Week in Review - November 11, 2011

WEEK IN REVIEW

NewNASETPublications and Articles of Interest in Special Education and Disabilities That Were Reported This Week

November 11, 2011 - Vol 7, Issue 41

 

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In This Issue
New This Week on NASET
No Increased Cardiovascular Risk with ADHD Medications
ow Many Students With Disabilities Take the NAEP?
NIH-Funded Study Finds Dyslexia Not Tied to IQ
iPad Helps Give Voice to Students with Special Needs
March Of Dimes Works To Prevent Premature Births
People with Autism Superior in Multiple Areas
Hard Decisions for Individuals with Learning Disabilities
TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK
ADHD in Young Children Better Treated with Parental Training
Viral Vector Designed to Treat a Genetic Form of Blindness
Improved Allergy Shots Might Be on Horizon
Talking Transition for Students...with Special Needs
Study Finds Jaundice in Full Term Newborns is Associated with Autism
Assistive Technology for the Blind
The Pen That's Smarter Than the...Pen
Forming Inclusive Classrooms.
Children With Disabilities More Likely Overweight Than Peers
Could Zinc Help Prevent Autism?
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Welcome toNASET'sWEEK in REVIEWFeel free to send us articles for this publication or let us know your thoughts about theWEEK in REVIEWatnews@naset.org.Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,


NASETNews Team

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NASET MEMBER'S BENEFIT

Through an agreement with The American Academy of Special Education Professionals(AASEP),NASETmembers now have the opportunity to achieve AASEP Board Certification in Special Education - (B.C.S.E.) at a reduced fee.  AASEP Board Certification in Special Education - (B.C.S.E.) is a voluntary choice on the part of the candidate. The candidate for Board Certification wishes to demonstrate a commitment to excellence to employers, peers, administrators, other professionals, and parents. From the standpoint of the Academy, board certification will demonstrate the highest professional competency in the area of special education. Board Certification in Special Educationestablishes a much needed standard for professionals, across disciplines, who work with exceptional children.

 

For more information on Board Certification in Special Education,click here

New This Week on NASET

NASET's Practical Teacher

Rapid Reading Cards

It seemed like a treadmill, year after year testing adolescent struggling readers and placing them at the appropriate reading instruction levels. Too often, placement ended with students commenting, "I don't like this baby work". Placing students at their instructional reading levels deflated them, and they lost motivation. Following the zone of proximal development did not work well for middle school and high school students who were out of the zone years ago. The author tried a new approach. The new approach uses rapid reading word cards based on brain research to help struggling readers read the big words, multisyllable words. Using Brain Research to Master the Big Words author, Matthew J. Glavach, Ph.D., offers a reading instruction approach especially for adolescent struggling readers, based on core classroom curriculum. The approach, which he calls parallel reading intervention, organizes important content area vocabulary words into logical brain efficient word lists that make learning the words much easier. The rapid reading word cards develop automatic reading skills. Students improve word attack and vocabulary skills while improving their ability to succeed in the content area classes. The issue of NASET's Practical Teacher describes the approach, presents teaching ideas, provides brain efficient rapid reading word cards for English classroom vocabulary, and gives content area examples. .

To read or download this issue -Click here (login required)
______________________________________________________

Classroom Management Series


Adapting Curriculum for Students with Special Needs
Series VII Part#3


Part III-Checklist of Suggestions for Adapting the Curriculum
-
To read or download this issue -Click here (login required)

No Increased Cardiovascular Risk with ADHD Medications

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs did not increase the risk for cardiovascular (CV) events among children, data from a retrospective cohort study involving more than 1.2 million children and young adults indicate. William Cooper, MD, MPH, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and colleagues found no increased risk for sudden cardiac death, stroke or MI among younger current or former ADHD medication users compared with the general population. However, the upper limits of the 95% confidence intervals for current and former users "indicated that a doubling of the risk could not be ruled out," the researchers wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine, noting that the "absolute magnitude of such an increased risk would be low." To read more,click here

How Many Students With Disabilities Take the NAEP?

While many students with disabilities are included in state exams in reading, math, and other subjects, in 2005, a Government Accountability Office report found that they are more likely to be excluded from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation's Report Card. Even before the GAO report, there were studies and questions about whether students with disabilities participated in the NAEP. (And the National Governing Assessment Board did narrow the ways students with disabilities and students learning English could be excluded from the test, as my colleague Stephen Sawchuk noted last year.) To read more,click here

NIH-Funded Study Finds Dyslexia Not Tied to IQ

Regardless of high or low overall scores on an IQ test, children with dyslexia show similar patterns of brain activity, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health. The results call into question the discrepancy model-the practice of classifying a child as dyslexic on the basis of a lag between reading ability and overall IQ scores. In many school systems, the discrepancy model is the criterion for determining whether a child will be provided with specialized reading instruction.  With the discrepancy model, children with dyslexia and lower-than-average IQ scores may not be classified as learning disabled and so may not be eligible for special educational services to help them learn to read. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Emotional disturbances can affect an individual in areas beyond the emotional. Depending on the specific mental disorder involved, a person's physical, social, or cognitive skills may also be affected.

iPad Helps Give Voice to Students with Special Needs

Mason McClellan leans over the screen of his tablet computer, eager to show his teacher what he wants. For many other first-grade students, this would be a matter of raising his hand - or simply shouting out his request. But Mason, 6, has difficulty putting his thoughts into words that others can understand. That's where his tablet comes in handy. Mason searches the screen of his iPad for the picture he's looking for - an image of one stick figure gesturing toward another. He presses down on the image. "I want," the iPad says. "What do you want?" asks Kate Mansour, Mason's teacher at San Rafael's Venetia Valley Elementary School. Mason pauses, unable to find the right picture. He begins to type: "c-o-m-p-u-..." "You want to use the computer?" Mansour asks, and Mason nods. "What would you like to do with the computer?" In years past, Mason and Mansour's conversation - if it took place at all - might have required the two to sort through boxes full of laminated, printed images to find the pictures they needed to communicate. The arrival of tablet computers like the iPad is changing all of that, making it easier for students like Mason to unlock the words inside of them. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - Drexel Online

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March Of Dimes Works To Prevent Premature Births: November Is Prematurity Awareness Month

Premature births come with a long list of health consequences, including vision problems, learning disabilities and lung problems, which usually lead to asthma. Dr. Rajam Ramamurthy, a neonatologist at the UT-Health Science Center in San Antonio, said sometimes those premature births are caused by other health issues, where the doctor feels it is necessary to deliver early. "Most of the time, it's because of preference of family to want to deliver the babies at a certain time," said Ramamurthy. "And, also being a little sensitive to complications and other things for obstetricians going for early delivery of these babies." Alicia Grant, a parent of two children who were both born premature, said she remembers how helpless she felt when her 2-year-old son Kevin was born. To read more,click here

People with Autism Superior in Multiple Areas: Scientists Must Stop Emphasizing Shortcomings, Expert Urges

We must stop considering the different brain structure of autistic individuals to be a deficiency, as research reveals that many individuals with autism -- not just "savants" -- have qualities and abilities that may exceed those of people who do not have the condition, according to a provocative article published November 2 in Nature by Dr. Laurent Mottron at the University of Montreal's Centre for Excellence in Pervasive Development Disorders. "Recent data and my own personal experience suggest it's time to start thinking of autism as an advantage in some spheres, not a cross to bear," Mottron said. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Children with the most serious emotional disturbances may exhibit distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, bizarre motor acts, and abnormal mood swings.

Hard Decisions for Individuals with Learning Disabilities

The admissions process can be stressful for even the most gifted, organized students. But to applicants with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or learning disabilities, the path to college can feel like a maze. The Choice addresses some of the issues such students face. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - Learning Ally

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Help Your Struggling Readers Succeed. Give your students the very best opportunity to succeed by providing access to specially formatted audio textbooks and literature titles froLearning Ally.Our audiobooks remove barriers to content so your students can read independently and stay on track with their schoolwork. Learning Ally audiobooks are affordable and easy to download and play on a laptop, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and other mainstream devices.  Join Today!

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Guess the answer to this week's trivia question and we'll recognize you in next week's Week in Review.
Congratulations to: Deanna Krieg, Chaya Tabor, Marciel Bustos, Janice Robinson, Tina Theuerkauf, Jessica L. Ulmer, Karen Bornholm, MaryEllen Macek, Joan Kuhn, Valarie Rutherford, Joanie Dikeman, Amanda L. Davis-Holloway, Julia Godfrey, Lois Nembhard, Tracy Austin, and Zenobia Mann who all knew that
the American Academy of Pediatrics expanded its guidelines for diagnosing and treating kids with ADHD, recommending that doctors evaluate all patients aged four to 18 who show signs of the condition.

THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
This past October, a law school graduate, Stephanie Enyart, won what her lawyers hope is a final ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco vindicating her right to have the technological aids she sought when taking a bar exam. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a summary judgment finding that the National Conference of Bar Examiners violated the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act and California civil rights law when it refused to give Stephanie Enyart the aids she requested. What was Ms. Enyart's disability?

Hint: If you are unsure of the answer, read the Week in Review from 11/4/11.
If you know the answer, send an email tocontactus@naset.org
All answers must be submitted no later than Monday, November 14, 2011 at 12:00 p.m.

ADHD in Young Children Better Treated with Parental Training

Commonly prescribed medications appear to be safe and effective in controlling symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in older children, at least in the short term, but little evidence supports their use in children younger than 6 years, according to a recentreportthat recommends pediatricians consider advocating formal training in parenting strategies instead. The comparative effectiveness review report from the US Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that parent behavior training (PBT) is effective, with no reported risk of complications for preschool-aged children with disruptive behavior disorders such as ADHD. Although research on long-term effective and adverse effects is lacking, treatment with methylphenidate and atomoxetine have been shown to be effective in controlling ADHD symptoms in older children without significant risk of harm for up to 2 years, according to the report. To read more,click here

Viral Vector Designed to Treat a Genetic Form of Blindness

Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a viral vector designed to deliver a gene into the eyes of people born with an inherited, progressive form of blindness that affects mainly males. The vector is part of a clinical trial investigating the use of gene therapy to cure choroideremia, a disease that affects an estimated 100,000 people worldwide. The trial is being conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford in England. The vector was designed by Dr. Matthew During, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics and of neuroscience and neurological surgery at Ohio State, in collaboration with Robert MacLaren, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, who also leads the trial. To read more,click here

Improved Allergy Shots Might Be on Horizon

Allergy shots are time-tested treatments that reduce health care costs and can now provide relief to allergy sufferers within weeks instead of months, according to experts. And while allergy shots are currently given under the skin (subcutaneously), new methods of allergy immunotherapy are being investigated, delegates heard at this week's annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Boston. To read more,click here

Talking Transition for Students with Special Needs

Change is tough for everyone, but for a child with special education needs and a commitment to routine, transitions throughout school and life can be overly stressful and daunting."We know how difficult that transition is from elementary to middle school," explained Eileen Madena, board member of Cal-TASH, a statewide organization to help people with disabilities, "but there are transitions throughout the school experience that need to be addressed." Madena's remarks came during a regional Cal-TASH meeting held at Kellogg School last Wednesday, October 26, where strategies for improving such academic transitions for students with special educational needs were discussed. To read more,click here

Study Finds Jaundice in Full Term Newborns is Associated with Autism

A study that followed all Danish children born over a 10-year period found that exposure to jaundice as anewbornwas associated with an increased risk of a psychological development disorder, including autism. The study, "Neonatal Jaundice, Autism, and Other Disorders of Psychological Development," published in the November 2010 print issue of Pediatrics (published online Oct. 11), found full-term infants born between 1994 and 2004 who hadjaundicewere 67 percent more likely to develop autism. Neonatal jaundice - usually a result of elevated bilirubin production - is seen in 60 percent of term infants. For most infants, it resolves within the first week of life, but prolonged exposure to high bilirubin levels is neurotoxic and can cause lifelong developmental problems. To read more,click here

Assistive Technology for the Blind

Makers are change agents. As a group, they make because they like to fix things, adapt things, hack things to improve them. As individuals, each is a problem solver. Some solve problems for other makers or people in their niche area. Some solve problems for people who are disadvantaged. Steve Hoefer, ofGrathio Labs, falls into all those categories (not boxes, mind you). Tacit is the kind of project that stirs the imagination and hope in almost everyone that sees or hears about it. Tacit is "Sonar for the Blind." While working on a video game project, Mr. Hoefer had several ideas about how guide players through a dark room or cavern. Most of them were audio-based. Then he thought that audio would be cumbersome to use in a game, as it can also be in life when you have fewer visual cues. Mr. Hoefer looked to haptic technology for some answers. To read more,click here

The Pen That's Smarter Than the...Pen

A few years ago, science teacher Janice Crowley noticed a student in one of her classes who had failed the same course the previous year. She learned the student had failed because he had a full-time job and didn't have time to study during the week. By the time he got around to the course material on the weekend, he had forgotten the lesson. Concerned that things might not be much different the second time around, Crowley told him she would create a downloadable "pencast" of each lesson, essentially an audio recording of the spoken lecture synced with the notes she wrote during class, to help him re-experience the lesson at his convenience. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Many children who do not have emotional disturbance may display some of these same behaviors at various times during their development. However, when children have an emotional disturbance, these behaviors continue over long periods of time. Their behavior signals that they are not coping with their environment or peers.

Forming Inclusive Classrooms

I have recently come to understand that inclusive classrooms and schools are complex entities and require much thought and planning to bring to fruition. My friend and colleague Nicole Eredics emailed me this past summer and asked me to consider coming onto her new radio show, The Inclusive Class, as a guest to speak about the work I do in my inclusive class. My first thought in response to this request was, "Wow Nicole, why are you contacting ME? I have nothing at all to say. What I do is just so ordinary-nothing at all special. Surely you have emailed the wrong person!" Nicole has since taught me that the philosophy I live and breathe is a special one, and one that is not so "ordinary" at all. It turns out that, as a result of living and breathing an inclusive model of education my entire teaching career of 18 years (combined with the fact that I have known nothing different), my practice of  "inclusion" has become second nature to me. Nicole has helped me understand that what I do in my classroom is not at all 'ordinary.'  Nicole has invited me to believe that what I do is actually 'extraordinary.' Who would have thought? To read more,click here

Children With Disabilities More Likely Overweight Than Peers

Getting kids to exercise and eat right is challenging enough. But what if they will only eat foods that are yellow? Or don't have the same feelings of being full as other people? What if the medicine they take to control some of their behaviors makes them gain a lot of weight, fast, or makes them very lethargic? For students with disabilities, these are all real scenarios, compounding the challenges many children have to stay fit, notes a new report from AbilityPath.org, an online community for parents of children with disabilities and the professionals who work with them. But too often, children with disabilities-"the population that's most affected" by challenges with obesity-has been left out, said Sheryl Young, the CEO of AbilityPath.org. "Today we're changing that conversation." To read more,click here


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Could Zinc Help Prevent Autism?

Japanese researchers who took hair samples from nearly 2,000 diagnosed autistic children, aged from birth to three, found almost half of them had a zinc deficiency. The team, from the La Belle Vie Research Laboratory in Tokyo, concluded that zinc deficiency could lead to autism. They wrote in the journal Scientific Reports: "These findings suggest that infantile zinc deficiency may epigenetically contribute to the pathogenesis of autism and nutritional approach may yield a novel hope for its treatment and prevention." In their research, three-quarters of the children from whom samples were taken were male and a quarter female. This was not unrepresentative, as autistic spectrum disorders - the umbrella term for all types of autism - are known to affect boys more than girls. To read more,click here

Food For Thought..........

 

Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.

Frank Tyger

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