Must-See Family Sites.

The following sites are packed with resources that should come in handy for parents of' children who have special needs, and are seeking information on disabilities, as well as on regular parenting topics:

The Family Resources Center (http://www.php.com)--"Meeting children's special needs through Parents Helping Parents." This site seeks to help children achieve their full potential by providing their families, and the professionals who serve them, with sources for information and networking. Some of The Family Resource Center's notable features include: a searchable Resource Directory; a Parent Training Schedule; a section on Assistive Technology; as well as links to Support and Information groups for special needs, which also covers Learning Differences--and cross-cultural support groups (Spanish, Vietnamese, etc.).

In addition, The Family Resource Center has a link to the "Partnerships for Family Involvement in Education" database, a program of the California Institute on Human Services at Sonoma State University. This Web site, in turn, seeks to disseminate information on successful tools and strategies that encourage partnerships between families, organizations, educators, and policy makers.

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (http://www.nichcy.org)--NICHCY is the national information and referral center providing information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. With focus on children mid youth (birth to age 22), NICHY's site provides information and makes referrals in areas related to: Specific Disabilities; Early Intervention; Special Education and Related Services; Individualized Education Programs; Family Issues; Disability Organizations; Professional Associations; Education Rights; and Transition to Adult Life.

Through its site, NICHCY also makes available a wide variety of its publications, including fact sheets on specific disabilities; state resource sheets; parent guides; bibliographies; "News Digest" and "Transition Summary." Most of NICHY's materials are available in English and Spanish.

Parent Soup (http://www.parentsoup.com)--A popular site belonging to the iVillage umbrella of Web sites, Parent Soup attracts communities of users who exchange messages on topics relating to raising children. The communities are grouped accordingly: Pre-pregnancy Parents; Expecting Parents; Parents of Babies; Parents of Toddlers and Pre-schoolers; Parents of School-age Children; mid Parents of Teens. The site also includes features such as "Fertility Options," "Baby Name Finder," "Child Development Profile," and "Child and Senior Care Directories."