Week in Review - September 15, 2017

Sept-2017

NASET

WEEK IN REVIEW

National Association of Special Education Teachers

September 15, 2017                                                Vol 13 Issue # 37


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

NASET's HOW TO Series


How To Determine Authority of School Personnel in Disciplining a Child with Special Needs
To what extent may schools take disciplinary action when a child with disabilities violates a local code of student conduct? This series will answer that question.

At the beginning of the school year, students often receive guidelines of expected standards of behavior, dress, academic integrity, and attendance, as well as the consequences of violating those standards. These codes vary from place to place, so it may be important for you to get a copy of your local school district or State policies with respect to acceptable (and unacceptable) student conduct.  Read More

NASET's HOW TO Series

How To Determine if you need to Report a Crime Committed by a Student with Disabilities

Do IDEA's discipline procedures allow school systems to report crimes that are committed by children with disabilities?

Yes, they do, and that's the focus of this article, which looks at the section of IDEA's disciplinary procedures called "referral to and action by law enforcement and judicial authorities," found at §300.535 and reproduced at the bottom of the page, for your convenience.   Read More

NASET's Classroom Management Series

Token Economy Systems to Increase Appropriate Behaviors. By Norma Samburgo

This issue of NASET's Classroom Management series was written by Norma Samburgo and its focus is on token economy systems to increase appropriate behaviors. Behavior management is an obstacle faced by many teachers on a daily basis. The way students behave in class may determine the type of learning environment they will be immersed in, the extent of the success in the lesson delivery, the degree of students' understanding, and in consequence, students' achievement.  The selection of evidence-based behavior management techniques should be the first step every teacher takes before planning and delivering a lesson, especially in a middle school classroom with students with learning disabilities.  Students with learning disabilities may display disruptive behaviors such as being off task, talking out of turn, not completing tasks, and distracting other students to get their attention.  These disruptive behaviors not only have an undesirable influence on students' academic progress, but also on the teachers' performance since they stimulate stress (Clunies-Ross, Little, & Kienhuis, 2008).  In addition, these behaviors are associated with the lacking of time to cover all the benchmarks in the curriculum because that time is used to work on solving classrooms disruptions and therefore, making impossible to regain the educational atmosphere.  Read More

Inattentive Kids Show Worse Grades in Later Life

Although grades aren't everything, academic achievement is clearly an important factor in later career success and financial stability. Helping children to maximize their academic potential and overcome obstacles to academic success is important. One factor in academic performance is intellectual ability, and unsurprisingly, numerous studies have found that higher intellectual ability is linked with higher academic performance. Another factor that can affect academic performance is attentiveness. Aside from making it difficult to focus in school and on homework, inattentiveness can be associated with other problems, such as mood disorders and difficulties interacting with other children. Helping children to overcome inattentiveness could pay dividends in later life. Astri Lundervold, a researcher at the University of Bergen, is interested in the short- and long-term consequences of inattention in childhood. "A high number of children are challenged by problems related to inattention. A cluster of these problems is defined as hallmark symptoms of ADHD, but inattentiveness is not restricted to children with a specific diagnosis," explains Lundervold. Are problems related to inattention something that parents and teachers should address in any child? Read More

How Parents, Siblings Can Become Teachers for Children with Special Needs

Parents and siblings of children with limited speech who took an innovative training program created by a Michigan State University scholar significantly improved their ability to communicate with the special needs youth. Now, MSU research provides the first scientific evidence that the online training can improve communication in families with children with complex communication challenges. The findings are published in the journals Communication Disorders Quarterly and Infants & Young Children. Sarah Douglas, a former special education teacher and principal investigator on the project, developed the training to fill a gap. While online training exists for parents of children with autism, none had been created for the broader population of special needs children with limited verbal abilities. "That's why I'm doing this," said Douglas, assistant professor in MSU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies. "I want families to feel like they have some control over the future of their child. That they have some control over how to navigate this world that not very many people know how to navigate, and they don't have to sit around waiting for an expert to come to their house to give them 20 minutes of their time." Read More

Number of Births, Population Prevalence of Down Syndrome Estimated in Nine States

A new study estimates, for the first time, both the numbers of children born annually with Down syndrome in nine U.S. states and the prevalence of Down syndrome in each of those states' populations. Published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A, the study is a follow up to the same team's previous investigations of how the numbers of people with Down syndrome in the U.S. changed over a period of 60 years and the number of births and pregnancy terminations with Down syndrome in Massachusetts since the beginning of the 20th century. "The numbers of people with Down syndrome living in a state is influenced both by the numbers of babies born each year and by the expanding lifespan of people with Down syndrome," explains Brian Skotko, MD, MPP, of MassGeneral Hospital for Children, co-director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Down Syndrome Program and senior author of the study. "People with Down syndrome are living longer than ever before, but the increased use of prenatal testing for this and other genetic diseases has had a counterbalancing effect, leading to a plateauing of total numbers in many states."Read More

New Source for Brain's Development Discovered

A team of biologists has found an unexpected source for the brain's development, a finding that offers new insights into the building of the nervous system. The research, which appears in the journal Science, discovered that glia, a collection of non-neuronal cells that had long been regarded as passive support cells, in fact are vital to nerve-cell development in the brain. "The results lead us to revise the often neuro-centric view of brain development to now appreciate the contributions for non-neuronal cells such as glia," explains Vilaiwan Fernandes, a postdoctoral fellow in New York University's Department of Biology and the study's lead author. "Indeed, our study found that fundamental questions in brain development with regard to the timing, identity, and coordination of nerve cell birth can only be understood when the glial contribution is accounted for." Read More

How Reading and Writing with Your Child Boost More than Just Literacy

Children who read and write at home -- whether for assignments or just for fun -- are building long-term study and executive function skills, according to a paper from the University of Washington. And while home literacy activities have already been associated with higher test scores, the new study shows these activities also provide students with tools for lifetime success. "People who are good students tend to become good employees by being on time and putting forward their best work. All of the things that make you a good student also make you a good employee," said Nicole Alston-Abel, a Federal Way Public Schools psychologist who conducted the study while pursuing her doctorate at the UW. "If you make sure your child is academically engaged at home through third grade, kids go on autopilot -- they know how to 'do' school after that." Read More

Three Policies to Improve Children's Language Development

Bilingual children from low-income homes are at greater risk of falling behind their peers in developing the appropriate language skills for their age group, leading to poorer academic achievement over time. A new article addresses how inequality impacts children's language development and details policies that can intervene. This research is out today in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, a Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) journal published in partnership with SAGE Publishing. Examining research on how children's home life impacts their language development, article author Natalie H. Brito at Columbia University Medical Center concluded that children from higher-income homes are typically exposed to more words, gestures, and complex grammar and phrases then their peers from low-income homes. Among these low-income children, bilingual children may receive even less exposure to each of their languages than children growing up in homes where only one language is spoken. Read More

Autism Drugs May Alter Brain Connectivity

Children with autism who take certain medications have different patterns of brain connectivity than do unmedicated children with the condition, a new study suggests. More than half of children diagnosed with autism take psychotropic drugs, such as Prozac and Ritalin, to ease features related to autism. The drugs are designed to alter brain function, so it is reasonable to assume they also affect how different parts of the brain interact. The new study hints that drug usage enhances the degree of synchronization between regions of the cortex, the brain's outermost layer. Read more
Sept-2017

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to: Catherine Cardenas, Shauna Bowers, Raynelle Lanier, Patsy Ray, Melody Owens, Betsy Mandel, Cindi Maurice, Olumide Akerele, Christine Powell, and Rena Root who all knew the answer to last week's trivia question.

QUESTION:
What is the name of the term that describes the rules that govern and describe how language is used in different contexts and environments?

ANSWER:  Pragmatics (also accepted linguistics or semantics)

This week's question: Under the federal law, IDEA, all children receiving special education and related services must be provide with a "FAPE". "FAPE" is an abbreviation of what phrase?
If you know the answer, email us at contactus@naset.org by September 25, 2017.  We will acknowledge your correct answer in the next edition of the Week in Review

New Study Questions Links Between Race, Disability in Students

A group of researchers is challenging the long-held notion that students of color are identified as having learning disabilities at a greater rate than white students - a controversial finding that undercuts a key assumption of the Obama administration and could lead to significant changes in how the federal government requires states to spend their special education dollars. A paper published Aug. 27 by researchers at Pennsylvania State University and the University of California at Irvine found that among children of the same gender who have similar levels of academic achievement, come from families with comparable economic standing and English-speaking abilities, students of color - including black students - were consistently less likely than white, English-speaking students to be identified as having disabilities. Read More

Company Asks FDA to Approve New Treatment for ADHD

A Japanese-owned biopharmaceutical company has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve a new treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that company officials say won't wear off between once-a-day doses and has less potential for abuse than other drugs for ADHD. Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Marlborough-based subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., said Thursday that the medicine, called dasotraline, would be a good option for children, adolescents, and adults. The new drug application was supported by data gathered in four placebo-controlled safety and efficacy studies, as well as two long-term studies that gauged the drug's safety in patients with ADHD for up to one year. Read More

New Genetic Risk Factor for Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder Identified

Autism spectrum disorder affects approximately one out of every 68 children in the United States. Despite expansive study, the origin and risk factors of the complex condition are not fully understood. To better understand the root causes, an international team led by researchers at OHSU in Portland, Oregon has applied a new systematic analysis to a cohort of 2,300 families who have a single child affected with autism. The study focused on identifying and characterizing low-lying genetic mutations that may have been missed in previous research, given these mutations are only present in a fraction of the bulk DNA of an individual. Known as postzygotic mosaic mutations, or PMMs, these genetic changes occur after the conception of the human zygote during the development cycle of a fetus. An individual will contain a mosaic -- or assortment -- of mutated and non-mutated cells with the level of mosaicism depending on the time and location of the mutation's occurrence. This emerging class of genetic risk factors has recently been implicated in various neurologic conditions, however, their role in more complex disorders, such as autism, has been unclear. Read More

NYC Denies Nearly 9,000 Kids with Disabilities the Services They Need

The city is illegally denying necessary services to thousands of students with disabilities - and the poorest kids get cheated the most often, according to advocates and data the Daily News obtained. As of May, 8,854 public school students with disabilities were lacking services such as speech therapy, physical therapy and counseling, according to figures the city Education Department supplied. State law requires city schools provide supports for students, and those services are spelled out in the kids' medical treatment plans. But in thousands of cases, schools don't have the facilities or staff to deliver mandated services. The city's data show students from underserved districts in the south Bronx and Brooklyn are most likely to be deprived of the services they need to learn in comfort and safety. Read More

Accomable Creates Vacation-Rental Market for People with Disabilities

When Alex Ghenis moved into his Berkeley apartment, he spent thousands of dollars remodeling to accommodate his wheelchair, adding a roll-in shower, accessible shower fixtures, and hardwood floors in the living room and bedroom. In the bedroom, he set up a Hoyer Lift for transferring between his wheelchair and the bed. The landlord installed an automatic door opener at the building entrance. "Here I am with all these resources," said Ghenis, 29, who has used a wheelchair since a spinal-cord injury 13 years ago. "When I travel, it would be great to stay in an apartment that is just as accessible - and to open up my place for other people." That's the goal of Accomable, an Airbnb-style marketplace for short-term rentals for people with disabilities. Ghenis has listed his place on Accomable to rent to other wheelchair users when he's out of town. In turn, he'll also use the site to seek out places to stay in other cities. Read More

Genes Causing Intellectual Disabilities Identified

Researchers have discovered 15 genes that play a role in the development of intellectual disabilities. Intellectual disabilities are often caused by a mutation that damages a gene responsible for protein production in cells thus preventing the associated protein from functioning properly. In a number of disease-related genes, it is shown that a de novo mutation does not eliminate the gene, but probably alters its function. To find out how often this mechanism is involved, researchers combined the gene mutations in Dutch patients with a large international database comprising de novo mutations in patients. Read More

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers

Omega-gamma-chi-logo


Adolescents with Autism Need Access to Better Sex Education

Intimacy is part of being human. There are well-documented benefits to positive relationships, from emotional security to good mental health. Those who want relationships and can't develop them face low self-esteem, depression, loneliness and isolation from the wider society. For adolescents, learning how to navigate sex and sexuality can be a minefield. How do you figure out the nuances of sexuality without experience? How do you approach a potential partner? And once you do, how do you communicate with him or her? This path is especially fraught for adolescents with autism. For example, people with autism tend to report higher levels of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation than their neurotypical peers. And yet there is a gap between what these young people need and what schools provide. According to a 2012 study, adolescents with autism know less about sex than do their peers and have less access to sex education. Read More
free IEP

Is ADHD Really a Sleep Problem?

Around 75% of children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) also have sleep problems, but until now these have been thought to be separate issues. Now a in a pulling together of the latest research, Scientists are proposing of a new theory which says that much of ADHD may in fact be a problem associated with lack of regular circadian sleep. Presenting the proposal at the ECNP Conference in Paris, Professor Sandra Kooij (Associate Professor of Psychiatry at VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam and founder and chair of the European Network Adult ADHD) said: "There is extensive research showing that people with ADHD also tend to exhibit sleep problems. What we are doing here is taking this association to the next logical step: pulling all the work together leads us to say that, based on existing evidence, it looks very much like ADHD and circadian problems are intertwined in the majority of patients. Read More
Sept-2017
jobs

LATEST JOB LISTINGS POSTED ON NASET


* Special Education Teacher - JCFS is currently seeking a Special Education Teacher to work with individuals and small groups of children (K - 12) with emotional and behavior disorders, which may include aggressive behaviors, in a therapeutic special education classroom. The students attending the Therapeutic Day School have been referred from their home districts to our School to receive an individualized and intensive educational program in our supportive and therapeutic environment. To learn more -Click here

* Full Time Special Education Teacher - Provide multi-grade, standards-based instruction and academic interventions that afford students the opportunity to thrive academically. The Teacher provides a clear, consistent structure for the classroom, ensuring that each student's needs are met within the guidelines of the Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and the Treatment Plan. To learn more - Click here

* Full Time Special Education Teacher - Duties of this job include, but are not limited to:Meets and instructs assigned students at designated locations and specific times. Creates a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and interests of the students. Guides the learning process toward the achievement of curriculum goals and--in harmony with the goals--establishes clear objectives for all lessons, units, projects and the like.  To learn more - Click here

* Chief Program Officer - Serve as a key member of the Executive Team and partner closely with the Executive Director and CEO to further mission-specific and core competency goals. Interface with the Board of Directors in matters related to program operations. Participate in strategic planning and provide guidance necessary to assist the organization in setting vision, determining direction and implementing strategy. To learn more - Click here

* Private Teacher - This position includes the opportunity to travel and an interest in sports is a plus! The family is willing to hire the right person immediately for a full-time role to perform tutoring until the 2018-19 school year. This is a full-time position with compensation of $90,000 to $110,000 offered, depending on experience, with benefits. Local candidates are preferred. To learn more - Click here

* Special Education Teacher - LEAD Public Schools - Special Education (SPED) teachers are champions for the cause of equality within the school and make sure that their students' needs are being met.  Our ideal SPED teacher is passionate about supporting our students with IEPs, loves working with students who need the most support, is flexible, is coachable, and wants to grow as a teacher. To learn more - Click here

* Regional Special Education Teacher - Essential Duties & Responsibilities are to create, review and implement Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students, effectively progress monitor student achievement and gather evidence in order to deliver individualized instruction and supports that are aligned to students' goals. Plan and teach at least one section of reading, math, or English Language Development intervention, and/or plan and teach one section of PE (teacher's choice, i.e. yoga, crossfit, weightlifting etc.). To learn more - Click here

* SPED Teacher, Grades K-5 - Our public charter school is looking for a Special Education Teacher to join our team of dedicated educators in Yuma, AZ. Are you passionate about helping all students reach their potential? Do you love working in a bright, active, positive environment? Are you interested in joining a team devoted to helping all children succeed? To learn more - Click here

* Director of Autism Education - Manages the Building Blocks program and staff of professional educators and behavior technicians. The Director of Education is responsible for the ongoing daily operations of the program in accordance with the VDOE and VAISEF. The Director of Education is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the program in accordance with current best practices in the field of autism 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..........

A dream you dream alone is only a dream: A dream you dream together is a reality.

John Lennon

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