Week in Review - June 16, 2017

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NASET

WEEK IN REVIEW

National Association of Special Education Teachers

June 16, 2017                                                Vol 13 Issue # 24



Dear NASET News,

Welcome to NASET'sWEEK in REVIEW.  Here, we provide you with the latest publications from NASET to 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 the WEEK in REVIEW at news@naset.org. Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

NASET News Team

NEW THIS WEEK ON NASET

Journal of the American Academy of Special Education

JAASEP


JAASEP Spring/Summer 2017
  • The History of Behavioral Treatments in Autism: From the Punitive to the Positive
  • How Early Experiences in a Kindergarten Classroom Shape the Development of Self-Regulation Skills of Children
  • Mothers' Perspectives and Experiences of Speech Generating Devices
  • Teachers' Pedagogical Competence in Adapting Curricula for Children with Learning Difficulties (LD) in Primary Schools in Ghana
  • Parents are the Experts: Understanding Parent Knowledge and the Strategies They Use to Foster Collaboration with Special Education Teams
  • Examination of Social Story Format on Frequency of Undesired Behaviors
  • Preparing Early Childhood Educators for Blending Practices in Inclusive Classrooms
  • Pre-Service Teachers Assisting the Transition of the Student with Autism from School to Adulthood
  • Pre-service Teacher Self-Efficacy for Teaching Students with Disabilities: What Knowledge Matters?
  • Variables Affecting the Amputees' Reactions Artificial Limbs in the Kingdom of Jordan
Read More

Hospitalization Risk Factors for Kids with Autism Identified

Children or teens with autism spectrum disorders often come to hospitals when behavioral episodes overwhelm the support that caregivers can provide at home -- but resources at hospitals are sometimes limited, too, says clinical psychologist and researcher Giulia Righi. With that reality in mind, Righi led a new study to identify which factors put young people with autism at especially high risk of seeking inpatient psychiatric care. "The demand is far greater than the number of clinicians, the number of programs and the number of beds we have," said Righi, a research assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University who treats acute care patients with autism spectrum disorders at the E.P. Bradley Hospital. "One of the biggest issues is the availability of acute care services such as day hospital programs and inpatient units to support families when their children's behaviors have escalated to the point of making a situation unsafe at home, at school or sometimes both." Read More

Steady Decrease in Severe Health Problems for Childhood Cancer Survivors

"Perhaps no other area of oncology has seen such dramatic progress in treatment over the past decades as childhood cancer. As a result of advances in treatment and care, children with cancer are not only living longer, they are benefitting from reductions in the long-term side-effects of cancer treatment. These results show how important it is to fund and conduct studies of cancer survivors," said Timothy D. Gilligan, MD, MSc, ASCO Expert. Treatments for childhood cancer are often intense and carry the risk of lifelong health problems for survivors. An analysis of 23,600 childhood cancer survivors in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that the rate of severe health problems occurring five or more years after diagnosis has declined over time. Read More

Enrollment in Early Intervention Services May Be Influenced By Administering Agency

Children under age 3 who have or are at risk of a developmental disability are eligible for services to improve cognitive, behavioral and physical skills under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). But many eligible children do not enroll in those services and the rates of enrollment vary in part by which agency at the state level is serving as the lead, or administrator, for the programs, new research from Oregon State University has found.
Enrollment rates tend to be higher when the lead agency is health-focused and lower when the lead agency is education-focused, according to Megan MacDonald, an assistant professor in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences and one of the study's authors. "There is a big gap between the number of children with disabilities or delays and the number of children enrolled in early intervention services," MacDonald said. "And it seems to be tied, in part, to who is in charge." Read More

Is There a Link Between Infertility and Child Educational Outcomes?

How does resolved parental infertility relate to children's performance in school? A University of Illinois at Chicago sociologist considers this question in a sample of all Swedish births between 1988 and 1995. Findings from the co-authored study suggest that involuntary childlessness prior to either a first or a second birth is associated with lower academic achievement -- both test scores and grade point average -- at age 16, even if the period of infertility was prior to a sibling's birth rather than the child's own. The authors also find that infertility among parents who already have a first child, known as "secondary infertility," has negative effects on how first- and second-born children perform in school only when the family did not already experience infertility before a first birth. Read More

Predicting Autism: Study Links Infant Brain Connections to Diagnoses at Age Two

For the first time, autism researchers used MRIs of six-month olds to show how brain regions are connected and synchronized, and then predict which babies at high risk of developing autism would be diagnosed with the condition at age two. A previous UNC-lead study, published in Nature in February, used MRIs to determine differences in brain anatomy that predict which babies would develop autism as toddlers. Published in Science Translational Medicine, this paper describes a second type of brain biomarker that researchers and potentially clinicians could use as part of a diagnostic toolkit to help identify children as early as possible, before autism symptoms even appear. Read More

Board Certification in Special Education Available to NASET Members

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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.Read More

Improving Adolescents' Social and Emotional Lives Must Go Beyond Teaching Them Skills

School programs designed to educate children and adolescents on how to understand and manage emotions, relationships and academic goals must go beyond improving the skills of the individuals to create a respectful climate and allow adolescents more autonomy in decision making, according to psychology research at The University of Texas at Austin. Neuroscientists have identified both early childhood and adolescence as windows of opportunity for development; and social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are a vital contributor to academic achievement and future success. But educators, policymakers and scholars hold competing views on how or whether SEL skills should be taught in schools. Read More

Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy & Childhood ADHD Aren't Clearly Linked

A new study published this week in The BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal) is raising questions on the possible link between use of antidepressants during pregnancy and whether children have higher risk of developing certain physical or mental disorders. In the case of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the issue may not be exposure to the drugs themselves, as researchers once believed. Women with depression appear more likely to have children with ADHD, even if they don't take antidepressants during pregnancy, according to this new study. Researchers said the supposed link between antidepressant use in pregnancy and childhood ADHD may be better explained by understanding the long-term effects of maternal depression. The study focused on some 190,618 children born in Hong Kong between 2001 and 2009, comparing outcomes for kids born to mothers who had been treated for depression during pregnancy to those who were only treated before pregnancy. Researchers found that the risk of developing ADHD was the same - roughly three percent - whether or not the child had been exposed to SSRIs in utero. Other medications carried higher risks: women who used other antidepressants were 59 percent more likely to have children with ADHD, according to the study. Read More

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to: Stacey Slintak, Olivia Strozier, Patsy Ray, Stephenie Blakemore, Laura Malena, Melody Owens, Derek Ramdass, Olumide Akerele, Prahbhjot Malhi, and Barry Amper who all knew the answer to last week's trivia question.

QUESTION:
According to recent research in the field,  a certain hormone (neuropeptide/hormone produced by the hypothalamus and secreted by the pituitary gland) has been found to influence how individuals with autism perceive emotion in others. This is an important first step for a potential pharmacological treatment of autism. Individuals with autism are generally less sensitive to social information, which can influence their interactions with others as they may overlook social cues. Research has shown that this hormone, known to be involved in childbirth and mother-child bonding, also has the potential to improve social information processing in youth with autism.  What is it?

ANSWER:  Oxytocin

THE WEEK IN REVIEW WILL RETURN ON JUNE 23, 2017

Are Soft Contact Lenses Safe for Children? Risks Seem No Higher Than in Adults

Available evidence suggests that soft contact lenses can be safely prescribed to children and adolescents, with no increase in adverse effects compared to adults, according to a review in the June issue of Optometry and Vision Science, the official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. The risk of safety problems from soft contact lens wear may even be lower in younger children compared to teens -- possibly reflecting a lower rate of behaviors associated with increased risk for complications, suggests the report by Mark A. Bullimore, MCOptom, PhD, FAAO, of University of Houston College of Optometry. Read More

SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW SYMPOSIUM (JUNE 18-JUNE 23, 2017)

Lehigh University's intensive one-week institute provides a practical analysis of legislation, regulations, and court decisions relating to the education of students with disabilities. The symposium is designed for special education coordinators and teachers, principals, psychologists, parent advocates, charter school personnel, attorneys (on both sides), hearing officers, state education agency personnel, and other individuals interested in a thorough exploration of the special education legal landscape.

The Symposium is offered with the options of graduate or continuing education credit for week-long participants. Shorter, including daily, registrations are also available. For full information, go to http://go.lehigh.edu/spedlaw. For any questions, email or call Shannon Weber or Donna Johnson at specialedlaw@lehigh.edu or (610) 758-5557.
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Gene Therapy Could 'Turn Off' Severe Allergies

A single treatment giving life-long protection from severe allergies such as asthma could be made possible by immunology research at The University of Queensland. A team led by Associate Professor Ray Steptoe at the UQ Diamantina Institute has been able to 'turn-off' the immune response which causes allergic reaction in animals. "When someone has an allergy or asthma flare-up, the symptoms they experience results from immune cells reacting to protein in the allergen," Professor Steptoe said. "The challenge in asthma and allergies is that these immune cells, known as T-cells, develop a form of immune 'memory' and become very resistant to treatments. Read More

Telehealth Reduces Wait Time, Improves Care for Children with Autism Living in Remote Areas

Long wait times have been a persistent issue for families waiting to see an autism specialist, with waits often exceeding a year. Additionally, children with autism living in rural areas have added costs associated with traveling long distances for health care. To address these issues, ECHO Autism, a University of Missouri program, has been successfully training primary care providers to diagnose and manage autism spectrum disorders. Now, Kristin Sohl, associate professor of child health and the director of ECHO Autism, is preparing to expand the program with ECHO Autism partner sites serving Alabama, Alaska and under-served Navajo communities in New Mexico and Arizona. ECHO Autism also is set to expand globally through partner sites in Kenya. In the past year, Sohl has conducted autism specific trainings for ECHO Uruguay. Read More

Only 21% of Kids with ADHD and Sickle Cell Disease Are Treated for Attention Deficit

A study of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) referred for an evaluation of neuropsychological deficits found that while 19 of 89 patients (25%) were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), only 21% with ADHD had been prescribed medication for it. The study, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children With Sickle Cell Disease Referred for an Evaluation," was published in the Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. ADHD is a disorder involving persistent and impaired levels of hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and lack of attention. Academic underachievement, deficiencies in relationships with peers, and low self-esteem often accompany it. Children with ADHD have higher rates of simultaneous psychological conditions, including learning disorders, depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders. Read More

Want to Teach Special Education? California May Soon                           Have a Scholarship for You

California public schools are facing a shortage of teachers - specifically, a shortage of teachers qualified to teach math, science, bilingual or special education. So state lawmakers are considering making an offer to prospective teachers: commit to teach in these high-need subjects and we'll take a bite out of your tuition costs. Members of the California Assembly recently approved the creation of a grant program that would offer $20,000 scholarships to prospective teachers who promise to teach science, technology, engineering, math, bilingual education or special education in a public school for four years. "We need more people getting into teaching," said the bill's author, Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell (D-Long Beach). "We also need to get the people in the pipeline and out of the pipeline. We need to get them trained in a much more expeditious fashion, and that takes money. It takes money on our side, and it takes money on their side." Read More

Why Teen Mental Ability Surges While Brain Shrinks

Scientists say they have an answer to a persistent and quirky puzzle about brain development. They've long known that the brain's gray matter decreases in volume during adolescence -- even though mental performance improves dramatically from childhood to young adulthood.  Gray matter is the tissue in brain areas involved in seeing and hearing, memory, speech, emotions, decision making and self-control, among other things. While it shrinks in volume during adolescence, a new University of Pennsylvania study finds it becomes more dense to compensate. And while girls have lower brain volume than boys, proportionate to their smaller size, their gray matter is more dense. That may be why their mental skills are comparable, researchers said. Read More

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers

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jobs

LATEST JOB LISTINGS POSTED ON NASET


*Inclusive Specialist (Special Education) Teacher - Bright Star Schools is a free, publicly funded and open enrollment non-profit organization with seven public charters in urban Los Angeles. We are seeking a certified Inclusive Specialist (Special Education) Teacher to join our people-first and student-first family! We are also currently offering a $5,000 signing bonus to all new 2017-18 Inclusive Specialist Teachers. To learn more - Click here
*Special Education Teacher - Summit Public Schools is hiring Special Education teachers in Redwood City, San Jose, and Richmond, CA, as well as Tacoma, WA. Teaching at Summit is unlike teaching in a traditional environment. Our teachers know the individual strengths and areas for growth of each of their students. To learn more - Click here
*K-5 Special Education Teacher - ASU Preparatory Academy offers competitive salary, generous benefits, PTO and paid holidays, tuition waivers, professional development opportunities, and a collaborative environment that drives innovation. ASU Preparatory Academy is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To Learn more -Click here
*Autism Home School Teacher - A Unique Opportunity for the Intellectually Curious in Autism Education and Adult Development. We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic autism education specialist to be the main curriculum development and program director/teacher for our homeschool program. To learn more -Click here
*Hebrew Learning Specialist Grades 1-5 - The ideal candidate will be a special educator who is fluent in Hebrew and will have expertise in teaching students with diverse learning needs to read Hebrew accurately and fluently, to improve their vocabulary acquisition, language comprehension and written expression in Hebrew. To learn more - Click here
*Early Childhood Special Educator - Home-based early intervention program providing services to developmentally delayed infants and toddlers of American military families stationed overseas. To learn more- Click here
*Teacher of the Visually Impaired - Help Lighthouse Louisiana to build a better tomorrow for our students with vision impairment, while living in an exciting city with food, fun, and festivals galore. Lighthouse Louisiana is seeking a Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired who is eager to use his/her skills and creativity to provide itinerant vision services and to develop youth programs for children with vision loss in the Greater New Orleans area. To learn more - Click here
*Teaching in New York City - New York City public schools offer competitive starting salaries ranging from $54,000 to $81,694, based on prior teaching experience as well as your undergraduate and graduate education. To learn more - Click Here

*Special Education Specialist - The primary responsibility of the Special Education Specialist is to provide instruction and other related services to Special Education students. The Special Education Specialist will also facilitate diagnostic assessment including administration, scoring and interpretation. To learn more - Click here

If you are an Employer looking for excellent special education staff - Click here for more information

Food For Thought..........
Happiness lies in the joys of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

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