WEEK IN REVIEW

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

January 10, 2014 - Vol 10, Issue 2

New This Week on NASET

Landmark ADHD Study Backed Drugs Over Therapy at a Cost: Report

Many children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have missed out on valuable counseling because of a widely touted study that concluded stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall were more effective for treating the disorder than medication plus behavioral therapies, experts say. That 20-year-old study, funded with $11 million from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, concluded that the medications outperformed a combination of stimulants plus skills-training therapy or therapy alone as a long-term treatment. But now experts, who include some of the study's authors, think that relying on such a narrow avenue of treatment may deprive children, their families and their teachers of effective strategies for coping with ADHD,The New York Times reported. To read more,click here

Can Bacterial Infections During Pregnancy Raise Autism Risk?

Pregnant women who have a bacterial infection that's diagnosed during hospitalization may be at greater risk of delivering a child with autism, a new study suggests. These infections -- usually of the genitals, urinary tract or amniotic fluid -- may lead to a nearly 60 percent greater risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder, the researchers said in a paper published recently in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. But, the researchers added, such infections are very common during pregnancy and most don't lead to autism. Half the women included in the study had at least one infection during their pregnancy, regardless of whether their child is autistic. And the study only uncovered an association between bacterial infections and a child with autism -- it did not prove cause-and-effect. To read more,click here

Study: Kids With ADHD, Aggression May Benefit From 2nd Med

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who also are extremely aggressive might benefit from taking an antipsychotic drug along with their stimulant medication, a new study suggests. Prescribing powerful antipsychotic medications to children with behavioral problems is controversial. Little is known about the long-term safety of these medications, which are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. And previous studies have provided little evidence to support the idea that they help quell youngsters' violent outbursts. To read more,click here

New Genetic Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes Revealed

An international team of researchers in Mexico and the United States has uncovered a new genetic clue that contributes to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, particularly the elevated risk among Mexican and other Latin American populations.The team, known as the SIGMA (Slim Initiative in Genomic Medicine for the Americas) Type 2 Diabetes Consortium, performed the largest genetic study to date in Mexican and Mexican American populations, discovering a risk gene for type 2 diabetes that had gone undetected in previous efforts. People who carry the higher risk version of the gene are 25 percent more likely to have diabetes than those who do not, and people who inherited copies from both parents are 50 percent more likely to have diabetes. The higher risk form of the gene has been found in up to half of people who have recent Native American ancestry, including Latin Americans. The variant is found in about 20 percent of East Asians and is rare in populations from Europe and Africa. To read more,click here

Gene That Influences the Ability to Remember Faces Identified

New findings suggest the oxytocin receptor, a gene known to influence mother-infant bonding and pair bonding in monogamous species, also plays a special role in the ability to remember faces. This research has important implications for disorders in which social information processing is disrupted, including autism spectrum disorder. In addition, the finding may lead to new strategies for improving social cognition in several psychiatric disorders.A team of researchers from Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta, the University College London in the United Kingdom and University of Tampere in Finland made the discovery, which will be published in an online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read more,click here

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Heart Defects May Be Caused by Altered Function, Not Structure

Recent data shows that more than 500,000 women in the U.S. report drinking during pregnancy, with about 20 percent of this population admitting to binge drinking. Even one episode of heavy drinking can lead to the collection of birth defects known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Along with growth retardation, head and face abnormalities, and neurological problems, FAS also causes heart problems in just over half of those with this condition. Though much research has focused on looking for the cause of these alcohol-induced heart defects, they remain largely a mystery.To read more,click here

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Under Pressure: Harness for Guide Dogs Must Suit Both Dog, Owner

Guide dogs lend their eyes to blind people, enabling them to find their way around in an environment they cannot see. Guide dogs require about four years of training and fully trained animals can cost over 30,000 Euro. It is thus important for financial reasons as well as because of animal welfare considerations to ensure that guide dogs are comfortable in their work. A proper harness that enables good communication between the blind person and the dog is an important factor in the animal's well-being, while a poorly fitting harness may result in health problems and impaired communication between dog and owner.To read more,click here

Showdown Brews as Congress Turns Focus to K-12 Spending

Big questions loom about just how much money Congress will steer to individual programs-including the Obama administration's marquee competitive-grant initiatives-with lawmakers on House and Senate appropriations committees facing a Jan. 15 deadline to fill in details on the current year's spending plan or face another government shutdown. School districts that have been chafing under across-the-board federal cuts known as sequestration for nearly a year got a two-year reprieve under the agreement approved last month that effectively scales back the sequestration cuts to education by 87 percent over that period, according to an analysis by the Committee for Education Funding, a lobbying coalition in Washington. To read more,click here

Is Homework for the Benefit of Students or Teachers?

The issue of overloading students with homework once again is drawing media attention with a piece by Washington Post columnist Jay Matthews. The crux of it? Concern that some teachers may pile on homework for the wrong reasons, and not because of any real value it might provide students. Matthews quotes several teachers, plus a student. He starts with a plea from high school junior Maddy King: "If you could talk to the teaching staff as a whole-let them know that we do not need 36 math problems if we've grasped the concept after nine." Retired English teacher Bernadette Nakamura tells Matthews: "I believe that too often teachers give unnecessarily long, burdensome homework assignments to please parents, to show that they are demanding teachers, or to cover material they didn't manage to get to during the class period." To read more,click here

What Is Our Emotional Geography? Researchers Map Bodily Sensations Commonly Identified With Feelings

Long ago, explorers sailed the seven seas and mapped the unknown world, yet over the years scientists have consistently neglected to chart the physical sensations commonly associated with different feelings. Until now. A team of researchers from Finland worked with more than 700 participants and their own specialized knowledge of emotional processing in order to create a unique geography of emotion. "Numerous studies have established that emotion systems prepare us to meet challenges encountered in the environment by adjusting the activation of the cardiovascular, skeletomuscular, neuroendocrine, and autonomic nervous system (ANS)," wrote the authors in theirstudy, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. "This link between emotions and bodily states is also reflected in the way we speak of emotions: A young bride getting married next week may suddenly have 'cold feet,' severely disappointed lovers may be 'heartbroken,' and our favorite song may send 'a shiver down our spine.'" To read more,click here

Special Educator Interest in Common Core Heated Up in 2013

2013 was a tough time to eke out any news on special education at the federal level. Sure, there were the effects of the sequester cuts (and the prospect that those cuts may soon be alleviated), but Washington was not where special educators were looking in the past 12 months. Instead, they were intensely interested in any news relating to the Common Core State Standards, judging by a look at the most-read blog entries for On Special Educaton Blog in 2013. A post noting that the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, one of the test-writing consortia, was seeking comment on proposed accommodations drew high readership, as did follow-up blog posts noting that PARCC had released a proposed accommodations and accessibility manual for students with disabilities, and that the organization adopted a final version of the manual in June. To read more,click here

The Challenge of Training Teachers to Teach -- and Students to Learn

Those of us who have spent our professional lives as educators know that the most essential ingredient in learning is a great teacher; one who has the ability to engage students, to make math and science interesting as well as instructive and to make the lessons of history both fun and a foundation for our journey through life, making good decisions and learning from our mistakes. A recent report from the New York City Department of Education on teacher training gave the Touro College Graduate School of Education high marks for producing a large number of -- I daresay -- great city teachers, especially in special education. To read more,click here

Children with Disabilities to Showcase Talents through Gettysburg's Penguin Project

Penguins can't fly, but they still thrive in their own environment. That's the idea, too, behind the Penguin Project, a program that pairs children with disabilities onstage with peer mentors their own age. And appropriately enough, project will be performing a version of the classic story "Peter Pan" when it comes to the Gettysburg Community Theatre in January. "The show tells an interesting story about not letting things hold you back," said Chad-Alan Carr, the theater's artistic director. "Having a disability shouldn't keep you from doing things." To read more,click here

Fake Service Dog Owners Cause Problems for People with Disabilities

You see them in stores, restaurants, even airports. Service dogs are supposed to help people with disabilities. But what if you suspect someone's "service dog" is just a regular pet, and its owner is faking a disability so they can take their dog wherever they want? 9NEWS followed a newstip and found service dog fraud is hurting people who really need these animals. Daily life used to be a struggle for Veronica Morris. "I could only go to work and home. I couldn't go to the grocery store. It was too stressful. Too scary," Morris said.To read more,click here

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers

Grandparent Autism Network Offers Support to Grandparents

The Grandparent Autism Network (GAN) was started by Bonnie Malkin Gillman after her grandson was diagnosed. She didn't want to burden her son and daughter-in-law with the additional responsibility of educating her, so she took matters into her own hands. The GAN website offers helpful information about autism, including medical, educational, legal and social issues that affect their families. The site also sponsors events and has local chapters for members in the Orange County area of California. A survey by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) shows that grandparents are often a huge support for their grandchildren and their families. They are often the first family members to notice when something is "off," and can be integral to getting an early diagnosis. Grandparents also tend to be babysitters, and to offer financial support to their grandchildren's family, often dipping into retirement savings in order to fund treatments that may not be covered by insurance. To read more,click here

Surf Dog 'Hangs 10' In Del Mar For Ocean Therapy Session

Military members and people with disabilities took to the water in Del Mar on New Year's Eve to tandem surf with champion surf dog Ricochet. Two surfers joining Ricochet were 9-year-old Gina Gill, who suffers from autism, and Randy Dexter, an Army veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder. Ricochet, a 5-year-old golden retriever, was trained as a puppy to surf and helps kids and people with disabilities learn how to surf themselves. Tuesday was the third time Gill has surfed with Ricochet. Gill's mother, Gail, said tandem surfing with Ricochet helps her daughter socialize and builds her confidence. To read more,click here