Our History & Mission

"I realize that advocacy does not come naturally for many parents, but once they become the parent of a child with a disability they are often thrown into a confusing world of less-than-adequate services and fragmented funding. They find themselves thrust into the role of advocate for their child. The power of their collective voice is what makes change happen. In the end, it is the only thing that does."

-James Jeffords,
U.S. Senator from Vermont

Raising Special Kids began 29 years ago as “Pilot Parents,” a grass-roots effort of families, professionals, and community leaders who were determined to provide support and information for parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs. Today, Raising Special Kids supports thousands of Arizona families each year with disability-related resources, information, training, and support free of charge. Programs are offered in English and Spanish with Parent-to-Parent support as the heart of our mission.

The phrase “families helping families,” which appears in our logo, announces our commitment to support families in all forms – grandparents raising grandchildren, single parents, non-custodial parents, adoptive or foster families, and families who speak other languages and represent many cultures. Through our network of over 350 trained parent-to-parent volunteers, new families are connected with experienced parents of children with special needs. With one-on-one support, our parent volunteers assist and encourage families who have been newly diagnosed, or provide them on-going support for new or difficult challenges. Each year, 600 families discover the benefit of being “matched” with another family for parent-to-parent support. From the beginning, Raising Special Kids has been staffed by parents and family members of children and youth with disabilities.

Raising Special Kids is one of 100 national Parent Training and Information (PTI) centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education established under Part D of IDEA, to provide families and schools with information and training in special education. More than 1,000 individually customized Parent Information Packets are distributed annually to provide information on specific needs, disabilities, and resources. In addition to Parent-to-Parent support, Raising Special Kids provides NICU outreach, a Physician Residency Training program involving Residents from local hospitals, and a program for Nurses in training. Workshops and training are presented on topics covering family to family support, advocacy, educational rights, community resources, working with professionals, navigating systems of care, self-determination, and early intervention.

Additionally, experienced parents interested in expanding their leadership roles in the community, are provided with on-going training and support which enables them to assist with facilitating training programs, present at conferences, serve on state advisory and advocacy councils, and serve on our Board of Directors.