Week in Review - March 30, 2012

WEEK IN REVIEW

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

March 30, 2012 - Vol 8, Issue 13


 

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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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NASET Q & A


Latest Updates on Secondary Transition

The IDEA and its implementing regulations continue to address transition services for children with disabilities. Transition services may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service, if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.  See 34 CFR 300.43(b).  The term transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that: (a) is designed to be within a results-oriented process that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, and community participation; (b) is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; and (c) includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.  This issue of NASET's Q & A Corner addresses the latest updates from the U.S. Department of Education on Secondary Transition

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ADHD Diagnosis Rates Rose Sharply in Past Decade

In the past decade, the number of children receiving a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has risen by 66 percent, new research indicates. In 2000, just 6.2 million physician office visits resulted in a diagnosis of ADHD. By 2010, that number had jumped to 10.4 million office visits. "This study is really like a 10,000 foot aerial view of this issue," said study author Dr. Craig Garfield, an assistant professor of pediatrics and medical social sciences at Northwestern University in Chicago. "We looked at the trends in visits to doctors for ADHD over the last decade, and we were interested in overlaying some of the FDA's public health advisories and the introduction of new medications to see the effect on those trends." To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by mild to moderate mental retardation or learning difficulties, a distinctive facial appearance, and a unique personality that combines over-friendliness and high levels of empathy with anxiety. The most significant medical problem associated with WS is cardiovascular disease caused by narrowed arteries.

Advocates Press Congress to Act on Restraints, Seclusion

A coalition of advocates for people with disabilities offered more criticism of a recent report by the American Association of School Administrators that touted the merits and necessity of using restraints and seclusion. Last week, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities picked apartthe AASA report, which came on the heels of thefirst ever attempt to collect dataon the frequency with which public school students are restrained or isolated in the name of keeping themselves or others safe. AASA's report was based in part on a survey of its members, but as CCD points out, there isn't any information about the survey or its methodology. To read more,click here

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 Might Explain Brain Overgrowth Seen in Autism

Researchers report that they have identified abnormalities in the DNA and RNA of cells in the prefrontal cortex of the brains of autistic children.The findings may help to explain the underlying mechanism for the brain "overgrowth" that prior reports have documented in autistic children. Those studies have found that the brains of young children with autism are larger than the brains of non-autistic children, particularly in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is key to complex thoughts and behaviors, including language, social behavior and decision-making. To read more,click here

Lehigh University Special Education Law Symposium, June 24-29, 2012

Lehigh University's intensive week-long special education law symposium provides a practical analysis of legislation, regulations, and case law relating to the education of students with disabilities. The symposium provides a thorough analysis of the leading issues under the IDEA and Section 504. Special features include: parallel tracks for basic and advanced practitioners, starting with a keynote dinner and presentation by Dr. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, and ending with a post-luncheon crystal-ball session  by Chicago attorney Darcy Kriha; a balance of knowledgeable district, parent, and neutral perspectives; essential topics with proven effective presenters for the basic track; and a brand new set of "hot topics" and faculty presenters for the advanced track.For more information visit http://www.lehigh.edu/education/law. Questions? Contact Tamara Bartolet (tlp205@lehigh.edu or 610/758-3226).


Why a Rising Women's Basketball Star Left Hoops Heaven for the Home Team

When 6-foot-5 Elena Delle Donne, the number one recruit in the country, chose the University of Connecticut, it seemed like a perfect fit of star player and powerhouse team, but just 48 hours after she arrived on campus, Delle Donne left. Nearly four years later, Delle Donne says it was the best choice she could have made. Instead of joining the most dominant team in women's college basketball back in 2008, she moved back to her home state and immediately enrolled at the University of Delaware, just 20 minutes away from her family in Wilmington, Del. Many were stumped by the superstar's choice to give up playing for a top team like UConn, but Delle Donne's reasons had nothing to do with basketball. Her older sister Lizzie, 27, is both blind and deaf and was born with cerebral palsy. So when Delle Donne moved to Connecticut, she could no longer communicate with her sister at all. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

Williams Syndrome (WS) is also associated with elevated blood calcium levels in infancy. A random genetic mutation (deletion of a small piece of chromosome 7), rather than inheritance, most often causes the disorder. However, individuals who have WS have a 50 percent chance of passing it on if they decide to have children. The characteristic facial features of WS include puffiness around the eyes, a short nose with a broad nasal tip, wide mouth, full cheeks, full lips, and a small chin. People with WS are also likely to have a long neck, sloping shoulders, short stature, limited mobility in their joints, and curvature of the spine.

Caring Teachers May Help Keep Kids From Trying Alcohol, Drugs

The connections youth have with their teachers may help prevent kids from experimenting with alcohol and drugs at an early age, a new study suggests. The researchers found that students in middle school who felt more emotional support from teachers had a lower risk of early alcohol and illicit drug use. The students defined teacher support as feeling close to a teacher or being able to discuss problems with a teacher. "Our results were surprising," Carolyn McCarty, of Seattle Children's Research Institute, said in an institute news release. "We have known that middle school teachers are important in the lives of young people, but this is the first data-driven study which shows that teacher support is associated with lower levels of early alcohol use." To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - Mayer-Johnson

MJ-2-2012

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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: Shan Ring, Chaya Tabor, Stacey Slintak

Tara Truman, Lois Nembhard, Jessica L. Ulmer, Olumide Akerele, Victoria Vila, Marilyn Haile, Amanda Celentano, Joanie Dikeman,

Rebecca S. Birrenkott, Craig Pate, Vicky Gill, Deanna Krieg, and Mary Roberts who all knew that 433,980 students have a 504 plan

 

THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
This month, Bert Holbrook, a southern Minnesota native who defied medical odds, died at age 83. Prior to his death, Bert Holbrook was recognized as the world's oldest living man with what condition?

If you know the answer, send an email tocontactus@naset.org
All answers must be submitted no later than Monday, April 2, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

Report: Federal Employees With Disabilities Lacking

Despite a presidential mandate to increase hiring of people with certain, targeted disabilities, such individuals make up less than 1 percent of the federal workforce, new data shows. Workers with targeted disabilities constituted 0.88 percent of government employees during the 2010 fiscal year, according to an annualreportreleased Wednesday from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The statistics reflect the inclusion of individuals with intellectual disability, vision and hearing impairments in addition to a handful of other so-called "targeted disabilities" that are at the heart of several federal hiring goals. To read more,click here

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Common Respiratory Virus Affecting Many Young Children

Many pediatric hospital admissions involve a common virus that infects the lungs and airways and can lead to serious illness in young children and people with weakened immune systems, an expert says. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of bronchiolitis -- an inflammation of the small airways in the lungs -- in infants younger than a year old, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This is an extremely contagious virus, so it can easily be spread from one child to another in a school or home setting. We continue to see a large amount of kids being admitted to the hospital this year due to RSV. Though it often peaks in winter, the virus may continue to affect communities through early spring," Dr. Rahul Bhatia, a pediatric intensive care unit physician at Loyola University Health System, said in a Loyola news release. To read more,click here

Learning Disabilities and the Arts

It's minutes before the curtain is set to rise for this year's production of the Black History Month play at Henderson Inclusion Elementary School on a late February morning. Students are excitedly tending to last-minute costume fixes and teachers are busy issuing their last tidbits of advice. But there's one teacher here who's clearly in charge: the play's director, Darlene Jones-Inge. She's been a special education teacher for more than three decades. At Henderson, she works side-by-side with her partner general education teacher. Their elementary school in Dorchester, Mass., is unique. A third of the students  have disabilities, and they're educated in the same classroom as students without disabilities. And the arts are an important part of engaging Henderson's diverse student body. To read more,click here

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Kids Willing to Fail May Perform Better Academically

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, goes the truism. A new study by French researchers found that children who were told learning can be difficult, and that failing is a natural part of the learning process, actually performed better on tests than kids not given such reassurances. "We focused on a widespread cultural belief that equates academic success with a high level of competence and failure with intellectual inferiority," said Frederique Autin, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Poitiers, in an American Psychological Association news release. "By being obsessed with success, students are afraid to fail, so they are reluctant to take difficult steps to master new material." To read more,click here

Programs Tame Tuition for Education Graduate Students

Tens of millions of dollars in federal scholarship grants flow to teacher preparation programs each year, regardless of the quality of the program or the commitment of the recipients to ultimately choose teaching. That would change under a Presidential Teaching Fellows plan proposed by the Obama administration. The program, to be funded by $135 million a year in federal aid to the states (assuming congressional approval), would providescholarshipsof up to $10,000 for final-year students who study an in-demand subject (typically math, science, or special education) at a teacher preparation program that meets new, rigorous standards of excellence, likely determined by surveys of graduates and test scores of their pupils. To read more,click here

Mothers of Kids With Autism Earn Less, Study Shows

Mothers of children with autism and autism spectrum disorders earn significantly less than what mothers of children who have no health limitations earn, a new study has found. These moms even earn less than mothers of children with other health limitations. Mothers of children with autism earned, on average, less than $21,000 a year, the researchers found. That was 56 percent less than mothers whose children had no health limitations and 35 percent less than mothers whose children had other health limitations. To read more,click here

Feeding Your Baby On Demand 'May Contribute to Higher IQ'

A new study suggests that babies who are breast-fed or bottle-fed to a schedule do not perform academically as well at school as their demand-fed peers. The finding is based on the results of IQ tests and school-based SATs tests carried out between the ages of five and 14, which show that demand-feeding was associated with higher IQ scores. The IQ scores of eight-year-old children who had been demand-fed as babies were between four and five points higher than the scores of schedule-fed children, says the study published in the European Journal of Public Health. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

There is no cure for Williams syndrome, nor is there a standard course of treatment. Because WS is an uncommon and complex disorder, multidisciplinary clinics have been established at several centers in the United States . Treatments are based on an individual's particular symptoms. People with WS require regular cardiovascular monitoring for potential medical problems, such as symptomatic narrowing of the blood vessels, high blood pressure, and heart failure

Kids of Meth-Using Moms at Risk of Behavioral Woes

Children exposed to methamphetamine while in the womb face a higher risk of developing behavior problems, a new study suggests. These problems can include depression, anxiousness and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the researchers report. "This is the only study on methamphetamine that looked at children at birth and followed them into childhood," said study author Linda LaGasse, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Brown University School of Medicine. To read more,click here

People With Autism Possess Greater Ability to Process Information, Study Suggests

People with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as 'critical', according to a study published March 22 in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. The research may help to explain the apparently higher than average prevalence of people with autism spectrum disorders in the IT industry. To read more,click here

Novel Therapy Discovered for Crohn's Disease

The Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) research team at Virginia Tech has discovered important new information on the efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in treating Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CLA is a naturally occurring acid found in meat and dairy products known for its anti-cancer and immune modulatory properties. In collaboration with the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepathology at University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the Wake Forest Medical Center, researchers found that Crohn's patients who took supplementary CLA showed noticeable improvement. "In our recent open label study of CLA as a supplement in study subjects with mild to moderate CD there was a marked improvement in disease activity and quality of life in 50% of the subjects. To read more,click here

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

You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.

Arthur Ashe

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