You Shouldn't Have to Find Everything on Your Own
We built a free resource guide for families in Montgomery County. Because finding your village matters, and you have enough on your plate already.
Here's something we hear a lot at MOCO. A family comes in for an evaluation, or they've been with us for a while, and at some point the conversation turns to: "Do you know of anything for kids like mine?"
Adaptive sports. Camps that get it. Someone who might actually have a grant to help with the equipment their child needs. A group of other parents who understand what the weekends look like. Somewhere to start when the pediatrician gives you a diagnosis and sends you home with a pamphlet.
We always try to help. We share what we know, we make phone calls, we ask around the staff. But honestly, the information has never been in one place. Families have had to piece it together, search for hours, ask in Facebook groups, start from scratch every time.
That didn't feel right to us. So we did something about it.
"Finding the right programs and supports shouldn't feel like a second job."
Introducing the MOCO Community Resource Guide
We spent a lot of time putting together a free, public resource guide for families across Montgomery County and the greater DMV region. Not a quick list of links. A real guide: organized, searchable, with contact information, notes on who each resource serves, and honest flags where we didn't have current information (because things change, and we'd rather say "confirm directly" than send you somewhere that's closed).
Right now it has over 60 resources across 12 categories. We plan to keep adding to it as we learn about more programs, and we've set it up so families and community partners can suggest resources we've missed.
Here's what's in it:
Adaptive Sports & Movement
Recreation, Arts & Social
Aquatics
Camps & Summer Programs
Therapeutic Horseback Riding
Financial Assistance & Grants
Adaptive Equipment & Tech
Accessibility Passes
Family Support Groups
Early Childhood Programs
Clinical Research
Fundraising Platforms
A few things worth knowing about
We could just say "go check the guide," but we wanted to highlight a few programs that we think families in our community might not know about, or might have heard of but not looked into yet.
If your child is under 3: the Montgomery County Infant and Toddler Program
This is one of the most important and underused resources in our county. The Montgomery County Infant and Toddler Program (ITP) provides free early intervention services to children birth through kindergarten age who have a developmental delay or diagnosed condition. Services come to you, in your home or wherever your child spends time. You can refer your own child. You don't need a doctor's referral to start the process. Call 240-777-3997 or visit referral.mditp.org.
But here's something we want families to understand clearly, because we hear a lot of confusion about this: ITP and outpatient therapy are not the same thing, and they're not trying to be.
ITP is a parent training model. That's not a knock on it. It's actually a very intentional design. The idea is that the therapist or specialist comes into your home, works alongside you, and teaches you how to support your child's development throughout the day: during bath time, mealtimes, play on the floor. The goal is to build your confidence and your capacity as the person who's with your child every waking hour. It's powerful. It works. And it's free.
Outpatient therapy, like what we do at MOCO, is different. Our OTs, PTs, and SLPs work directly with your child in a dedicated clinical setting. We're assessing and treating specific skills, using specialized equipment and approaches that aren't possible on a living room floor. We can go deeper on particular goals. We can be more intensive. And we work closely with you to carry what happens in the clinic back into daily life.
Neither one replaces the other. They actually complement each other really well, and a lot of families we see are doing both at the same time. ITP might be working on how you position your child during feeding while we're working on oral motor skills in clinic. ITP might be coaching you on floor play while we're targeting core strength and postural control in the gym. When everyone is communicating and working toward the same goals, children make more progress.
If your child is under 3 and not yet connected to ITP, call them. If you're already in ITP and you're wondering whether outpatient therapy would add something, that's a conversation we're happy to have. We work alongside early intervention teams all the time, and we can help you figure out what makes sense for your child right now. Reach out to us here, or call (301) 770-5437.
One more thing for ITP families: First Friday Playdate at MOCO
This is something we started last year, and we're going into our second year running it. On the first Friday of every month (September through June), from 10:30 to noon, we open our doors to families in the Montgomery County Infant and Toddler Program. No registration. No agenda. Just come.
The idea came from something we kept noticing: ITP is built around home visits, which is exactly right for what it's trying to do. But that model can also be really isolating. You're getting great support in your living room, but you might not know a single other family going through the same thing. You might not know what questions to ask. You might not know what happens when your child turns 3 and services change.
So we created a space for that. Families come with their kids, the kids play together in our gym, and the grown-ups get to just talk. Our team is there to answer questions when they come up, whether that's about a specific therapy goal, what Child Find looks like, or just "what should I be thinking about right now." Sometimes a parent just needs to sit across from someone else who gets it.
It's free. We don't ask anything of you. And we're not going to spend the morning pitching you on services. We do this because the ITP years can be a lot, and growing your village matters. If families happen to learn more about MOCO while they're here, great. But that's not why we do it.
If you're in ITP right now, or if you know a family who is, come find us on a Friday morning. The first one of the school year is in September.
Child Find: a right, not a favor
Once a child turns 2 (and up through age 21), Montgomery County Public Schools is required by federal law to evaluate any child who might have a disability. This program is called Child Find. The evaluation is free. You don't need to wait for your school to bring it up. You can request it yourself, in writing, at any time. You also don't need a diagnosis in hand first.
A lot of families don't know this. We want to change that.
Grants that help cover therapy and equipment
We included 12 different financial assistance programs in the guide, ranging from the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation (grants up to $5,000 for therapy and equipment) to Maryland's Low Intensity Support Services program (up to $2,000 for individuals with developmental disabilities) to smaller, specific grants for things like AAC devices and adaptive bikes.
Every one of these takes effort to apply for. None of them are a sure thing. But families who don't know they exist can't apply at all, and some of these have made a real difference for kids in our community.
Adaptive sports: there's more than you think
Montgomery County has a Miracle League baseball program, an adaptive ice hockey team (the Montgomery Cheetahs), KEEN Greater DC (free, volunteer-supported sports for kids with cognitive and physical disabilities), adaptive tennis at JTCC, CP Soccer, and more. Some kids thrive in therapy. And some kids just need a team. We think both things are true, and we wanted to make sure families know both doors are open.
Finding your people
The family support section of the guide might be the part we care most about. There are organizations in this area specifically for families of children with Down syndrome, hemiplegia, autism, cerebral palsy, and more. Team IMPACT connects kids facing serious illness or disability with college athletic teams. Team Up for 1 matches children with volunteer "teammates" for one-on-one friendship and activities. MainStreet Connect helps families discover local programs and social opportunities across the DMV.
Kids need therapists. They also need friends. Parents need connection with people who actually get it. We hope some of what's in this section helps with that second part.
A note on this guide
Programs change. Eligibility requirements shift. Organizations close, move, or evolve. We've done our best to include current contact information and honest notes on what we know and don't know, but please contact each organization directly before making plans based on what's listed.
Including a resource here isn't a formal endorsement from MOCO. We share things because families have found them helpful. We encourage you to ask your own questions and use your own judgment.
This guide is for everyone
You don't have to be a current MOCO family to use it. You don't have to have a child in therapy, or have a diagnosis, or even know exactly what you're looking for. We built this for any family in the Montgomery County area who's ever sat at a kitchen table at 11pm trying to figure out what's next.
If you're a therapist, a teacher, a pediatrician, a social worker, or anyone else who works with families: please share it. The whole point is to get this information into more hands.
Help us keep it growing
We know we've missed things. There are programs we don't know about yet, resources that have launched since we compiled this, and organizations specific to conditions or communities we haven't fully represented. We want to fix that.
If you know of something that belongs in this guide, email us at classes@mocomc.com with the subject line "Resource Hub Addition." Tell us the name of the organization, what they offer, and who they serve. We'll review every suggestion and add what fits. You'll be helping the next family who searches for what you already know.
We've watched a lot of families walk through our doors carrying more than anyone should have to carry alone. This guide won't change everything. But if it helps one parent find the grant that pays for the equipment their child needs, or one kid find the sport they love, or one family find other people who understand what their life looks like, then it was worth every hour we put into it.
That's what we're here for.
Ready to explore the guide?
Over 60 resources for families in Montgomery County and the DMV region. Free, always.
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