• Update from the U.S. Department of Education
• Literature Review - - Experiences of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) when Dealing with Schools Regarding their Children's Education. By Sheila Bravo, Florida International University
• Buzz from the Hub
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability
• Legislative Announcements, Calls to Participate and New Projects
• Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET
• Upcoming Conferences and Events
• Funding Forecast and Award Opportunities
• Acknowledgements

Prenatal Exposure to Pollutants May Spell Trouble for Kids

Exposure to common air pollutants before birth may make children more likely to have the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other thinking and behavioral problems, a small new study suggests. "Exposure to air pollution in pregnancy and during early infancy [and] early childhood seems to produce brain disturbances in the left side of the brain, in direct proportion to the amount of exposure to air pollution that women experience in pregnancy," explained study author Dr. Bradley Peterson. He directs the Institute for the Developing Mind at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Peterson's team has been following 620 minority women who live in New York City. The researchers are planning to eventually scan 250 children born to the women, gathering information about the mothers' exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy and after. To read more,click here

Scientists Spot Gene Tied to Severe Autism in Girls

Researchers say they've discovered a new genetic cause of autism, singling out a rare gene mutation that appears to hamper normal brain development early on in powerful ways. The gene, CTNND2, provides instructions for making a protein called delta-catenin, which plays crucial roles in the nervous system, said senior author Aravinda Chakravarti, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute of Genetic Medicine. His research team found that a group of girls with severe autism carried CTNND2 mutations that appeared to reduce the effectiveness of delta-catenin, potentially affecting their neurological development. To read more,click here

Abused Kids Not Destined to Be Abusive Parents, Study Finds

Conventional wisdom says that abused children often grow up to be abusive parents, but a 30-year study of American families suggests it's more complicated than that. In one striking finding, researchers uncovered little evidence that physical abuse is passed from one generation to the next. "That was extremely surprising," said lead researcher Cathy Spatz Widom, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in New York City. "The theory has been that children of parents who were abused are at increased risk of physical abuse." To read more,click here

Counseling Beats School Suspension at Curbing Pot Use: Study

Students at schools that impose suspensions for marijuana use are more likely to smoke pot than those at schools without a suspension policy, a new study finds. Researchers also found that counseling was much more effective in reducing marijuana use than suspensions. "To reduce marijuana use among all students, we need to ensure that schools are using drug policies that respond to policy violations by educating or counseling students, not just penalizing them," study co-author Richard Catalano, a professor of social work at the University of Washington, said in a university news release. To read more,click here

Free School Breakfasts Appear to Boost Kids' Grades

Free school breakfasts may help low-income students do better in the classroom, a new study suggests. Students at elementary schools that offered free breakfast had 25 percent better math grades, and similarly higher reading and science grades, than students at schools without free breakfast. However, although the researchers found a link between schools that provide free morning meals and higher school performance, the study wasn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship. To read more,click here

Too Much Homework May Hurt Teens' Test Scores

More isn't necessarily better for teens when it comes to homework, a new study finds. About an hour a day is ideal, and doing homework alone and regularly yielded the best results, Spanish researchers report. "The conclusion is that when it comes to homework, how is more important than how much," wrote study co-author Javier Suarez-Alvarez, from the University of Oviedo. "Once individual effort and autonomous working is considered, the time spent becomes irrelevant." To read more,click here

Brains of Those With Anorexia React Differently to Hunger Signals

People with anorexia nervosa have an abnormal brain response to hunger signals, a new study finds. "When most people are hungry, they are motivated to eat," study first author Christina Wierenga, an associate professor of psychiatry at the the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, said in a university news release. "Yet individuals with anorexia can be hungry and still restrict their food intake. We wanted to identify brain mechanisms that may contribute to their ability to ignore rewards, like food," she explained. The finding offers new insight into eating disorders and could lead to new treatments that target specific brain pathways, according to the researchers. To read more,click here

Could Smoggy Air Raise Anxiety Levels?

Air pollution may take a toll not only on physical health, but mental well-being as well, two new studies suggest. In one, researchers confirmed a long-studied connection between air pollution and cardiovascular health -- finding evidence that dirty air may help trigger strokes in vulnerable people. The other study looked at a newer question: Could air pollution also affect mental health? The answer, it found, is "possibly." Among over 70,000 U.S. women in the study, those who lived in relatively polluted areas were more likely to report multiple anxiety symptoms. To read more,click here

Adopted Kids' Average IQ Higher Than Non-Adopted Siblings: Study

Adopted children tend to have a slightly higher IQ than siblings who remained with their biological parents, a recent study found. The difference between siblings -- equivalent to about four IQ points -- appears to stem from higher average educational levels in adoptive parents, according to the researchers. "The more educated the adoptive parents are, the bigger the advantage for the child," said study co-author Eric Turkheimer, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "Even in the presence of genetic differences among people, improving the environment helps children's cognitive ability." To read more,click here

Teachers Fight Special Needs Accommodation

A teachers group is fighting a plan to allow a student with a disability to use a faculty restroom, all because they say the accommodation violates their right to exclusive facilities. Eighteen teachers - including two special educators - signed a petition filed alongside a union grievance after administrators opted to allow a student at Park Elementary School near Pittsburgh to use the faculty restroom, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The student has a physical limitation, school officials say, which makes it difficult for the child to climb stairs needed to access the student facilities. The school's bottom floor does not have a student restroom nor is there elevator access. To read more,click here

Secondhand Smoke May Put Kids at Risk for Heart Disease as Adults

Children whose parents smoke may be at greater risk of developing heart disease when they're adults than children of nonsmoking parents, a new study says. The study included people in Finland whose exposure as children to parents' smoke was measured in 1980 and 1983. In 2001 and 2007, the participants were checked for plaque accumulation in their neck (carotid) arteries, a sign of heart disease. Overall, adults who were exposed to smoking from one or two parents during childhood were 1.7 times more likely to have carotid plaque buildup than those whose parents did not smoke, according to the study in the March 23 online issue of the journal Circulation. To read more,click here

Ebola May Hit Young Children Hardest, Study Finds

Ebola appears to do its damage faster in young children than it does in adults, a new study reports. Young children infected with Ebola during the current West African epidemic developed symptoms and required hospitalization sooner than adults. They also died days earlier than did adults with the infection, according to research from the World Health Organization's Ebola Response Team. "Anybody who develops Ebola needs the best care promptly, but these data suggest that things move even more quickly in young children," said report co-author Christopher Dye, the WHO's director of strategy. To read more,click here

Disability-Related Education Complaints Trending Up

Federal education officials are fielding an increasing number of complaints related to disability discrimination in the nation's schools. More than 3,900 complaints based on disability were filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights during the 2014 fiscal year, the most recent period for which statistics are available. Though that's somewhat fewer than the department received in 2013, it represents a sharp rise over five years. By comparison, less than 3,000 complaints were filed in 2009. To read more,click here

Autistic and Non-Autistic Brain Differences Isolated for First Time

The functional differences between autistic and non-autistic brains have been isolated for the first time, following the development of a new methodology for analysing MRI scans. Developed by researchers at the University of Warwick, the methodology, called Brain-Wide Association Analysis (BWAS), is the first capable of creating panoramic views of the whole brain and provides scientists with an accurate 3D model to study. The researchers used BWAS to identify regions of the brain that may make a major contribution to the symptoms of autism. To read more,click here

Children with ADHD May Gain More From Family-Centered Care

For children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), receiving more family-centered, compassionate care may be more effective than standard care, a new study found. Researchers compared two types of "collaborative care," in which special care managers act as intermediaries between a family and their child's doctors. One approach was standard collaborative care while the other was "enhanced," which meant the care managers had received several days of training to teach parents healthy parenting skills and interact with families in an open-minded, non-judgmental, empathetic way. To read more,click here

Premature Deaths Down in 60 Percent of U.S. Counties

Premature death rates have fallen in 60 percent of the counties in the United States in the past decade, a new report shows. In the District of Columbia, the premature death rate fell nearly one-third between 2004-06 and 2010-12, which was the largest drop among counties with 65,000 or more people, according to the 2015 County Health Rankings. The rankings compared counties on 30 factors that affect health, including diet, exercise, housing, violent crime, education and transportation. The rankings are a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. To read more,click here

Autism Tied to Higher Risk for Gut Troubles in Children

Children with autism tend to have more gastrointestinal problems early in life compared to other children, a new study finds. Researchers compared these GI symptoms -- such as diarrhea, constipation and food allergy/intolerance -- during the first three years of life among three groups of Norwegian children. One group included 195 children with autism, another included more than 4,600 children with developmental delays, and the third group included more than 40,000 children who developed typically. To read more,click here