What you can expect
- All of our services are provided at no cost to NC Families
- Any support provided by ECAC staff remains 100% confidential
- Unbiased, accurate information
- Timely response
Empowering parents, caregivers, and youth
A child with special needs is not the only family member to need support. As a parent or caregiver, it can be challenging understanding a diagnosis, knowing where to start for services or feeling like you’ve been heard when it comes to your child’s care and education.
How we can help
1:1 Assistance to parents, families, self-advocates
We can answer questions about navigating the special education process, community resources, parent rights, family engagement, self-advocacy, and more. We also offer specialized support for families & children with deaf-blindness. ECAC staff cannot provide legal advice.
When you call ECAC for 1:1 assistance, you will speak to a Parent Educator who will help you find the answers you need. What makes our services especially helpful is that each Parent Educator on staff is also a parent to a child with a disability. We know what it is like to go through this process both on a technical and personal level.
Workshops and trainings for family members and youth
ECAC provides engaging and informative trainings that help build the knowledge and skills of participants. We offer trainings regularly on various topics and offer them both online in webinar format and in person across the state.
Trainings are offered in English and Spanish. You can request an in-person training or webinar using our online form.
Family leadership development
Families are their child’s first and best teacher. We also know that families can be their child’s best advocate. To support this, ECAC provides training to families to develop their leadership skills to advocate for their own and other children. We also connect them to leadership opportunities across the state.
The voice of families is key to ensuring we have the best systems in place to foster positive outcomes for ALL children.
Youth leadership
Working directly with young people is critical to understand how to best support them in their journey to become as independent as possible. ECAC coordinates a youth leadership team that meets monthly, and also conducts several trainings for youth around topics related to transition and self-determination.
ECAC values youth voice and creates opportunities that are youth driven.
North Carolina's PTI Center
Who we serve
- North Carolina parents and family members of a child from birth to age 26 with special needs
- Children and youth with special needs from birth to age 26
- Educators and professionals who work with children with special needs
North Carolina's DeafBlind Project
The North Carolina DeafBlind Project (NCDBP) is a federally funded grant through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is a collaboration between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Office of Exceptional Children, East Carolina University and the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center.
The North Carolina DeafBlind Project provides free individualized support to families of children with DeafBlindness from birth through 21 years of age. The following are examples of the type of assistance offered to families:
- Information and Resources: Access state and national resources. Receive a free resource packet.
- Consultation: Receive individualized assistance from a Parent Educator
- Training: Attend state and national conferences, attend in person workshops or online webinars.
- Networking: Meet and connect with other parents and professionals.
ECAC and the North Carolina State Improvement Project (NCSIP)
NCSIP is a program in the Exceptional Children Division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Funded by the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education, NCSIP works to improve the quality and effectiveness of educational programs and instruction for students with disabilities in North Carolina.
- Provides support to schools in the use of the Family Engagement Quality Indicators Checklist.
- Conducts Parents as Leaders trainings across the state to help families gain the knowledge and skills needed to become more actively involved in helping improve educational outcomes and services for children with disabilities.
- Coordinates and maintain the “Speakers Network” which is comprised of family members of students with disabilities. These parents share their stories in teacher preparation courses at universities.
- Engage community partners to help increase family engagement through research-based activities.
Speak with a parent educator
If you would like to start by speaking with a Parent Educator, call (800) 962-6817 or use our online form.
