The Center is designed to enable open exchange of information and to facilitate collaboration among a variety of individuals who have an interest in children who have emotional or behavioral problems. In order to support information-sharing and collaboration, we ask that all who participate do so with personal responsibility and integrity. We request that you:

• Use respectful language at all times - no personal attacks. We're all working toward a common goal and each of us deserves to be treated with respect.

• Spell out acronyms. Acronyms are helpful shortcuts, but only to people who know what they stand for. A good guideline -- the first time you use a term in a document, use the full term, followed by the acronym in parenthesis. For example: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

• Try to avoid jargon. Not all of us use the same terminology, and we don't want to confuse anyone. Please explain any technical terms you use. We've tried to do this throughout the website as well - please let us know if you find something unclear.

• A number of people have been kind enough to allow us to display their articles on our website. Any articles placed on this website are the property of the author or publisher. Articles on the web may be slightly different from the printed version, (e.g. more tables or figures). While you are welcome to download and use this information, please do not change or modify the documents in any way, and be sure to acknowledge the author.

• In any E-mail you send to us or to listserv groups, please use the subject line to describe the contents or topic of the message. This makes it easier for your reader to decide when to open a document.

• If you have other ground rules to suggest, please E-mail us.