Special Education Family Engagement: Excel with Exceptional Lives

The Exceptional Lives Disability Services Finder is a bilingual, searchable, on-line directory of community-based resources to support children with disabilities and their families. 

Each version will be customized and designed to meet the unique needs of your school district. The structure and functionality of the database is proven and already in use in Louisiana and Massachusetts. 

Your DSF will be co-branded with your school district logo and tailored to the unique needs of your district.

Resources change so quickly that it is nearly impossible to maintain updated information without dedicated staffing and resources devoted to this purpose. Our team stays in regular contact with service providers listed to make sure we provide accurate, detailed information.

In addition, users can search our DSF based on distance from their ZIP code, type of service provided, whether the service accepts Medicaid, and a number of other factors so they can narrow down their list to exactly what they need.

If you have community-based resources you regularly refer families to, we are glad to incorporate those resources into the DSF.

We find that 80-90% of service providers experience a change in their business profile in the course of a year, so we routinely update 100% of our resource listings every year. Many are updated more often.

Each of our listings describes the services offered and who is eligible. We provide information about application processes when needed, and who the services are designed for. Our listings also include information about whether providers speak Spanish, and whether they accept Medicaid. We also specify the target population and whether the provider offers autism-friendly services.

Before adding a listing, we speak with a provider or administrator at the program. We will ask about licensure and practices and confirm all information available on the website. In the rare cases when we list a provider that does not accept insurance, we verify the license through the accrediting organization.

On the landing page for the DSF, we explicitly state that resource listings have been vetted for accuracy but that inclusion does not constitute endorsement or an indication of quality. We do not rate services because people’s experiences vary greatly depending on the needs of each child and family.

The DSF is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. It can be accessed easily from a computer, tablet, or mobile device.

We also provide both simple written instructions and a short how-to video, both in English and Spanish, for anyone who needs more support.

All of our listings are written using plain language guidelines, which make it easy for families to read, understand, and use the information. We avoid acronyms and define important terms to make the information as accessible as possible to all. 

Our DSF listings are all available in both English and Spanish. Spanish translations are provided by experienced translators, never by Artificial Intelligence. We also include information in each of our listings about whether providers speak Spanish.