Week in Review - May 3, 2013

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WEEK IN REVIEW

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

May 3, 2013 - Vol 9, Issue 18

 

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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

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New This Week on NASET

NASET's Resource Review
April 2013

In this Issue You will Find Topics on:

*             Early Intervention

*             Families and Community

*             Health Care Needs

*             Participation Requests

*             Post Secondary

 


To read or download this issue -Click here (login required)
______________________________________________________
NASET's Special Educator e-Journal
May 2013
Table of Contents

*             Calls to Participate

*             Update from the U.S. Department of Education

*             Special Education Resources

*             Update From The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

*             Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET

*             Upcoming Conferences and Events

*             Funding Forecast and Award Opportunities

*             Acknowledgements

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

______________________________________________________

See NASET's Latest Job Listings

Forecasting Autism: Defects in Placenta Linked to Elevated Risk

New findings reported in the April 25, 2013 online issue of Biological Psychiatry suggest that the placentas from women whose fetuses are at elevated risk for autism are markedly different from control placentas. With one out of 50 children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the US each year, these new findings may present an opportunity for early interventions. Currently, diagnosis of ASD is usually made when children are three to four years of age or even older rendering many therapies ineffective. The brain is most responsive to treatment in the first year of life. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Encephalocele is a rare type of neural tube defect (NTD) present at birth that affects the brain. The neural tube is a narrow channel that folds and closes during the third and fouth weeks of pregnancy to form the brain and spinal cord. Encephalocele is described as a sac-like protrusion or projection of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull. Encephalocele happens when the neural tube does not close completely during pregnancy. The result is an opening in the midline of the upper part of the skull, the area between the forehead and nose, or the back of the skull.

Testing Group Proposes Accommodations For Students With Disabilities

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers, which had released pieces of its proposed accommodations policy for students with disabilities, has now put out afull draftof its accommodations manual for public comment. (The organization also has an explanatoryPowerpoint presentationand a list offrequently asked questionslinked to the release.) PARCC is one of two groups of states working to create tests to accompany the Common Core State Standards. The tests are set to be implemented by the 2014-15 school year. The manual also includes a draft accommodations policy for English-language learners, which my colleague Lesli Maxwelloutlinedin her blog Learning the Language. To read more,click here

What It's Like to Be an Allergy-Mom

My son is a funny, kind, curious, nine-year-old kid who likes to draw, swim, learn about whales and play Legos and tag with his friends... oh, and he happens to have food allergies. Let me be clear on the phrasing; he's not an allergy-kid. He's a kid with allergies. While they are very much the largest consideration during his daily life, food allergies do not define him. In an ironic twist, if you ask him to define himself, he'll say he loves food. In his lunchbox he carries an epi-pen and a key chain that he made that says "Jack K. Loves Food." It doesn't matter to him that dairy, egg and all nuts aren't included in that food because they have never been an option for him. He doesn't miss them because he's never known any differently. To read more,click here

Special Needs Parents Should Make 'Big Bets'

Twenty years ofexperienceparenting children with special needs has taught me a simple truth. Every now and then we need to make 'Big Bets'. I was reminded of this reading aboutLarry Page and his leadership of Google. Incremental change is not enough. Innovation will require a "Big Bet" at some point. "Big Bets" don't have to involve medical treatments or therapies. Sometimes they need to be about giving our children an opportunity to develop their potential. Sometimes they involvetechnology,social development, orinclusion. "Big Bets" are about success rather than mere survival. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - Penn State Online

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Experimental HIV Vaccine Fails, Government Stops Clinical Trials

The government hasstopped an HIV clinical trialafter finding an experimental HIV vaccine did not prevent people from contracting the virus. In a statement released by the National Institues of Health, NIH, released Thursday, the study, called HVTN 505 clinical trial is to stop effective immediately because the vaccine regimen did not prevent nor cut down the trace of the virus in blood of HIV infected participants given the experimental vaccine. The studybegan in 2009and recruited more than 2,500 participants, all men or transgender individuals who had sex with other men. They came from 19 cities across the United States. Half of the participants specifically were treated with the vaccine while the other half were given placebos. To read more,click here

Student With Down Syndrome Named to National Honor Society

Jamie Roland, a junior at Hall High School in West Hartford, is being rewarded with membership into National Honor Society, but his journey to junior year has not been an easy one. Roland has Down Syndrome. The family previously lived in Florida and his mother, Lisa, said she was told that a boy with Jamie's challenges didn't belong in a mainstream public school, so she home-schooled her son for several years before they moved to Connecticut in 2009. "We came with a lot of baggage and we were very reticent about putting him in school," Lisa Roland said. "We didn't know how he was going to act or react to such a large environment." In his three years at Hall High, Jamie has thrived both in and out of the classroom. To read more,click here

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School Leader Group Proposes Change to Special Education Due Process

Due process hearings are adversarial, expensive, and distracting, says the American Association of School Administrators, and the organization believes it has a fix: a new process that would bring in an outside consultant who would create an education plan for a student with disabilities that parents and a school would have to follow for a mutually agreed-upon period of time before any lawsuits were filed. In a new report,Rethinking the Special Education Due Process System, the Alexandria, Va.-based association says that the current process is so broken that tinkering around the edges will not fix it. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

CDC estimates that each year about 375 babies in the United States are born with encephalocele. In other words, about 1 out of every 10,000 babies born in the United States each year will have encephalocele.

Education Department: Testing Policy Does Not Violate Student's Rights

Mary Washer, a profoundly disabled 17-year-old in Broken Arrow, Okla., has autism and encephalopathy, two disorders that leave her functioning at the cognitive level of a 16- to 18-month-old. Like other students with disabilities in the state, Washer is required to pass "end of instruction" tests on four out of seven core content areas. But her mother, Angela Chada, contended that the state was discriminating against students like her by restricting the type of test accommodations her daughter could use. Those restrictions were keeping her daughter from earning a diploma, Chada said. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor -  Drexel University Online

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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: Jennifer Ordonio, Karen Bornholm, Pamela R. Downing-Hosten, Lois Nembhard, Ope-Oluwa Olubel, Coryn Villanti, Olumide Akerele, Sue Brooks, Rena Root, Mike Namian, Debra Silsbee, Marilyn Haile, and Prahbhjot Malhi
who all knew the answer to last week's trivia question:

This animal was born in 1927 and originally named "Kiss". "Kiss"was later renamed "Buddy" by its owner Morris Frank.  What is the significance of this animal?

Buddy was the first guide dog for the blind

 

 

THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
Although breast-feeding is generally considered the best way to nourish an infant, new research suggests that in the long term it may lead to lower levels of what important chemical element? (Hint--It's Atomic Number 26 on the Periodic Table of Elements)

If you know the answer, send an email tocontactus@naset.org
All answers must be submitted no later than Monday, May 6, 2013 at 12:00 p.m.

Parents Need Differentiated School Engagement, Study Finds

Not every parent is going to bake great cupcakes for the school bake sale, or have time to help a teacher set up a science experiment, or even have the numeracy skills to help his 8th grader with algebra homework. That doesn't mean these parents can't be meaningfully involved in their child's education, according to a new report from Kansas City, Mo. public schools. The report, "Ready, Willing, and Able?" comes from the New York City-based nonprofit Public Agenda, which interviewed more than 1,500 parents of students in five counties in the Kansas City area about what they knew about education in general and their children's schools, how they prefer to communicate with educators, and what they hope to contribute.To read more,click here

Poor Parenting Styles Linked to Bullying Behavior in Kids

Parents may think they can keep their kids safe by hovering over them, but a new study finds that children of overprotective parents are more likely to be bullied. And on the other end of the spectrum, having abusive or neglectful parents also seems to make kids a target for bullies, according to an analysis of 70 studies that included more than 200,000 children. The effects of these types of poor parenting were stronger among children who were bullied and also bullied others (bully-victims) than among those who were bullied but did not bully others. To read more,click here

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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

Kids' Concussion Recovery Varies by Symptom Severity: Study

Children with more severe concussion symptoms take longer to recover from their head injury than those with milder symptoms, a new study finds. Most children recover from sports-related concussions within a few days, but some continue to have symptoms for a month or longer. The reasons for this have been unclear. The authors of this study sought to identify risk factors that might be associated with longer recovery times. The researchers analyzed data from 182 children who were seen at a sports concussion clinic within three weeks of their injury. The patients completed the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), which uses a 0-6 scale to assess the severity of 22 symptoms. The higher the number, the more severe the symptoms. To read more,click here

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More Infants Surviving With Serious Heart Defects, Study Finds

Babies born with serious congenital heart defects are more likely to survive now than they were in the late 1970s, a new study finds. There is still plenty of room for improvement, however, the researchers added. Over a 26-year period, they tracked the percentage of children born with the most serious heart defects who survived the one-year mark. "For infants with a critical congenital heart defect, survival up to one year has improved over time," said researcher Dr. Matthew Oster, medical officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To read more,click here

Liberty Mutual Savings

NASET MEMBER'S BENEFIT -

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As a member ofNASETyou qualify for a special group discount* on your auto, home, and renter's insurance through Group Savings Plus® from Liberty Mutual. This unique program allows you to purchase high-quality auto, home and renters insurance at low group rates.

 

See for yourself how much money you could save with Liberty Mutual compared to your current insurance provider. For a free, no-obligation quote, call 800-524-9400 or visit

www.libertymutual.com/naset,or visit your local sales office.

*Group discounts, other discounts, and credits are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state.  Certain discounts apply to specific coverage only.  To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten; not all applicants may qualify.  Coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA.

Bipolar Disorder Drugs May 'Tweak' Genes Affecting Brain

Medications taken by people with bipolar disorder may actually be nudging hundreds of genes that direct the brain to behave more normally, according to new research. The study suggests that antipsychotic drugs activate a wide range of genes, changing their function, said lead author Dr. Melvin McInnis. "A gene's activity in any given cell will vary depending on what it's exposed to," said McInnis, a professor of bipolar disorder and depression at the School of Medicine at the University of Michigan. It's not often that scientists stumble upon something in research that they totally weren't expecting to see. "It was a major surprise to us that people treated with an antipsychotic [medication] had changes in the gene expression pattern," McInnis said. To read more,click here

Many Kids Who Undergo Stem Cell Transplants Must Return to Hospital

Nearly two-thirds of children who received stem cell transplants were readmitted to the hospital within six months for treatment of problems such as infections and unexplained fevers, a new study finds. Children who were given stem cells donated by other people were twice as likely to be readmitted as those who received their own stem cells, said the researchers at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center in Boston. "No one had ever looked at these data in children," Dr. Leslie Lehmann, clinical director of pediatric stem cell transplantation, said in a cancer center news release. "This is very important information and will allow us to counsel families appropriately, as well as try to devise interventions that reduce the rate of readmissions." To read more,click here

Prenatal Use of Common Epilepsy Drug Tied to Higher Autism Risk

Valproate -- an epilepsy drug already shown to increase the risk of birth defects and thinking problems in offspring whose mothers used the drug during pregnancy -- may also significantly increase the risk of having a child with autism or an autism spectrum disorder, according to new research. The study of more than 650,000 children born between 1996 and 2006 in Denmark found that the risk of having any type of autism spectrum disorder was increased nearly threefold, while the risk of developing childhood autism was raised over fourfold in certain mothers took valproate during pregnancy. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Currently, there is no known way to prevent encephalocele, although steps can be taken to lower the risk. Recent studies have shown that the addition of a B vitamin called folic acid to the diet of women who might become pregnant can greatly reduce the number of babies born with NTDs. CDC has recommended that all women of childbearing age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. A single daily serving of most multivitamins and fortified cereals contain 400 micrograms of folic acid.

Shrinkage of Brain Region May Signal Onset of Multiple Sclerosis

Atrophy of a key brain area may become a new biomarker to predict the onset of multiple sclerosis, researchers say. If so, that would add to established criteria such as the presence of brain lesions to diagnose the progressive, incurable disorder. Using special MRI images, scientists from three continents found that the thalamus -- which acts as a "relay center" for nervous-system signals -- had atrophied in nearly 43 percent of patients who had suffered an initial neurological episode that often comes before a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. To read more,click here

Insurance Loss Hampers Young People With Asthma

The loss of health insurance is the main reason asthma care for young people deteriorates after age 18, according to a new study. Certain social factors -- such as leaving school and no longer having adult supervision -- also contribute to the decline in care, according to Harvard Medical School researchers. "This study suggests that expanding insurance coverage will help many young adults with asthma receive the care they need," study leader Kao-Ping Chua, a staff physician in the division of emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, said in a Harvard news release. "But it also points to the importance of addressing other socially mediated factors in this population." To read more,click here

Childhood Meningitis Tied to Reduced Education, Employment Prospects

Some young adults who had bacterial meningitis during childhood have less education and are less financially self-sufficient than those in the general population, a new study from Denmark found. Survivors of childhood bacterial meningitis are at risk for hearing loss, seizure disorders, and physical and mental impairments. Learning disabilities are a common problem among survivors. Several types of germs can cause bacterial meningitis. This study looked at nearly 3,000 Danish adults who had meningococcal, pneumococcal or H. influenzae meningitis as children between 1977 and 2007. They were compared to control groups of adults the same age who had never had meningitis. To read more,click here

jobsNASET's Latest Job Listings

* 3-6 Special Education Reading Resource Teacher - DC Bilingual is recruiting a special education reading resource teacher with Wilson and/or Orton Gillingham experience to provide academic services to our students. To Learn More- Click here

 

* Master Middle School Teachers $125,000 Salary- Charter School : Join a team of master teachers at The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, recently featured on the front page of the New York Times. TEP is a 480-student 5th through 8th grade middle school in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. To learn more -Click here

 

* Assistant Professor, Childhood Education - The College of Mount Saint Vincent (Riverdale, New York) seeks an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education with a strong student-centered focus and an earned doctorate to start in Fall 2013. To learn more  - Click here

 

* Assistant Professor, Special Education - The College of Mount Saint Vincent (Riverdale, New York) seeks an Assistant Professor of Special Education with a strong student-centered focus, an earned doctorate and a strong record of teaching experience in collegiate and K-12 school settings to start in Fall 2013. To learn more  -Click here

 

* Video Feedback Reviewers - Tools for Teacher- We are seeking Video Feedback Reviewers with certification in bilingual education, math, science, English, special education or social studies. Reviewers will be TNTP employees based out of a home office anywhere in the United States (flexible location). To learn more -Click here

 

 

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

There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

Robert Kennedy
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