Site of the Day

The "Terrible Towels" waved by Pittsburgh Steelers fans at yesterday's Super Bowl are more than just a sign of team support. Proceeds from the towels benefit Allegheny Valley School, which "operates residential and therapeutic programs throughout Pennsylvania for children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities." Read more about those programs and the towel connection on the school's site.

This month's theme is Friendship, and About.com Learning Disabilities guide Ann Logsdon has gathered articles and posts from around the About.com Parenting channel to illustrate it -- including my article on dealing with toxic people.

Here's a neat idea for diabetes awareness and fundraising from the folks at Pump Wear. Arrange some spare change in the shape of the number that represents how many years your child has been diagnosed with diabetes. Take a picture, and e-mail it to Pump Wear, where it will be displayed on the "Wall of Change." Then bundle up those coins and mail them to Pump Wear, for donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Plan Toys makes educational wooden playthings with an eye to children's developmental levels, and they'd like children with special needs to benefit from that. Through Plan Brings Smiles, the company donates free toys to schools and programs. Show your child's teachers or therapists this page, where they can apply to receive a Sound Block set (suggested for children with visual impairment), Pin-Ball Tray (suggested for children with autism), or Caterpillar/Butterfly (suggested for children with cerebral palsy).

If you have a child with behavior issues, you know how important it is to have a good box of tools you can draw on to change the environment, altar your approach, distract and amuse. This new site from Jodee Kulp and Deb Fjeld is full of new tricks to add to your supply. In addition to useful articles, there's a community site for swapping stories with other parents of "atypical" children.

Your Saturday super-sized listing of amusements, including a family activity, a site for the kids, a shopping site, a site offering humor or inspiration about parenting children with special needs, and a site that's just silly or fun.

The games got underway on February 7, with more than 2,000 athletes gathering in Boise, Idaho. They'll be competing through February 13, and you can find photos, videos, and stories here on the Special Olympics website.

"Flashes of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating uplifting portraits of children fighting cancer and other life threatening illnesses." From the site, you can find a chapter near you, make a donation, and view beautiful photos of children and families.

If your child has a restricted diet, it shouldn't restrict your family from traveling to countries where you won't be able to explain those restrictions in your native language. Select Wisely offers cards for advising foreign restaurant personnel on a variety of health needs, translated into fifteen standard languages and more on special order.