WEEK IN REVIEW

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

April 18, 2014 - Vol 10, Issue 16

Social Skills a Casualty of Childhood Head Injury, Study Suggests

Serious head injuries may be linked to children's lack of ability to interact with others, a new study indicates. Researchers looked at a group of children who had suffered a traumatic brain injury three years earlier, most often in car crashes. Those with lingering damage in the brain's frontal lobes had lower-quality social lives, according to the Brigham Young University (BYU) study in the April 10 issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. The study did not determine a cause-and-effect relationship, only an association. To read more,click here

DynaVox Affiliates File For Bankruptcy

Three affiliates of DynaVox filed for bankruptcy this week, but the entity responsible for the assistive technology products long used by people with disabilities says it is unaffected. DynaVox Inc. as well as DynaVox Intermediate, LLC and DynaVox Systems Holdings, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week. The move, however, does not affect DynaVox Systems, LLC, the entity that produces education and communication products for those with special needs, officials with the company said. "DynaVox will continue to serve its customers with the very best augmentative communication and educational products and services while focusing on accelerating the launch of several new products. The bankruptcy filings by non-operating affiliated entities will have no impact on the operations of the company," Derek Harrar, interim CEO of DynaVox Systems, LLC said in a statement. To read more,click here

Annual Special Education Law Symposium at Lehigh University

Lehigh University offers its annual Special Education Law Symposium from June 22 to 27, 2014 on its Bethlehem, PA campus. Featuring experienced attorney presenters from various states and balancing school and parent perspectives, the week-long symposium offers a choice of two tracks: 1) one that addresses the needs of experienced professionals who desire an in depth update by exploring current "hot topics," and 2) an alternate one that addresses the foundational needs of individuals new to special education laws, regulations, and case law. The featured keynote speakers will be Michael Yudin and Dr. Melody Musgrove, respectively the leaders of OSERS and OSEP in the U.S. Department of Education. The symposium separately includes an inaugural ALJ/IHO Institute exclusively for administrative law judges and impartial hearing officers. The symposium concludes with a National Case Law Update by Dr. Perry Zirkel.  Registration options are available on a daily basis or for the week, as are graduate and continuing education credit. For program topics, fees, and other information, visit the website: coe.lehigh.edu/law or email or call Shannon Weber or Donna Johnson atspecialedlaw@lehigh.eduor (610) 758-5557(610) 758-5557.

Too Many Foster Kids With ADHD Treated With Antipsychotic Drugs: Study

Antipsychotic drugs are increasingly being prescribed to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and teens in foster care, according to a new study. The use of these drugs to treat ADHD has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and is known as an "atypical" use, the researchers explained. But their study found that antipsychotics were used to treat nearly one-third of foster care youth aged 2 to 17 who had been diagnosed with ADHD. The most common types of antipsychotics used were risperidone, aripiprazole and quetiapine. To read more,click here

Naps Enhance Learning for Young Children, Study Says

Naps play a crucial role in helping infants and preschoolers remember things they've just learned, according to new research. Investigators examined young children's ability to recognize instances that are similar, but not identical, to something they've recently learned and apply it to a new situation, a skill called generalization. In language, this would include being able to distinguish a grammatical pattern in a sentence they'd never heard before, or to understand a word no matter who says it, the study authors explained. To read more,click here

Autism-Vaccine Concerns Remain Widespread

A new survey finds that 1 in 3 parents continue to believe that vaccines can cause autism despite the link being widely discredited by the scientific community. In a poll of 1,756 adults across the country, 29 percent agreed that immunizations can lead to the developmental disorder. Among those with children under the age of 18, that number rose to 33 percent. The findings released this month come from a survey conducted for the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy group, by Harris Poll. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - University of Kansas

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

NASET Sponsor - Drexel Online

Could Daughter's Cancer Risk Be Affected by Father's Age at Birth?

A father's age at the time of his daughter's birth may affect her risk for breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer in adulthood, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data from more than 133,000 women who took part in a study of California teachers and administrators. Between 1995 and 2010, more than 5,300 of the women were diagnosed with breast cancer, 515 with ovarian cancer and more than 1,100 with endometrial cancer -- cancer of the lining of the uterus. Compared to women born to fathers aged 25 to 29, those born to fathers younger than age 20 were 35 percent more likely to develop breast cancer and nearly two times more likely to develop ovarian cancer. To read more,click here

'Milestone' Therapy Produces Leg Movement in Individuals with Paraplegia

Four men paralyzed below the waist have regained some movement in their legs after a series of electrodes implanted along their spinal cord reawakened nerves long thought deadened, researchers are reporting. Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord has given the men the ability to voluntarily flex their toes, ankles and knees, and the strength and precision of their movements has improved over time through intense physical rehabilitation, the researchers said. "The really exciting news that has emerged from the study is that spinal cord injury may no longer mean a lifelong sentence of paralysis," said Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. "This is a substantial milestone that has been reached." To read more,click here

Just One Season of Hits in High School Football May Alter Brain: Study

Even among high school football players who've never had a concussion, a small preliminary study suggests that changes can still occur to their brains within the course of a single season. The study involved 45 members of a 2012 varsity team. Players underwent two brain scans -- one before and one after the season -- with a special type of MRI. Throughout the season, each player wore a helmet fitted with an accelerometer device. "It's able to capture linear and rotational accelerations that can then be used to figure out what forces have been applied to the head," said study author Dr. Alexander Powers, an assistant professor of neurosurgery, pediatrics and orthopedics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - University of Cincinnati

Disney Sued Over Disability Access Policy

Disney is facing allegations of discrimination, with a lawsuit charging that modifications to the company's policy for accommodating people with disabilities at its theme parks violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit filed last week by mothers of 16 kids and young adults with developmental disabilities from across the nation accuses Walt Disney Parks and Resorts of failing to accommodate their children's special needs and of actively dissuading their presence at the company's theme parks. The move comes after Disney made sweeping changes to its policy for accommodating park visitors with disabilities last fall. For years, Disney had offered individuals with special needs a pass that often allowed them and their guests to skip to the front of long lines for park attractions. To read more,click here

More U.S. Children Severely Obese, Study Says

Contrary to a recent report with encouraging figures on childhood obesity in the United States, a new study presents a more sobering picture of the nation's pediatric weight problem. Severe obesity, which sets kids up for a lifetime of health problems, has increased over the past 14 years, North Carolina researchers found. They used the same data that researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mined for their encouraging report in February. "We found that the number of extremely obese kids seems to be increasing," said lead researcher Asheley Cockrell Skinner, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina. "This is particularly true for school-age girls and teenage boys." To read more,click here

Heat Waves Tied to Higher Rates of Early-Term Deliveries

Pregnant women may face increased risk for early-term delivery during heat waves, according to a large new study from Canada. Researchers analyzed data from 300,000 births in Montreal between 1981 and 2010, and also looked at summer temperatures that occurred during those years. The University of Montreal team found that the risk of early-term birth (37 weeks to 38 weeks' gestation) was 27 percent higher when temperatures were 32 degrees Celsius (about 90 degrees Fahrenheit) or above for four to seven days. The risk was 17 percent higher when it was that hot for three days. To read more,click here

How the Brain Pays Attention: Identifying Regions of the Brain Dealing with Object-Based, Spacial Attention

A brain circuit that's key to shifting our focus from one object to another has been identified by neuroscientists. The new findings suggest that there are two types of attention that have similar mechanisms involving related brain regions: object-based attention, and spatial attention. In both cases, the prefrontal cortex -- the control center for most cognitive functions -- appears to take charge of the brain's attention and control relevant parts of the visual cortex, which receives sensory input.To read more,click here

Justice Department Urges Shift Away From Sheltered Workshops

In a first-of-its-kind settlement, the U.S. Department of Justice says a state has committed to overhaul its system of sheltered workshops and day programs for people with developmental disabilities. The agreement announced Tuesday with the state of Rhode Island comes after a Justice Department investigation found systematic violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the state's approach to transition and employment for individuals with developmental disabilities. Students in the state were often funneled from school to sheltered workshops, the Justice Department found. Once there, they typically lingered for years in segregated environments earning an average of $2.21 per hour. To read more,click here

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder May Reflect a Propensity for Bad Habits

Two new studies shed light on the propensity for habit formation in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These studies suggest that a tendency to develop habits, i.e., the compulsive component of the disorder, may be a core feature of the disorder rather than a consequence of irrational beliefs. In other words, instead of washing one's hands because of the belief that they are contaminated, some people may develop concerns about hand contamination as a consequence of a recurring urge to wash their hands.To read more,click here

Could Dads' Obesity Raise Autism Risk for Kids?

Children born to obese fathers, but not obese mothers, may have a slightly higher risk of autism than kids with thinner dads, a large new study suggests. Researchers found that of nearly 93,000 Norwegian children they followed, those born to obese dads had double the risk of developing autism. But the odds were still small: just under 0.3 percent were diagnosed with autism, versus 0.14 percent of kids with normal-weight fathers. The findings, published online April 7 in Pediatrics, are the first to link fathers' obesity to autism risk. And experts stressed that it's not clear whether dads' extra pounds, per se, cause the increase. To read more,click here

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers

U.S. School Children Exposed to Arsenic in Well Water Have Lower IQ Scores

study by researchers at Columbia University reports that schoolchildren from three school districts in Maine exposed to arsenic in drinking water experienced declines in child intelligence. While earlier studies conducted by the researchers in South Asia, and Bangladesh in particular, showed that exposure to arsenic in drinking water is negatively associated with child intelligence, this is the first study to examine intelligence against individual water arsenic exposures in the U.S. Findings are reported online in the journal, Environmental Health.The research team, led by Joseph Graziano, PhD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, assessed 272 children in grades 3-5, who were, on average, 10 years old, from three school districts in Maine where household wells are the predominant source for drinking water and cooking. The Augusta area in particular was studied because of earlier research indicating higher than normal exposures. To read more,click here

Educational Interventions at Early Head Start Led to Decline in Pediatric Emergency Visits

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found that integrating an educational intervention regarding upper respiratory infections (URI) into Early Head Start programs led to a significant decrease in pediatric emergency visits and adverse care practices among predominantly Latino families, who have been shown to be at high risk for limited health literacy. Findings are published in the journal Pediatrics.Four Early Head Start sites in New York City in the Washington Heights/Inwood section of Northern Manhattan were randomly assigned to intervention or standard curriculum. At two of the sites, families received three 1.5-hour education modules regarding care for URI in their parent-child group in the fall and at the remaining two they received the standard educational parent health curriculum; the standard curriculum sites received the URI education in the spring after the study period. The intervention education modules included information on care for URI, the appropriate use of over-the-counter medications and medication measurement training. Classes were taught by trained bilingual community health workers and conducted in either English or Spanish. Parents were also given and taught how to use an upper respiratory infection care kit. To read more,click here

Participants Sought for Study Being Done By U.S. Department of Education

We are seeking Special Educators to participate in an interesting study funded by the U.S. Department of Education.  Please forward this email to any people or groups you think might be interested in participating.  Participants must:

• Currently serve at least one student with complex communication needs at any grade level, including early intervention/early childhood special education.
• Be responsible for developing communication-related IEP/IFSP goals for one student, as described above.
• NOT currently use the Communication Matrix to evaluate students

Participants will receive an honorarium ranging from $200-$350 depending on the group they are assigned to.

If you are interested in further details about this study, please email cooal@ohsu.edu.

Grant #H327A110010

U. S. Dept. of Education

Dr. Charity Rowland, P. I.

Federal Autism Panel Raises Concerns Over DSM Changes

A federal advisory panel is urging clinicians to be careful when applying new diagnostic criteria for autism in order to ensure that no one is denied needed services. Dramatic changes to the definition of autism took effect last year with publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Under the new definition, autistic disorder, Asperger's syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified were folded under an umbrella classification of "autism spectrum disorder" with clinicians specifying a level of severity. To read more,click here