JDDnet (Japan Developmental Disabilities Network)

The Japan Developmental Disabilities Network (一般社団法人 日本発達障害ネットワーク), or JDDnet, is a national network that connects the many groups working on developmental disabilities in Japan. For a parent, the most useful thing it offers is a way in: its published member list is a directory of the organizations that actually provide direct help, including the Japan Autism Society, the national LD (learning disabilities) parent group, ADHD and Asperger’s parent groups, the Japan Tourette Association, and professional bodies for speech therapists, occupational therapists, and clinical psychologists. If you are not sure which group fits your child’s autism, ADHD, or learning disability, JDDnet is a good place to trace your way to one.

It also runs a regional network called P-net (都道府県ネットワーク), which links local chapters and parent groups within a given prefecture, from Hokkaido and Iwate down through Saitama, Nagano, Shiga, Ehime, and Kagoshima. These regional networks run their own seminars and awareness work, so a family can often find activity closer to home than a Tokyo-based national body would suggest. Some of JDDnet’s own research is quite practical too, including surveys on the everyday difficulties developmental disabilities can bring around haircuts, shopping, and using public toilets, plus a parent training (ペアレント・トレーニング) guidebook.

One thing to know before you reach out: the JDDnet office itself does coordination and policy work, and it is upfront that it cannot take individual requests for advice. So the head office is not the place to call when you need help. Instead, use the member and regional lists to find a group that offers direct support, and start there.