How to Use This Site

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Living in the Community

Finding Your Way Around

Access Maine has a menu at the top and at the bottom of every screen. Click any heading in the menu to go to that section. Notice how the menu changes at the top of the page when you move around. We hope this will help you to find your way around the site.

Home Page
The Home page has information about why the site was developed, privacy, copyright, and disclaimers. The Babel Fish icon is at the bottom of the page; use it to translate this site into another language.
Living in the Community
This is the largest area of the site. Here you will find links, tools and tips about services in Maine and the U.S. You may notice that the same links are found in more than one place. This is because they contain information on more than one subject.
Maine State System
This is a listing of the Maine State agencies that support services for persons with disabilities. It is arranged by the population served, list of services, and contact information. Use the Directory to find the services you need.
Using the Internet
If you’re a newcomer to using the Internet, check out the Guide to Using the Internet located in this section. There are also links to sites that tell you where you can find (free) public computers in Maine.
Health Center
This section provides useful health and medical information.
Library
The Library has three sections:
- in the Diagnosis Directory you can find sites that can help you find out about conditions and syndromes.
- in General Information, there are links to major, comprehensive sites and a glossary of terms.
- in the Glossary, you can find many acronyms and definitions of terms.
Maine Store
Here are links to stores where you can find and order the products you need, either online or over the phone.
Site Map
Click on the site map link to see how we have arranged the topic areas on this website.
Search
You can also type keywords into the “Search” box and it will list where that topic is found on this site. For a more specific search, use quotes around phrases.

Special Icons

We use this fountain graphic next to links that will lead you to sites that have lots of links to other resources. (Think "fountain of information" or "wellspring"!)

A Toolkit is a resource guide on a particular topic.

A Tip Sheet is a short listing of helpful hints. They have been developed by a number of organizations and authors on a variety of topics. Check them out!

Browser

Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator browsers have been tested and both work well for viewing all content on this website. Both browsers perform similar functions and which browser to use is your choice; however, we recommend the latest version of Internet Explorer for maximum efficiency. To download the latest version go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp.

Please note that when you click on one of the external links (a link that takes you to another website), your browser window will change to that new address and you will lose the connection with Access Maine. If you want to return to Access Maine, click on the “Back” button on your browser. In order to find Access Maine.org again easily, add this link to your “favorites” (Internet Explorer) or your “bookmarks” (if you use Netscape) on your computer.

Adobe Acrobat

Some documents available on Access Maine are in PDF (Portable Document Format) in addition to HTML format. PDF makes it easier to download and print formatted documents. The document can be viewed, navigated, printed, or forwarded as needed. To view and use the files, download the free Acrobat Reader, if you don’t already have it. Once downloaded, the Reader will start automatically when you choose a PDF file in this or any other website. You can download the Adobe Acrobat Reader by going to their site: http://www.adobe.com.

Linked Sites

There are many sites that you can go to from Access Maine. We always try to give the address of the exact location of the information described in the description. However, if the administrators of the linked sites rearrange their materials, the link may not work properly. Therefore, after the name of the site and the description of what you will find there, we always include the full url address. Every month we check that they are working, but if you find that the address does not work, try linking just to the site's home page.

For example, http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/index.htm is the address of the “Facts for Families” page of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. If that organization moves the location of their “Facts” page, the link won’t work and you will receive an error message. But you can link to their home page by typing in the first part of their address: http://www.aacap.org and looking for their “Facts” section from there. You can also find their Site Map that shows how they have arranged their information.

Accessibility

We developed Access Maine to be “Bobby-approved” so that it is accessible to text readers and other software that consumers may use. We have reviewed all the linked sites for accessibility and find that not all are compliant with Bobby standards. Rather than exclude some sites that are not compliant, but that contain useful information, we have included them and ask that you let us know if you have difficulty accessing them. We will provide those sites with information so that they can improve their accessibility.

Other Languages

There is an icon at the bottom of the Home page called Babel Fish. When you click on it a window will open. Where is says, "Translate a Web page," type in "www.Access Maine.org". Then choose the language you want to view the site in. You can choose English to French or Spanish, Chinese or other languages. When you choose one, the entire site will be translated into that language. When you click on any link within the site, it will also translate that site into the language you have chosen. If it doesn’t recognize a word in our website, it won't translate it. Don't be surprised if most of the site is in the new language and if some words are still in English. This is normal.

Plain Language

We have tried to write in plain language on this website. This has been difficult. Many of the programs, conditions, and services described on the site are complex. We try not to use jargon or complicated language. Sometimes we have to use it because the state agencies use it. When we do, we try to provide definitions. You will see some words on this site that are highlighted in green. When you see this it means that the word is explained in the glossary. Click on the word and the Glossary will open. The Glossary is located in the Library section of the site.