The Family Village provides families with education and networking, a role that support groups have historically served. Some people may have been intimidated by a support group format, did not live close enough to participate, or may not have had respite care to allow attendance to such a group. One issue that concerns Vial is the need for guidelines in determining the validity of new treatments and for obtaining expert advice on controversial topics that families can learn about on the Internet. When presented with new or controversial topics and treatments, Rowley recommends that parents obtain copies of the material and share it with their health care providers. She also encourages parents to contact a national association for the disability or condition, and ask for its recommendation.
Most national associations have medical advisory boards that review new treatments.
The Family Village has been honored with numerous awards for its excellence. The Family Village also has been reviewed and recommended in A Parent s Guide to the Internet by Parry Aftab. The Family Village is continually being updated, according to Rowley, and she encourages people to contact her if they can t find information about a particular topic. They are very gratified with the contributions of these new Ph.D.s, who come to the center for a two-year fellowship to conduct research on developmental disabilities, with a specific focus on social, psychological, or communicative processes. The program is made possible by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and by funds from the Waisman Center.