WEEK IN REVIEW

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

April 11, 2014 - Vol 10, Issue 15

White House Disability Liaison Moving On

After less than a year on the job, a White House adviser specifically focused on disability issues is leaving the Pennsylvania Avenue post.Claudia Gordon, who is deaf, had served as associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement since last summer. In the role, she worked to promote disability issues within the Obama administration and was a point of contact for advocates in the community. Now, however, Gordon is returning to the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, where she had worked previously. It's unclear who might replace her. To read more,click here

Baby Born With 'Heart-Shaped Head' Has Growing Tumor On Face, But Removal May Not Be Possible

A 2-week-old baby born with a "heart-shaped head" is in the battle between life and death as a massive facial tumor has left his skull unformed on the right side of his head. The Indonesian baby, Muhammad Nafi, was born weighing a healthy 7 lbs. with the help of a midwife, but now faces a growing tumor that could potentially outweigh his body weight if left untreated. Muhammad's parents, mother Mailani, 22, and father Buasin, 32, are now in despair as to how to save their newborn's life - aware that tumor removal may not be feasible. To read more,click here

Spotting Cause of Newborn Brain Injury Could Aid Prevention, Report Says

Identifying the cause of brain injury among newborns could help doctors develop new prevention strategies, according to a joint report from two leading groups of U.S. obstetricians and pediatricians. The updated guidelines on neonatal encephalopathy (the term for newborn brain disorder or injury) -- released by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics -- advise doctors to examine every possible factor that could have contributed to the brain injury. Previous recommendations issued in 2003 focused on determining if a lack of oxygen at the time of birth caused neonatal encephalopathy. 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.

Rare, But Serious, Side Effect Reported With One MS Drug

A handful of people taking a medication called Rebif to treat multiple sclerosis have developed a serious condition that causes blood clots to form in small blood vessels throughout the body. In a letter in the March 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Scottish researchers reported that they found an unexpectedly high number of cases of "thrombotic microangiopathy" in people taking Rebif who suddenly developed severe high blood pressure. The condition is a combination of the clotting disorders hemolytic-uremic syndrome and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (HUS/TTP). To read more,click here

Unemployment Rises As More With Disabilities Job Hunting

The unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities is up slightly as more people seek work, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday. The jobless rate for those with disabilities rose to 14.5 percent in March, up from 14.3 percent the month prior. Despite the uptick, however, the Labor Department said that more individuals in this population were employed last month. There was also an increase in the number of people who were actively job hunting in March, a confluence which resulted in the rising unemployment figure. At the same time, the unemployment rate for the general population remained unchanged at 6.7 percent as the economy added 192,000 jobs. To read more,click here

White Boys Most Prone to Color Blindness, Study Finds

White boys are the most likely to be color blind, while the risk is lowest in black boys, a new study finds. The researchers also confirmed that girls are much less likely to be color blind, which is an inability to see colors accurately. The most common form of the condition involves a genetic mutation that makes it hard to distinguish the color red from the color green. Researchers tested more than 4,000 preschoolers, aged 3 to 6, in California and found that 5.6 percent of white boys were color blind, compared with 3.1 percent of Asian boys, 2.6 percent of Hispanic boys, and 1.4 percent of black boys. To read more,click here

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

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Parents' Addiction May Be Linked to Arthritis in Offspring

Adults whose parents were addicted to alcohol or drugs are at increased risk for arthritis, a new Canadian study contends. Researchers looked at more than 13,000 adults and found about 20 percent had been diagnosed with arthritis. More than 14 percent had at least one parent with a drug or alcohol problem. After adjusting for age, sex and race, the University of Toronto researchers concluded that adults whose parents were addicted to alcohol or drugs had a 58 percent greater risk of arthritis. The findings were published online recently in the International Journal of Population Research. To read more,click here

Report Finds Access To Mental Health Care Uneven

The ability to access a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health provider can vary dramatically depending on where you live, a new report finds. Some counties in the United States have one mental health provider for every 72 people, while others have as few as one for every 55,969 residents. The findings come from the County Health Rankings, an annual report produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute assessing everything from smoking and high school graduation rates to levels of unemployment and physical activity to determine which American counties are the healthiest. To read more,click here

Stronger Muscles May Mean Better Health for Kids

Preteens with strong muscles may have healthier blood pressure, cholesterol and body-fat levels than their less brawny peers, a new study suggests. More than 1,400 sixth-graders had their strength tested with a hand-grip exercise. Overall, the stronger kids appeared to have a lower risk for heart disease and diabetes, according to the study, which was published online March 31 in the journal Pediatrics. Greater strength was associated with lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (another blood fat), and higher levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. The stronger kids also had slightly lower blood pressure and blood sugar. To read more,click here

Family Pets Taking On Service Animal Duties

After she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last spring, Laura Shepler lost her balance and ended up on the floor at least once a week. Once she tripped over her cane and crashed to the floor, cracking her fingers and tearing muscles in her shoulder. Now, she has a furry means of support always by her side. Her service dog, Pumpkin, used to be a family pet. Now, the 3-year-old golden retriever helps make Shepler's life easier by picking up items and using her body and the harness she wears to keep Shepler steady. Shepler even hopes to find another job as a school administrator - with Pumpkin. To read more,click here

Monitoring Kids' Screen Time May Improve Their Behavior

Children's sleep, behavior and school work improves when their parents closely track their media use, according to a new study. Researchers looked at more than 1,300 children in grades three to five in Iowa and Minnesota and found that increased monitoring of the time they spent online, watching TV and playing video games reduced their total amount of screen time. In turn, this led to children getting more sleep, doing better in school and being less aggressive, according to the study, which was published online March 31 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. To read more,click here

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Having Autism Is Like Watching A Poorly Dubbed Foreign Movie, Where Sound And Image Don't Match

In spite of significant innovations recently made through autism research, a definitive cause for the disorder is still relatively unknown. What exactly a person with autism experiences on a daily basis also remains a bit of a mystery. But a study out of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute compared having an autism spectrum disorder to watching a poorly dubbed, foreign movie when it becomes hard to combine what is seen and what is heard."There is a huge amount of effort and energy going into the treatment of children with autism, virtually none of it is based on a strong empirical foundation tied to sensory function," Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Dr. Mark Wallace, said in a press release. "If we can fix this deficit in early sensory function, then maybe we can see benefits in language and communication and social interactions." To read more,click here

Epilepsy Drug Target Implications for Sleep Disruption in Brain Disorders

A new study in a mutant fruitfly called sleepless (sss) confirmed that the enzyme GABA transaminase, which is the target of some epilepsy drugs, contributes to sleep loss. The findings, published online inMolecular Psychiatry, were led by Amita Sehgal, PhD, head of the Chronobiology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. The findings shed light on mechanisms that may be shared between sleep disruption and some neurological disorders. A better understanding of this connection could enable treatments that target both types of symptoms and perhaps provide better therapeutic efficacy.To read more,click here

Demand Soars For Special Education Boarding Schools

Increasing autism rates and rising mental health issues among children are causing a spike in the number of public school students attending residential treatment centers, boarding schools that combine education with intense therapy. Many parents say these schools have performed wonders for their children, helping them back from the brink of dysfunction, despair, even suicide. But the high cost and soaring need have prompted some experts to warn that the service could be in jeopardy. In Illinois, the state has informed local school districts, which pay much of the tab for their students' stays, that demand for the boarding schools has outrun the money set aside to pay for them. That means districts will have to bear extra costs themselves - costs that can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. To read more,click here

Schools Have Limited Success in Reducing Bullying, New Analysis Finds

Two UCLA professors who conducted the most thorough analysis to date of studies on school bullying have found that K-12 schools' efforts to curtail bullying are often disappointing.The study revealed that schools are trying many different approaches to protect students, and while the more comprehensive programs have been the most effective, they require substantial commitment and school resources to be successful. "Band-Aid solutions, such as holding one assembly a year that discourages bullying, do not work," said Jaana Juvonen, a UCLA professor of psychology and lead author of the review. "We are trying to figure out the right balance between comprehensive programs that are costly and require a lot of staff training versus programs that require fewer school resources." To read more,click here

Two New Genes to Intellectual Disability Found

Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have discovered two new genes linked to intellectual disability, according to two research studies published concurrently this month in the journalsHuman Genetics and Human Molecular Genetics."Both studies give clues to the different pathways involved in normal neurodevelopment," says CAMH Senior Scientist Dr. John Vincent, who heads the MiND (Molecular Neuropsychiatry and Development) Laboratory in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH. "We are building up a body of knowledge that is informing us which kinds of genes are important to, and involved in, intellectual disabilities." To read more,click here

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers