Parent Resources
Check out these helpful resources for parents and caregivers!
The following is intended to help parents identify programs and individual services available for their child diagnosed with autism. This is not intended to be all-inclusive. DCAP is not endorsing any of these resources. We encourage parents to carefully research options, read books, talk to professionals and other parents, and most importantly, trust their own instincts. No two children diagnosed with autism are exactly alike; and treatment outcomes will vary from child to child. It is important to recognize that you can make a difference in your child’s life and that your child can be successful.
DCAP Resources
Monthly Newsletter: Our monthly electronic newsletter offers topics of interest for families and providers of children and youth diagnosed with autism. We provide resources that might be helpful in day-to-day life, a calendar of events that includes local and national opportunities and highlights autism news and research. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
Video Series: Our video series offers topics of interest for families and providers of children, youth, and young adults diagnosed with autism. The video series arrives weekly in your email box. Subscribe to our video series.
Monthly Support Group: CURRENTLY SUSPENDED!!! Our monthly support groups provide a space for families to connect with one another and to share resources. The monthly support group is hosted on the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Visit our Events Calendar to register for an upcoming support group.
Recorded Webinars
Managing Challenging Behaviors: Yetta Myrick hosts Amanda Hastings, PsyD, Director of Behavioral Development with Children’s National Hospital as she provides an overview of behavior, common behavior problems, and strategies to address these behaviors.
Self-Care: Yetta Myrick provides an overview of self-care and practical ideas for parent/caregivers to start their own self-care practice as they navigate COVID-19.
Smithsonian Digital Resources: Yetta Myrick hosts Ashley Grady, Senior Program Specialist with Access Smithsonian as she provides families with an overview of the Smithsonian Digital Resources as families navigate COVID-19.
Speech, Language, and Social Skills at Home: Yetta Myrick hosts Keisha Berry, MS, CCC-SLP, owner of Spectrum Education and Therapy Center as she provides families with speech, language, and social skills strategies to use at home during COVID-19 and beyond.
Resource Guides
Sexuality and DD
The topic of sexuality can be challenging to discuss, especially when concerning people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. DCAP proudly offers workshops parents and professionals on sexuality education to promote sexual health for people with ID/D. Our Let's Talk About Sex! workshops are designed specifically to help parents, caregivers, and professionals become more comfortable with this important and sensitive subject. Join us every month to learn about sexuality education, consent, dating, internet safety and much more! Check out our Events Calendar for information regarding upcoming Let's Talk About Sex! workshops.
DC Resources
Parent Training and Information Center: Each state has at least one Parent Training and Information (PTI) Center funded under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). The goal of the PTI is to support families of children birth-22 with disabilities by providing free information to maximize their child’s education. DC’s PTI is Advocates for Justice & Education.
Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F): Advocates for Justice & Education (AJE) is DC’s F2F, which is a family-led center funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. There is one F2F in each state, and each F2F is staffed by highly skilled, knowledgeable family members who have first-hand experience and understanding of the challenges faced by families of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs.
Parent to Parent (P2P): Parent to Parent USA is a national network of P2P programs to ensure access to quality emotional support for families of individuals with disabilities and/or special health care needs. Through a one-to-one “match,” experienced Support Parents provide emotional support to families of individuals with special health care needs and assist them in finding information and resources. Family Ties of DC is a “new” parent to parent program for District of Columbia parents and caregivers of children with disabilities.
Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council: The DC DD Council is an independent, community-based advisory committee funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the Council possesses a membership of fifteen (15) dedicated individuals charged with identifying and addressing the most pressing needs of people with developmental disabilities in the DC community. The DD Council seeks to strengthen the voice of people with developmental disabilities and their families in support of greater independence, inclusion, empowerment, and the pursuit of life as they choose.
Partners in Policymaking (PIP): PIP is a program that prepares adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD), parents, and family members of children and adults with I/DD to be effective advocates at the local, state, and federal levels. This program is currently available in over 30 states, including DC. DC Advocacy Partners (DC AP) is DC’s Partners in Policymaking Program. DC AP is a leadership training program designed for self-advocates and family members of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities as well as professionals working with people with disabilities.
National Organization
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Parent Trainings
ADEPT (Autism Distance Education Parent Training) Interactive Learning, developed by UC Davis MIND Institute/Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, is a 10-lesson interactive, self-paced, online learning module providing parents with tools and training to teach their child with autism and other related disorders functional skills using applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques.
Help is in Your Hands, developed by UC Davis clinical psychologists, Sally Rogers and Aubyn Stahmer, is an online interactive resource for families with young kids with symptoms of or diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, as well as for early-intervention providers. It is a free website with 16 web-based video modules to help parents add simple intervention practices to their everyday routines at home. It also offers several webinars for providers on coaching parents to support their young children with autism or with social communication problems. Please visit to access.
Resource Guides/Toolkits
Organization for Autism Research Guidebooks
Sesame Street and Autism (en español)
Got Transition® A Family Toolkit: Pediatric-to-Adult Health Care Transition
Research and Science
Association for Science in Autism Treatment: Learn More About Specific Treatments
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee
Recreational Programs