A new on-line resource for special education groups and families was launched by Associate Education Minister Lianne Dalziel today.

The resource - which offers reviews, and links to useful websites and information about events - is aimed at people supporting children and young people with special education needs. The launch was celebrated today with Lianne Dalziel adding the closing part to a continuous story written by children with special needs from around the country, and advisory reference group representatives.

"This is a wonderful tool for parents, groups and schools supporting young people with special needs. The site itself will be home to a number of online communities such as parents of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD); Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour (RTLB); and those creating collage materials for children and young people who are blind and vision impaired.

"This site was developed from the start by, and for, users from the Ministry of Education's advisory group which is made up of parents, disability group, school sector and tertiary representatives.

"It is interactive, colourful, and easy to read, use and follow. Development of the site been guided by AccEase, an access consultancy agency that employs disabled people to test web sites. As a result, I am thrilled that this site exceeds e-government recommendations for accessibility and it contributes to the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

"The core of the site has been developed, but more will be added as more people tap into this useful resource. I encourage anyone interested in supporting children and young people with special education needs to not only use this resource, but to feed into it so that they can share their experiences with others."

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

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