Week in Review - January 13, 2012

WEEK IN REVIEW

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

January 13, 2012 - Vol 8, Issue 2


 

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In This Issue

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK


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Dear NASET News,

Welcome toNASET'sWEEK in REVIEWHere, we provide you with the latest publications fromNASETto read and or download, as well as some of the most interesting articles that have happened this week in the field of special education. We hope you enjoy this publication.  Feel 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


AASEP Logo

NASET MEMBER'S BENEFIT -

Board Certification in Special Education Available to NASET Members

Through an agreement with The American Academy of Special Education Professionals(AASEP), NASET members 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

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New This Week on NASET

Classroom Management Series:
Adapting Curriculum for Students with Special Needs

Part V- Adapting Response Mode

One of the most important things to keep in mind when working with student with special needs is that they can learn. In many cases, it is not the lack of understanding or knowledge that causes problems but rather the manner of presentation, response requirements, and level of presentation. The need to learn how to adapt material is crucial when working with this population. These adaptations offer them a better chance of success and task completion.

Many times, teachers of students with special needs realize that these students will not be able to learn the material being presented unless some changes or adaptations are made. These changes may need to be made in the manner of presentation of the material, the type of material presented, the manner of response, the tests and quizzes presents, homework expectations, and grading systems used.


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______________________________________________________

Lesser Known Disorders in Special Education Series

Issue #25- January 2012
Disorders in this issue:
  • LD 4.03- Dysnomia
  • SL 2.01- Distortion Articulation Disorder
  • HI 1.01- Auditory Agnosia

 

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Missed Naps Could Put Toddlers at Risk for Mood Disorders

Toddlers who miss daytime naps may be at increased risk for mood disorders later in life, a new study indicates. Researchers looked at toddlers aged 30 months to 36 months and found that depriving them of a single daily nap resulted in more anxiety, lower levels of joy and interest, and reduced problem-solving abilities. "Many young children today are not getting enough sleep, and for toddlers, daytime naps are one way of making sure their 'sleep tanks' are set to full each day," study leader Monique LeBourgeois, an assistant professor in the integrative physiology department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said in a university news release. To read more,click here


MA Senate to Debate Bill on State Special Education Groups

The Massachusetts Senate is set to debate a bill calling for stricter oversight of taxpayer-funded special education collaboratives. The legislation was prompted by investigations of the Merrimack Special Educational Collaborative that uncovered alleged abuses. They included lavish spending on entertainment, unjustified salary expenses and improper charges made to a related nonprofit group. A state audit also found evidence of misspending at two other education collaboratives, among 30 around the state that pool the resources of school districts to provide services to children with special needs. To read more, click here


Did You Know That....

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are an agency of theUnited States Department of Health and Human Servicesand are the primary agency of the United States government responsible forbiomedicalandhealth-relatedresearch.

Vaccine-Autism Controversy: Wakefield Sues British Journal For Defamation in Texas

The British doctor Andrew Wakefield whose discredited study linking autism to the MMR vaccine set off aglobal public health scarehassued the editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal, Fiona Godleeand also the British investigative journalistBrian Deer, who has long covered the controversy about vaccines and autism, for defamation. Acomplaint filed to a district court in Texasalleges that articles, editorials and other documents published in the British Medical Journal including "false and make defamatory allegations" about Wakefield and that the claims in the BMJ were "unfair, incorrect, inaccurate, and unjust." To read more,click here


Drug to Treat HIV in Children Shows Promise

For children and adolescents with HIV infection, the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the use of raltegravir, an antiretroviral drug that slows the spread of HIV infection, offers a new weapon to treat HIV infection in children. So says Sharon Nachman, M.D., Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and the Principal Investigator and Study Chair of a national multicenter clinical trial that studied the safety and efficacy of raltegravir in HIV-infected children and adolescents. To read more,click here


Bowling a Sport Easily Adapted for Disabilities

Regardless of a person's limitation, bowling can be challenging at all levels. This is why it is among the favorite sport for Special Olympics athletes. At UIC's student games and bowling center, some of the bowlers practice from Chicago's Eckhart Park District. Carman Lopez is the park's Special Olympics coach and therapeutic recreation coordinator. "We start out with bumpers and we also have for wheelchairs a ramp and that makes it easier for them to throw," Lopez said. We usually help them in every possibly we can and we train for bowling since September all the way to May." The top bowler from Eckhart Park is 24 year old Jelani Allen. "The top score is 190," Lopez said of Allen. "Sometimes he's gone up to 225." To bowl like that, you have to be good, regardless of having a cognitive disability. To read more,click here


Did You Know That....

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)comprises 27 separate institutes, centers, and offices.

AASEP Logo

NASET MEMBER'S BENEFIT -

Board Certification in Special Education Available to NASET Members

Through an agreement with The American Academy of Special Education Professionals(AASEP), NASET members 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

Study Pinpoints Ritalin's Influence in the Brain's Attention Circuit

Millions of individuals diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are helped by methylphenidate, the stimulant better known as Ritalin. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pinpointed the area of the brain in which Ritalin does its work. "These drugs are highly effective at controlling the symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder for the great majority of patients," says Craig Berridge, a UW psychology professor. "And they've been around since the 1930s, which makes it all the more amazing that we didn't understand until recently how they worked in the brain." To read more,click here


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:
Oira Mariel, Debbie Innerarity, Maricel Bustos, Peter Durso, Sahayarosali Arokiasamy,Olumide Akerele, Alexandra Pirard,Lois Nembhard,Dr. Lorraine Cleeton, Barbara Kempf,Deanna Krieg,Jessica L. Ulmer,Chaya Tabor,Rebecca S. Birrenkott,Marilyn Haile, Joanie Dikeman,Joey L. Al-Mutairi who all knew thatapproximately 20 to 30 percent of children with ADHD also have a specific learning disability.

THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:

This neurological disorder affects the voice muscles in the larynx, or voice box. When we speak, air from the lungs is pushed between two elastic structures-calledvocal folds or vocal cords-with sufficient pressure to cause them to vibrate, producing voice (see figure). In this disorder, the muscles inside the vocal folds experience sudden involuntary movements-called spasms-which interfere with the ability of the folds to vibrate and produce voice. What is this neurological disorder?

If you know the answer, send an email tocontactus@naset.org
All answers must be submitted no later than Monday, January 16, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

On 10th Anniversary, a Look Back at 'No Child' Legacy

George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, which requires students at all U.S. public schools to meet certain math and reading benchmarks, went into effect nearly 10 years ago, on Jan. 8, 2002. Since then, NCLB has been a popular target for politicians, educators, and policy experts as it has become outdated. The legislation was supposed to be rewritten in 2007, but has merely been renewed by Congress for the past several years. President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan haverepeatedly attacked the law, going so far as to grant waivers from the law to states who submit alternative accountability plans. To read more,click here


Who Is Currently Identified as Gifted in the United States?

Today, lots of different definitions of giftedness exist. This wasn't always the case. Prior to 1972, practically every school used one criterion and one criterion only to identify giftedness: an IQ cut-off of 130. This criterion was heavily influenced by the pioneering work ofLewis Terman, who equated high IQ with genius. Then the first federal definition of giftedness came along in 1972, which was undoubtedly an important step forward. Noting that only a small percentage of the 1.5 to 2.5 million gifted school children were actually benefiting from special education services, former U.S. Commissioner of Education Sidney P. Marland, Jr. proposed a broadened definition that went beyond just IQ to also include specific academic and creative aptitudes. That report was important in its broadening of giftedness. To read more,click here


Computer Technology Give Voice to Children with Autism

"Tunnel." The electronic voice reverberated in a classroom void of children's voices. But 8-year-old Adam Garcia was communicating. He was asking for cardboard toilet paper tubes. "Tunnel." Erin Hatley, co-founder and director of The Vine School, caught on quickly to what Adam wanted. Thanks to a handheld computer called Vantage Lite, teachers and students at the private school for children with autism are able to understand each other's worlds - a life-changing triumph in what can seem the lonely, frustrating mind of a child with autism. To read more,click here


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GAO Says College-Entrance Exams Fall Short on Accommodations

College entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT aren't always reformatted for students with disabilities the way they should be, arecent reportfrom the Government Accountability Office finds. The same goes for some tests that students need to get into graduate school, medical school, law school, and other programs. Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the standardized tests some colleges require have to offer accommodations, such as more time or changes in the test format, to students with disabilities. To read more,click here

Respite Care May Be More Beneficial Than Autism Therapy

A little money spent on temporary relief for caregivers goes a long way toward keeping kids and young adults with autism out of psychiatric hospitals, a newstudysuggests. For every $1,000 states spent on respite services in the previous 60 days, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found an 8 percent drop in the odds of hospitalization. Meanwhile, the level of therapeutic services - including speech, occupational, behavioral and other therapies - provided to an individual with autism did not impact the likelihood that they would end up in a psychiatric hospital. To read more,click here

Study Offers Clues to Why Some Don't Benefit From Asthma Drugs

Almost half of patients with mild or moderate asthma may have a different type of disease than those with more severe symptoms, perhaps explaining why common treatments don't work well for them, new research suggests. "We are beginning to understand that different 'flavors' of asthma probably have different molecular mechanisms," said Dr. John Fahy, director of the Airway Clinical Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the senior author of the new study, published online Friday in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. To read more,click here

ADA Regulations: What is a Mental Impairment?

How can you be sure you're meeting ADA regulations for workers with mental conditions? Medically speaking, the term "mental illness" describes a plethora of mental and emotional disorders ranging from mild anxiety to more serious conditions that significantly interfere with major life activities such as learning, working, and simply communicating with others. Legally speaking, "mental illness" isn't quite as easy to define, yet under theADA, employers are expected to reasonably accommodate employees who fall into this ambiguous category. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treatdiseaseanddisability, from the rarestgenetic disorderto thecommon cold. The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone.

Water Proves Therapeutic for Students

Cedar Chapel Special School is a unique, alternative learning environment that provides individualized education to promote maximum achievement for all students. Aquatic therapy is one of the many physical therapy programs that serve the needs of our students. Provided in the water, aquatic therapy is an individualized program consisting of exercises and manual techniques designed to improve functional ability. All Cedar Chapel Special School students have an opportunity to be involved with aquatic activities once a week, for 45 minutes, during their physical education class, which is held in the school's therapy tank. To read more,click here

Florida's New Effort to Help People with Disabilities

Florida is starting a new effort to encourage businesses to hire more people with disabilities. Gov. Rick Scott has created a new Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities. Its mission is to come up with ideas to help people with disabilities find job opportunities. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll met with commission members on Friday and encouraged them to educate employers about the value that people with disabilities can bring to the workplace.To read more,click here

ADHD Drug Shortage Pushes Parents to Seek Substitutes

If the current shortage of some drugs used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has left you searching for something else for your child to take, experts suggest you choose a substitute carefully because the effects of these medications can vary widely. For example, "generics can sometimes be less bioavailable [how much of the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream], and that can make it harder to get an exact dose match between medications," explained Dr. Eric Hollander, director of the Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. To read more,click here

Food Fo

r Thought..........

Y
ou are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however.

Richard Bach
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