Providers Serving Washington County:

Addison Point Agency: 483-6500

Support for children with autism; programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

AMHC Targeted Case Management: 1-800-244-6431

Services to children ages of 0 to 20 who have a developmental disability or a mental health diagnosis. Case managers meet regularly with children and families in their homes to develop service plans, identify community resources and advocate for needed supports.  They support families by attending school meetings, medical appointments, making referrals, and monitoring services as they progress.

Bridging Program (Washington County Nurse Bridging): 598-5639

Support for prenatal moms who have a high-risk pregnancy, or moms with newborns that have medical complications. Program provides a nurse home visitor to work with families to help address their immediate needs and identify & facilitate on-going supports.

Catholic Charities: Education Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Children

Certified teachers work with children from birth through 21 years old.  Services include assistance in low vision training, Braille instruction, instruction in use of adaptive equipment, activities of daily living, and consultation to schools and families about the implications of visual impairment

Child Development Services (CDS): Machias 255-4892 |  Calais 454-7962

Screenings and evaluations; Services for preschool children with special needs

Circle of Parents  – Support Group: 263-5270

A supportive, parent led group to talk about the challenges and successes of raising children with special needs. Child care is provided.
Pembroke | 2nd & 4th Mondays of the month 3:30p – 4:30p (Pembroke Elementary School)

Financial Assistance to Purchase Services and Adaptive Equipment: 1-800-640-7200

A grant program (Title 7, Part B) through Alpha One in Maine offers Financial assistance to help consumers with disabilities address: Self-care; Mobility and home accessibility; Communication; Learning difficulties, and more. Funds are available to purchase services and adaptive equipment such as hand controls or lifts for vehicles, ramps, roll-in showers, hearing aids, TTYs, or flashing alarms or signals

Independent Support Services (through Catholic Charities Maine): 1-888-477-2263 / 454-0492

For seniors and adults with physical disabilities, especially those on a limited income– Homemaking Services include light housekeeping, grocery shopping, essential errands (such as banking and pharmacy), laundry, menu planning, and food preparation.  Call for more information

Katie Beckett Program for Disabled Children: 1-800-965-7476

Insurance program for disabled children that do not qualify for MaineCare (can add on to private insurance or use as stand alone insurance)

Kendall Case Management: 726-4003

Case management services for adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder.

KIDS LEGAL at Pine Tree Legal Assistance: 774-8246 / 1-866-624-7787

Provides free advocacy and legal services for low-income children who are in need of special education or other disability based supports in school and students facing disciplinary issues at school. Help with IEP meetings, 504 meetings, due process requests with the Dept. of Education, youth not enrolled in school due to homelessness or because they are living with adults that are not their guardians. Kids Legal also provides free consultations to community professionals working with children on these issues.

Lean On Me: 598-8066

Support group for parents with special needs children of all ages and diagnosis, focusing on advocating for your child.
Milbridge | Call or Email to: stephanie_moores@yahoo.com

Living Innovations: 255-3733

Case Management services for adults or children with disabilities; In-home support for adults or children; In-home support for seniors

Maine Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired: 561-4000 | 1-888-545-8811

Comprehensive services for visually impaired and blind individuals of all ages.

Maine Parent Federation: 1-800-870-7746

Help for parents of children with disabilities.  Links to services and resources including a team of providers called Family Support Navigators who can help organize paperwork, help find needed services, accompany families when meeting with doctors, school providers, other service providers.

MAS Home Care of Maine: Calais 561-9533 | Machias 259-1645

Support for parents of children with autism or special needs

The O.T. Spot (Occupational Therapy Clinic): 546-0723

Casey Openshaw is a pediatric therapist looking to serve kids in Downeast Maine. Pediatric occupational therapy focuses on helping children develop the skills they need to grow into independent adults. Currently Casey is contracted through CDS as an early intervention provider as well as serving her own clients in her home based clinic. Also on Facebook.
Email: theotspot@gmail.com
231 North Main Street, Milbridge

Partners in Care Coordination (PCC): 287-5349

Providing help and resources for families with children with special needs or ongoing medical procedures.  PCC also works with agencies and providers in Maine who work with families to help them connect with resources.

Pathways of Maine (formerly called Providence): 888-480-9550

Offering a range of services for children with behavioral health disorders, developmental disabilities, or autism. Services include targeted case management, home-based therapy, an Intensive home-based therapy program, and community-based behavioral health treatment for children and their families.

Public Health Nursing (PHN): 1-877-763-0438

Nurse Home Visiting – Nurses can provide support to patients of any age, in their home, providing health assessments, medicine management, and care coordination. This is a free service for residents of Maine, no insurance or Mainecare required

Robbie Foundation: Online contact only

The Foundation’s mission is to fund adaptive equipment, assistive technology, therapy treatment and/or any necessary item not covered by insurance.  By providing such services, their hope is to improve the quality of life for Maine’s children with special needs.
All applications must be submitted online at their website. Applications are approved on a quarterly basis.  Deadlines are January 5th, April 5th, July 5th, and October 5th.
Email questions to: robbiefoundation@gmail.com

SSI Benefits for Premature Infants: 1-800-772-1213

Special disability benefits for premature babies or babies born with low birth-weight babies called “presumptive disability” on SSI website

Sunrise Opportunities: 1-800-255-3124

Home care, day programs, shared living for adults with mental illness and intellectual disabilities

Washington County Children’s Program (WCCP): 255-3426

Support services for children with pervasive developmental disorder/autism, or intellectual developmental disabilities.  WCCP also offers a more intensive home-based, short-term treatment program for children diagnosed with significant emotional disorders and their families or caregivers.  WCCP also has an extensive resource lending library with books and DVDs on autism, parenting,  gentle and effective discipline, professional development, and books for children.

Wings: 255-0551

Case Management services for children with cognitive or behavioral challenges, a mental health diagnosis, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, Autism or Asperger’s Disorder.
Wings also has case managers who specialize in serving youth with complex medical needs.

Maine Providers (outside of Wash. County):

Autism Society of Maine: 1-800-273-5200

ASM has Information Specialists who provide resource information to parents, guardians, and schools to support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The specialists will work one on one to assist families, guardians and Individuals on the Autism Spectrum as they navigate child or adult services. The ASM website also has lots of links and resource materials for families.

C.A.R.E.S. Inc.: 377-7055 / 1-800-773-7055

Advocacy, case management and assistive technology for Maine’s citizens with disabilities. For more information email: kathy.despres@caresinc.org

Disability Rights Center of Maine: 1-800-452-1948

Providing the following services: Information and Referral; Individual Advocacy; Legal Representation; Education and Training; Assistance with Self-Advocacy.

Family Respite Program (through NAMI Maine): 1-800-464-5767

NAMI Maine Family Respite exists to assist families by enabling a much needed break in the responsibility of caring for a child with significant developmental delays and behavioral or emotional disorders. Through a certified provider network, trained per diem staff are available to care for children with special needs in their communities so that their parents can get a break. Qualified applicants can earn extra income while providing short-term relief to families of children with disabilities and special needs.

G.E.A.R. Parent Network: 626-3448 / 1-800-264-9224

A program of crisis and counseling centers for parents of children with behavioral needs.  Through parent-to-parent sharing of experiences and knowledge, G.E.A.R. Parent Network empowers parents of children with behavioral health needs to build on their family’s strengths and to advocate for their family’s needs.

Hear ME Now: 781-7199

Hear ME now is a Listening and Spoken Language Specialty program serving parents, educators, medical professionals, hearing professionals, children and adults with hearing loss.

Healthy Children’s Project:

This project was started by the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine to address the links between toxic chemicals in the environment and learning disabilities. The project is designed to:  Assist Maine families in learning more about toxic chemicals and what they can do to protect their families; Understand the possible causes of learning and developmental disabilities; Help protect the health of all Maine families.  For more information email: info@ldame.org

Learning Disabilities Association of Maine:

Comprehensive services for visually impaired and blind individuals of all ages including: Assistance and education services for children; Independent living services for adults; Financial services.  For more information email: info@ldame.org

Maine Down Syndrome Network: 1-866-571-2223

Non-profit organization providing support, education, and advocacy to our members and our communities

Maine Fragile X Resource Group: 657-2395 or Email to: mainefragilex@yahoo.com
Provides educational and emotional support for those affected by Fragile X, promotes public and professional awareness, and supports research toward improved treatments and a cure for Fragile X Syndrome.

United Cerebral Palsy of Northeastern Maine: 941-2885

Non-profit organization providing support, education, and advocacy to our members and our communities

Additional Resources & Links:

The Arc:

The Arc is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. We encompass all ages and more than 100 different diagnoses including autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and various other developmental disabilities

Autism Resource Center:

A wealth of information, resources, and links for families from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Autism Resource for Caregivers (from Sesame Street):

Resources for families using stories, cards, activities and Sesame Street characters.  This site helps families find ways to overcome common challenges and simply everyday activities.  Aimed for families with children ages 2 to 5

The Autism Response Team: 1-888-288-4762 or en Español 1-888-772-9050 or email familyservices@autismspeaks.org

Ask questions, find resources and tools, get guidance for what steps to take when you first receive a diagnosis for your child, find legal information regarding your child’s rights, get connected to local services, get help planning for your child’s future and transitioning to adulthood. The response team is sponsored by Autism Speaks, a website dedicated to resources and support for parents

Autism Support Network:

Join this free support community and connect with thousands of other families and individuals touched by ASD. Find out what’s working for others, coping strategies, and life guides from others living what you’re going through now.

Cerebral Palsy Group: Cerebral Palsy information, resources, and support

Children and Vision Loss

“Choosing Toys for Children with Vision Loss” is a helpful blog article from the American Federation for the Blind. “Interacting With Children Who Are Visually Impaired” is a guide from Vision Serve Alliance.

Exceptional Family Member Program (for US Military families): online only

Developed for military families that include a child with special needs.  The program provides resources and information to help parents navigate the maze of medical and special education services, community support, and benefits and entitlements

Hear Now (through Starkey Hearing Foundation): 1-800-328-8602

Hear Now is our application-based program that provides hearing help to low-income Americans. Each person we help is fit with new, top-of-the-line digital hearing aids that are customized to their hearing loss

Safety Tips for Families of Children with Special Needs

This video series from Safe Kids Worldwide shows three different scenarios for helping families  plan how help make their home and their child’s environment safer.