We have supplied links from this website in good faith and purely to assist you. We cannot be held responsible for the content of third-party sites, and you make use of them and of the information they provide at your own risk. The presence or absence of a link does not necessarily imply that AAOF does, or does not, endorse or support these other groups or the information supplied.

A lot of information is available online mainly in Dutch, but with the help of well-known online translation tools this is no longer a big issue.

Autism Organizations in NL

Special Needs Organizations in NL

• Balans
  Netherlands-wide support organisation for parents of children with conditions such as ADHD, ADD, Asperger, Dyslexia, PDD-NOS and other. 
  www.balansdigitaal.nl (in Dutch)
• Kentalis
  Public organisation that aims at supporting children, youngsters, and adults who are hard of hearing, deaf, deaf-and-blind, visually impaired, those who are developmentally delayed in the field of speech and language, as well as those who are autistic or mentally disabled and in addition have difficulties with speech or language. Anyone confronted with barriers to communication is entitled to support from Kentalis in the form of diagnostics, care and education.
  www.kentalis.com (in Dutch and English)
• Youz
  Youz helps children, young people and (young) adults who have complaints or more serious psychological problems,

  such as: ADHD, ADD, anxiety disorder, autism, depression, compulsive disorder, eating disorder and more.
  Most Youz practitioners are psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, nurse specialists or (ortho) pedagogues. They have knowledge of the diseases and work with children and young people and their families on a daily basis.

  Various locations through Holland
  088 358 88 88
  www.youz.nl (in Dutch)
• MEE
  MEE is an organisation with specialists who can help answer questions on matters related to education, upbringing, housing, employment, social facilities, income, transport and leisure-time activities for anyone with a handicap, functional disability or chronic illness. This organisation is funded by the Dutch government and its services are available free of charge. The website is exclusively in Dutch, but MEE provides a brochure with general information in English (PDF document).
  Telephone: 0900 999 8888
  www.mee.nl
• Start Foundation
  Start Foundation creates, preserves and makes jobs accessible for disadvantaged persons who have no or limited access to the labor market in the Netherlands.
  www.startfoundation.nl (in Dutch and English)

Parent Support Groups in NL

• AAOF Autism Association for Overseas Families in the Netherlands
  Facebook group for parents and professionals where questions and general information may be posted about autism in the Netherlands.
  Visit the Facebook page
   
• ADHD Support Group
  Everyone is welcome to come along to our group if you have a child with ADD/ADHD or think that your child may have ADD/ADHD or just want to find out more information. Please join our relaxed, friendly group of international parents.
  eseng.nl/adhd
   
• Special Needs Families in the Netherlands
  This Facebook group is open to all families in the Netherlands who have children with special needs, particularly expat and immigrant families.
  Visit the Facebook page
   
• CHIRP Amsterdam - the Netherlands International Autism Family Network
  Play/support group for parents who have children with neurobiological disorders such as sensory issues, autism, aspergers, ADHD, epilepsy and other pervasive developmental disorders that are related to the Autism Spectrum etc.
  Visit the Facebook page
   
• First Friends Playgroup
  First Friends International Parent & Toddler Group meets every Wednesday morning during term time in Voorhout, from 9.30am to 11.30am. Parents of any nationality together with their babies/toddlers aged 0-4 and who enjoy speaking English are warmly welcome!
  web: firstfriendsvoorhout.blogspot.com
  address: De Spelewey, Breughelhof 8, 2215 AB, Voorhout
   

Education

• Ark Stichting
  Small day centre offering specialised education for children with autism and other developmental challenges. Located in Amsterdam.
  www.arkstichting.nl
   
• ASH - American School of The Hague
  Learning Support for students with mild/moderate disabilities.
  https://www.ash.nl/experience/inclusion
   
• ECIO
  Dutch expert centre for studying with disabilities. It promotes the participation of students with disabilities in higher education. The mission of ECIO is to allow students with a handicap to successfully participate in the higher education of their choice.
  www.ecio.nl (in Dutch)
   
• Inclusion4all
  Educational consultancy service based in The Hague area and serving the international community (parents and professionals), helping schools to review their philosophy of inclusion, examine their practices and improve their knowledge and skills in meeting the needs of students with additional needs in their classrooms.
  inclusion4all.com
  
  
• Lighthouse Special Education
  International primary school, located in The Hague. It offers a special educational programme conducted in English to students (3-13 years old) of the international community in the Netherlands.
  www.lighthousese.nl (in English)
   
• Angloinfo Netherlands: Special Education
  Information in English about the provisions for children with special needs in the Netherlands.
  www.angloinfo.com/netherlands (in English)
   
• Ouders & Onderwijs
  Information point for parents over education in NL.
  www.oudersonderwijs.nl (in Dutch)
   
• Passend Onderwijs (Appropriate Education Act)
  Appropriate Education Act (August 2014): new educational system in The Netherlands:
  
  Rijksoverheid (Government of the Netherlands)
  Passend Onderwijs (in Dutch)
  Appropriate education at primary school (in English)
  
  
• SPPOH - Stichting Passend Primair Onderwijs Haaglanden
  The boards of governors of schools in The Hague, Rijswijk and Leidschendam-Voorburg work together in the Stichting Passend
  Primair Onderwijs Haaglanden (SPPOH). The regional alliance SPPOH provides support in the form of information, but it also provides funding for educational support packages and awards referral declarations.
  https://www.sppoh.nl/english
   
• SIO - Stichting Internationaal Onderwijs
  List of all international schools and international departments of Dutch schools in the Netherlands, by the Foundation for International Education in the Netherlands.
  www.sio.nl

Professionals

• International Therapist Directory - Nederland
  List of international therapists who have a practice in the Netherlands.
  https://internationaltherapistdirectory.com
   
• Vind-een-Therapeut.nl
  You can find all English speaking psychotherapists, psychologists and coaches here. These therapists have enough knowledge of the English language to be able to give psychotherapy sessions in English.
  http://www.vind-een-therapeut.nl/zoeken/engels-sprekend-therapeut-english-speaking.html
  
  
• Ergotherapie Nederland
  National association for ergotherapists. Click on “ Ergotherapeut zoeken”. Type the post code or the name of the city where you live and you will get a list of occupational therapists in your area. We recommend you check that they are familiar with sensory integration dysfunction (sensorische integratie) and that they are working with children.
  www.ergotherapie.nl
   
• NSSI - Nederlandse Stichting voor Sensorische Informatieverwerking
  National association for Sensory Information Process. Click on "Therapeuten lijst" for a complete list of professionals in your region.
  www.nssi.nl

Tools & resources

• Picto-Selector
  Free Windows application for creating visual schedules. The download contains over 28000 pictos (images) translated to English, Dutch, German, French, Danish, Spanish, Brazilian and Italian.
  www.pictoselector.eu
   
• SAM - Stress Autism Mate 
  A personalized app helping people with autism spectrum disorders in dealing with daily experienced stress.
  The app checks your stress four times a day via a short questionnaire and thus calculates your experienced stress level. After this, the app gives you personally-set tips, depending on the situation you are in. 
  Suitable for teenagers and adults with a intermediate knowledge of Dutch.
  https://www.stressautismmate.nl
   
• SPARK®
  SPARK stands for Speech Practice for Autistic and other Remarkable Kids. SPARK is a practical tool, built using PowerPoint®, that works with the strengths common in many people who have autism: visualisation, strong memory and an affinity for computers. The PowerPoint® shows images with questions and answers linked to them and provides a generalised, visual pool of language with which to practice. Free to download.
  www.sparkcommunity.net
   
• ZAC Browser
  Zac Browser is a totally free software package. It is the first Internet browser developed specifically for children living with variants of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, PDD not otherwise specified and PDD-NOS.
  www.zacbrowser.com