Some useful sites, part 1

Starting with this one here (which I am having tremendous difficulty linking to, for some reason - try specialkidsintheuk.org if it still doesn't work). It's an online forum for anyone who's the parent of a child with special needs of any kind, and one I hadn't heard of before a reader sent it to me (thanks, Natasha). As most of you will know, the wonderful Mumsnet.com also has an excellent and very active Special Needs discussion board, here. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust has its own message board here (thank you, Jenny). Parents of children with arthrogryposis - which my lovely little godson has - should go here in the first instance.

(I know this is quite a random collection of sites, but more will follow. What can I tell you - it's a pretty random kind of blog).

I assume everyone knows about Contact a Family (if not, they're here), but I personally didn't know about Face 2 Face, who do the same kind of thing and are here. Presumably everyone who needs to knows about Heartline, whose message boards are here. Oh, and of course if your child has a genetic anomaly, no matter how obscure or, er, unique, Unique is an incredibly handy resource and will also put you in touch with other parents who've been where you are. Max Appeal,  saved my sanity when we found out that our daughter had DiGeorge syndrome/22q11 deletion. Be warned, however: not all the stories have happy endings. If you're new to all this, best not click on  children's individual stories straight away... I did, feeling especially fragile and deranged, and cried for three days (literally). But the factual stuff is brilliant, and it might be an idea to start off there. More useful sites as and when I find them - and if you have any you'd like to share, please post them here.

One last one - a charity that seems really impressive, and well worth a visit if you're the parent of an older child/young person. It's called Speaking Up.

One more. My love of the BBC's Something Special (in our house, Justin is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) is what started this whole blogging thing rolling. I was familiar with the brilliant kids' bit of the show's website, but somehow the bit for parents had passed me by. It's here.