Dear NASET News,

NASET News Team

NEW THIS WEEK ON NASET

NASET Special Educator e Journal

Table of Contents

• Special Education Legal Alert. By Perry A. Zirkel
• The Effectiveness of Head Start Program in Early Childhood Education. By Sarah AL-Sharif
• The Effect of Music on Social and Emotional Learning. By Karina Constantine
• Special Education and Health Care: A Literature Review. By Elizabeth Haddad
• Book Review: Lead Like a Pirate (Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff). By Katherine McMeekin
• Book Review: If You Don't Feed The Teachers They Eat The Students! By Valerie Omans
• Book Review: Working on the Work. By Danielle Williams
• Buzz from the Hub
• Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET 
• Acknowledgments

Suspending Young Students Risks Future Success in School

Some kindergartners and first-graders suspended from school can find it challenging to reverse the negative trajectory in their academic life, says a University of Michigan researcher. These young suspended students -- especially boys -- are likely to be suspended again later in elementary school, according to Zibei Chen, a research fellow at the U-M School of Social Work, and colleagues at Louisiana State University. Schools often use suspensions to discipline students, but questions arise about how effective suspension can be in addressing future behavior problems and the impact on academic progress, Chen says. The result when a solution isn't found? More students dropping out of school. "Not only are children who are suspended at a young age missing out on time spent in early learning experiences, but they are also less likely to be referred to services and supports they need to thrive in later school years," Chen said. Read More

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. Read More 

Use of ADHD Medication in Hong Kong Has Risen 36-Fold Over 15 Years, University Study Finds

There has been a 36-fold increase in the use of medication for attention deficit disorder in Hong Kong over 15 years, indicating the condition has become a major issue in the city, a study has found. Academics from the University of Hong Kong led an international team of researchers who studied medication prescription rates for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 15 areas of 13 countries. About 6.4 per cent of children and adolescents are affected by the disorder in Hong Kong, with 10,438 new cases in 2017, according to Department of Health figures. The research, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, found ADHD medication use had increased overall in the 15 places studied. "We showed there was a generalized increase in the use of ADHD medications in different populations over 15 years from 2001 to 2015," Dr Patrick Ip, clinical associate professor at HKU's department of pediatrics and adolescent medicine. Read More

After $84 Million Mistake, Schools Will Get Missing Special Education, Low-Income Funds

The state will repay $26 million over the next five years to Arizona schools that missed out on federal funds meant to serve students with special needs and those from low-income families. Mistakes by the Arizona Department of Education led to the misallocation of a little more than $84 million in Title I and special-education funding over a four-year period, giving some schools too much and some schools too little, an Arizona Republic analysis of the data found.  Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas announced that the Arizona Department of Education now has federal approval to correct the errors. Read More

Cincinnati Public School Students with Disabilities are Protected on Paper but Say They're Treated Poorly in Practice

Just one month before her 14th birthday, Arrington Payne's uncle-with whom she had a very close bond-was gunned down on the west side of Cincinnati. His murder left the teen grief-stricken and deeply distraught. One Sunday shortly afterward, Payne's body suddenly began jerking uncontrollably about an hour into the morning sermon at her church. She briefly lost consciousness. After nearly a year of experiencing several more similar episodes, Payne learned that she was having nonepileptic pseudoseizures or "events," brought about by conversion disorder: a condition in which an individual experiences shaking, blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system symptoms that do not have a physical cause. Payne's doctors believe that her disorder is linked to post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her uncle's death. Read More

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

If you know the answer, email us at contactus@naset.org by October 1, 2018.  We will acknowledge your correct answer in the next edition of the Week in Review

Leveling the Playing Field for Persons with Disabilities in the United States

When it was time for Joe Lupinacci to graduate from his high school in Stamford, Connecticut, he knew he wanted to go to college. While other students were deciding which college to apply to, the choice required more thought and research on Lupinacci and his parents' part. Lupinacci, who has Down Syndrome, needed a college that would meet his needs. "I wanted to go to college and be like my older brother and have the college experience. I wanted to meet other people like me and learn how to be more independent," the now 22-year-old tells IPS via email. While it is common in the United States for public school districts to have special education programs that offer educational support to disabled individuals, many universities only meet the minimum requirements of the country's Disabilities Act. But there are currently at least 50 universities that go further and offer programs and/or resources for students with disabilities. Read More

Disclosure of Autism at Work Holds Risks and Benefits

People with autism generally want the same things in life that our typical peers do, regardless of where we fall on the spectrum: a sense of purpose, independence, human relationships and things to do. But most of us are unsure how to achieve these objectives. In the past several years, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) has highlighted research addressing 'lifespan issues,' such as housing and employment. The findings confirm what many of us know from experience: Although autistic adults are employed at rates higher than for any other group of disabled adults, only 42 percent of us have jobs in the years following high school - a gloomy statistic, at best. The studies do not address important aspects of job satisfaction, however. Researchers have looked at whether people are employed and the number of hours they work, but they rarely examine the types of jobs individuals have, how much they are paid or whether they have opportunities for advancement. Read More

Either Too Much or Too Little Weight Gain During Pregnancy is Associated with Adverse Outcomes in Children aged 7 years

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) shows that if a woman gains either too much or too little weight during pregnancy, there are adverse effects in children at 7 years of age. The study is by Professor Wing Hung Tam and Professor Ronald C.W. Ma, at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, and colleagues. There have been various studies on the effects of weight gain during pregnancy (gestational weight gain or GWG), however data on the metabolic effects in the children subsequently born have not been comprehensively studied. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between GWG and cardiometabolic risk in offspring aged 7 years. The study included a total of 905 mother-child pairs who were enrolled in the follow-up visit of the multicenter Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study, at the study center in Hong Kong. Read More

Green Space Near Home During Childhood Linked to Fewer Respiratory Problems in Adulthood

Children who have access to green spaces close to their homes have fewer respiratory problems, such as asthma and wheezing, in adulthood, according to new research presented today (Wednesday) at the European Respiratory Society International Congress [1]. In contrast, children who are exposed to air pollution are more likely to experience respiratory problems as young adults. Until now, little has been known about the association between exposure to air pollution as a child and long-term respiratory problems in adulthood. RHINESSA [2] is a large international study that has been investigating lung health in children and adults in seven European countries, and that has information on residential "greenness" and air pollution exposures from birth onwards from several study centers. Read More

Father's Obesity in Early Puberty Doubles Asthma-Risk for Future Offspring

An international EU-study (ALEC), including researchers from the Centre for International Health at the University of Bergen, has shown that the period between the age of eight and puberty is particularly important for lung health later in life. "If one gains a lot of weight during this period, it doubles the risk of having asthma later in life, for both sexes, but for the boys the risk also doubles for his future offspring" says PhD, Marianne Lønnebotn, at Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen.  The researchers analyzed questionnaire data from 3 018 adult offspring (age 18-50) and their 2 153 fathers (age 39-66) participating in the RHINESSA/RHINE generation study in 10 ECRHS centers in North Europe, Spain and Australia. Read More

New School of Thought: In-Class Physical Exercise Won't Disrupt Learning, Teaching

As childhood obesity rates rise and physical education offerings dwindle, elementary schools keep searching for ways to incorporate the federally mandated half-hour of physical activity into the school day. A series of recent University of Michigan studies found that two-minute bursts of in-class exercise breaks increased the amount of daily exercise for elementary children without hurting math performance. More importantly, when incorporated into classrooms across southeast Michigan, teachers found the breaks were doable and didn't disrupt learning. "What we're showing is that we can give kids an additional 16 minutes of health-enhancing physical activity," said Rebecca Hasson, principal investigator and one of the lead authors. Read More

Exposure to Certain Pesticides in the Womb Linked to Poorer Lung Function in Childhood

Babies exposed to higher levels of organochlorine compounds in the womb go on to have worse lung function in childhood, according to new research presented today (Tuesday) at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. These compounds, which include the pesticide DDT, as well as electrical insulators and other industrial products, are now banned in most parts of the world. However, because they degrade very slowly, they are still present in the environment and in foods. Previous research has suggested links between exposure to these chemicals in the womb and parents reporting childhood respiratory diseases such as wheezing, asthma, and chest infections. The new study is the first to show a link with objective measures of lung strength and capacity in relation to low-level exposure to these chemicals. Read More

Children with Asthma are Less Likely to Finish School and to Work in Non-Manual Occupations

People who suffer with persistent asthma from a young age are more likely to leave school at 16 years old and those who make it to university are more likely to drop out early, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. The research also suggests that when this group of children grow up, they are less likely to work in certain non-manual occupations such as police officer, clerk or foreman. Researchers behind the study say these results suggest children with asthma are disadvantaged in education and in their future work. The research was presented by Dr. Christian Schyllert, a clinician at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, and a PhD student at Umeå University. He explained: "Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases among children and we know that it can interfere with daily life and affect school attendance. However, we know a lot less about the impact childhood asthma has on subsequent life chances in adulthood." Read More

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers

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Premature Brains Develop Differently in Boys and Girls

Brains of baby boys born prematurely are affected differently and more severely than premature infant girls' brains. This is according to a study published in the Springer Nature-branded journal Pediatric Research. Lead authors Amanda Benavides and Peg Nopoulos of the University of Iowa in the US used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans as part of an ongoing study on premature babies to examine how the brains of baby boys and girls changed and developed. The researchers took high-quality MRI scans of the brains of 33 infants whose ages were corrected to that of one year. The sample included babies who were carried to full term (at least 38 weeks) and preterm (less than 37 weeks). The scans were analyzed in conjunction with information gathered from questionnaires completed by the infants' mothers and other data collected when they were born. Read More

Instilling Persistence in Children

Encouraging children "to help," rather than asking them to "be helpers," can instill persistence as they work to fulfill daily tasks that are difficult to complete, finds a new psychology study. The research, conducted by a team of New York University scientists, suggests that using verbs to talk about actions with children, such as encouraging them to help, read, and paint, may help lead to more resilience following the setbacks that they inevitably experience rather than using nouns to talk about identities -- for example, asking them to be helpers, readers, or artists. The results run somewhat counter to those of a 2014 study that showed asking children to "be helpers" instead of "to help" subsequently led them to help more. The difference between the 2014 work and the new scholarship, both of which appear in the journal Child Development, is that the latter tested what happened after children experienced setbacks while trying to help, underscoring how language choice is linked to children's perseverance. Read More

Scientists Reveal Drumming Helps Schoolchildren Diagnosed with Autism

Drumming for 60 minutes a week can benefit children diagnosed with autism and supports learning at school, according to a new scientific study. The project, led by the University of Chichester and University Centre Hartpury, showed students' ability to follow their teachers' instructions improved significantly and enhanced their social interactions between peers and members of school staff. Research involved pupils from Milestone School in Gloucester who took part in a ten-week drumming program comprising two 30-minute sessions each week. Observations of the weekly lessons also highlighted significant improvements in dexterity, rhythm and timing. The investigation is a continuation of research undertaken by the academics, known collectively as the Clem Burke Drumming Project that includes the iconic Blondie drummer, and is aimed at demonstrating the value of the musical instrument to school pupils requiring additional education support. Read More

LATEST JOB LISTINGS POSTED ON NASET

* Special Education Resource Teacher Winthrop Harbor, IL - Full Time Special Education Resource Teacher. Seeking candidates with PEL with Special Education (K-12) endorsement. We offer a competitive salary, health insurance, fully paid TRS pension, flexible benefits, 50K life insurance policy, etc. To learn more - Click here

* Special Education Coordinator Statewide- Wisconsin- This position will work from home and can be based anywhere in the state. This is a statewide position and will provide support to districts throughout Wisconsin. This includes day and some overnight travel. The Wisconsin RtI Center works in a virtual office environment. To learn more -  Click here

* Development Intervention (Per/Diem)  Springfield, NJ- The Arc of Union County's Early Intervention Program is in search of Development Intervention Consultants to join our multi-disciplinary team providing services to children ages 0-3 with developmental needs ages in their homes or community settings throughout Union County. Schedules are flexible and based on the needs of the children and families. To learn more - Click here

* Teacher - Special Education (all categories) Suwanee, Georgia - Responsible for planning and providing for appropriate learning experiences for students based on the district's AKS curriculum as well as providing an atmosphere and environment conducive to the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of individuals. GCPS offers full benefits and 2 Retirement Packages! To learn more - Click here

* Special Education Teacher Alleghany, Chase City, Danville, Hampton, Petersburg, Roanoke, Tidewater, Springfield, Rockbridge Baths - Rivermont Schools are now hiring special education teachers at multiple locations throughout Virginia. Sign on bonus of $2,000 and relocation assistance of $5,000 are available for those who qualify. To learn more - Click here

* Special Education Teacher Willmar, MN - DCD Center Based at Roosevelt Elementary School - Provides research-based specialized instruction to address the instructional goals and objectives contained within each student's IEP. Assesses student progress and determines the need for additional reinforcement or adjustments to instructional techniques. Employs various teaching techniques, methods and principles of learning to enable students to meet their IEP goals. To learn more -  Click here

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

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

Excellence is not being the best; it is doing your best.  

                                                             Author Unknown