technology (AT) resource center. AT can be the key to greater independence and productivity for people in their home, school, community, and/or place of employment."
  • Assets, Inc.  "For over 30 years Assets, Inc. has been helping Alaskans with disabilities live independently, form friendships and find good jobs."
  • Catholic Social Services Family Disability Services   "Established in 1981 to provide services for people, both children and adults, with developmental disabilities and offer a support system for their families."
  • Disability Law Center   "We are an independent non-profit law firm providing legal advocacy for people with disabilities anywhere in Alaska."
  • Focus, Inc.  "We vow to provide quality support to individuals and families by respecting their values and sharing their hopes"
  • Governor's Council on Disabilities  "The Council uses planning, capacity building, systems change, and advocacy to create change for people with disabilities."
  • Hope Community Resources  "We are a non-profit organization providing community supports to over 1,400 individuals and families who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities"​
  • Key Coalition of Alaska  "Our mission, through unified state-wide advocacy, is to promote the dignity, status, and equality of all Alaskans who experience disabilities as valued, contributing participants in a shared community."
  • State of Alaska Senior & Disabilities Services  "Our mission is to promote health, well being and safety for individuals with disabilities, seniors and vulnerable adults by facilitating access to quality services and supports that foster independence, personal choice and dignity."
  • Stone Soup Group:  "We understand that no single organization can do everything for one family; so we are here to provide that link to relevant community resources."  Click here to visit their extensive list of recommended links for families and service recipients.  
  • UAA Center for Human Development  "CHD is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs) authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000."  Some of the CHD programs from which our participants and staff have benefited are Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, the Friendships and Dating program, and the Full Lives Conference.


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National Organizations
  • American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities  "AAIDD promotes progressive policies, sound research, effective practices, and universal human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities."
  • American Network of Community Options and Resources  "The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) is a national, nonprofit trade association representing more than 800 private community providers of services to people with disabilities."
  • Association of University Centers on Disabilities  "The AUCD is a membership organization that supports and promotes a national network of university-based interdisciplinary programs.Through its members, AUCD is a resource for local, state, national, and international agencies, organizations, and policy makers concerned about people living with developmental and other disabilities and their families."
  • Cerebral Palsy Guidance   "A Helping Hand on your journey.  We provide vital guidance and assistance to parents of a child with cerebral palsy."  Along with information and resources for parents and families, this site offers a personal blog written by a man who experiences CP himself.
  • Cerebral Palsy Guide   "The people working behind the scenes on the Cerebral Palsy Guide have strived to create an easy-to-use, informative website that provides solutions for families."
  • Cerebral Palsy Symptoms   "Our mission is to provide the public with accurate and up to date information on the many aspects of cerebral palsy and other birth injury complications."
  • The Council on Quality and Leadership  "The CQL provides training, accreditation, and customized consultation to human service organizations and systems that share our vision of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people."
  • Guide for Family Caregivers  "It’s clear that family caregivers play a major role in our nation’s health care system as providers of long-term care. Considering their critical role, First, care for yourself. Only when we first help ourselves can we effectively help others... When your needs are taken care of, the person you care for will benefit, too.” From The Family Caregiver Alliance
  • Disability Is Natural  "Changes in our attitudes and actions can help create a society where all children and adults with developmental disabilities have opportunities to live the lives of their dreams."
  • National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals  "We recognize that people needing support are more likely to fulfill their life dreams if they have well-trained, experienced, and motivated people at their side in long-term, stable, compatible support relationships."
  • National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services  "The NASDDDS mission is to assist member state agencies in building person-centered systems of services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families."
  • National Down Syndrome Society  "The mission of the National Down Syndrome Society is to be the national advocate for the value, acceptance, and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome."
  • R-Word:  Spread The Word to End The Word  "The R-word is the word 'retard(ed).'  Why does it hurt?  The R-word hurts because it is exclusive.  It's offensive.  It's derogatory.  Our campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people."  
  • U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act  "The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life."
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 Suggested Reading

  • Confessions of the Chromosomally Enhanced  An excellent blog full of fun, family, and experience.  From the writer's profile, "I was blessed to grow up with a big sister who has Down syndrome.  She is the light of our lives and she inspired another incredible blessing in our family - the adoption of our daughter, who also happens to have Down syndrome... The chromosomally enhanced life is not without its challenges, but the rewards are rich beyond compare." ​
  • Girl in a Party Hat  Blog writer Amy Silverman claims that having a daughter, Sophie, with Down Syndrome is the most interesting thing that ever happened to her.  Read about her family while they go about daily life and face its challenges, all with a sense of humor and a lot of heart. "Amy divides the world into two groups: the people who adore Sophie, and those who don’t look twice. Amy has to remind herself that once upon a time -- when it came to people who are "different" -- she fell in the latter category. And therein lies the blog..." You may have heard Amy and Sophie's story on Public Radio, via This American Life!  
  • Special Book by Special Kids  "Normalizing the Diversity of the Human Condition", the SBSK family includes over a million individuals in over 115 countries around the world. A non-profit, multi media movement, created in 2016 by a former special education teacher, aims to "celebrate all members of the neurodiverse community regardless of diagnosis, age, race, religion, income, sexual orientation, gender or gender expression"!