This issue ofNASET'sPractical Teacherwas written by Reshma Mulchan, a graduate student at Florida International University. The article presents a literature review on the challenges of special education for parents and students. Multiple studies (Burke, 2013; Chen & Gregory, 2010; Mandic, Rudd, Hehir & Acevedo-Garcia, 2010) often claimed that parents of students with disabilities encountered a plethora of barriers and challenges regarding special education systems. Parents are hampered in their quest to source information pertaining to specific special educational services because they cannot acquire reliable support and guidance. In addition, sometimes inadequate information is furnished to parents of students with disabilities about special education support and funding. Sourcing disability funding and support services can be a problem when parents don't apprehend the process. Furthermore, parents struggle to find appropriate funding for special equipment and support for their child with a specific disability. Parents are unable to advocate for their child with disabilities because they are not equipped with necessary information. Moreover, many parents misunderstand the process of Individualized Education Program (IEP) and their role as an advocate for their child with disabilities because of language barriers. Parents can become overwhelmed by the trials and obstacles regarding finding appropriate educational services and systems for their children with disability.

Stimulant medications, such as those used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may raise the risk for psychotic side effects among young patients who have a parent with a history of serious mental illness, new research suggests. The study included 141 children and young adults aged 6 to 21. Nearly two-thirds of those prescribed stimulant medications had a psychotic side effect. These side effects included hallucinations, delusions, hearing voices, and/or perceptual disturbances, the researchers said. By comparison, psychotic effects affected just over one-quarter of those who had not taken a stimulant drug, the study showed. To read more,click here

Rates of childhood asthma appear to have plateaued, except among the poor and kids aged 10 to 17, U.S. health officials report. Researchers found that childhood asthma rates increased from 2001 to 2009 -- a trend that began in 1982. The rate peaked in 2009 at close to 10 percent, then leveled off before dropping to slightly more than 8 percent in 2013. "Trends in childhood asthma have recently stopped increasing," said lead researcher Dr. Lara Akinbami, who's with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. To read more,click here

When a loved one is admitted to a hospital intensive care unit (ICU), family members need support, too. "Families are totally unprepared for a sudden injury and overwhelmed when it is a very serious injury. Families need a road map to guide them through their worst moments, and that is my job," said Kelly McElligott, a clinical social worker in the burn center at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill. Each year, roughly 2.1 million patients are transferred from an emergency room to an intensive care unit, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To read more,click here

A new strategy to prevent concussions on the football field that seems counterintuitive may actually work, a new study suggests. Instead of shielding the head with increasing layers of padding, researchers think they can reduce head impacts by having players temporarily practice without helmets. That approach seems to encourage players to avoid using their heads as weapons, the researchers added. "We've found a way to decrease the number of impacts in the sport of football," said study author Erik Swartz, chair of kinesiology at the University of New Hampshire. "It's natural. By doing these drills without helmets, we take advantage of their [players'] vulnerability when their heads aren't protected. They'll naturally keep their heads out of contact." To read more,click here

Babies born very prematurely are at higher risk for developing autism spectrum disorder, a new study suggests. Researchers found differences in the brains of babies born before 27 weeks' gestation who were later diagnosed with the disorder, commonly known as autism. Autism is usually linked with genetic factors, but the study's authors suggested birth weight and complications can increase children's risk for the condition. "Our study shows that environmental factors can also cause autism," study co-author Ulrika Aden said in a news release from Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, where she is a neonatologist. She is also a researcher in the department of women's and children's health at Karolinska Institute. To read more,click here

Babies born outside of a hospital are more likely to be stillborn, or to die within a year of birth, a new Oregon study suggests. However, the risk of death in both groups was small. The study found nearly four deaths for every 1,000 babies born outside of a hospital compared to approximately two deaths for every 1,000 deliveries that occurred in a hospital. "There is a small risk of serious complications that are best dealt with in hospital. They're rare but the risk is not zero," said study co-author Dr. Aaron Caughey, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. "The tradeoff is, in the hospital, you lose control over your birth experience." To read more,click here

Demand so far has been low for $6,500 scholarships that Mississippi is awarding to parents of special education students to use in private or home schooling. The Mississippi Department of Education has approved 286 students so far, but provided reimbursement for only 131 students. Lawmakers appropriated $3 million, enough for 433 students. "I think they were expecting a lot more children," state Superintendent Carey Wright told the Board of Education earlier this month. State officials said that some parents were unable to use the money because they couldn't find private schools to accept special education students. To read more,click here

My name is Lisa Rutner and I am looking for a content expert for my dissertation.  I am a student at Grand Canyon University and have already attended my first residency. My topic is: Exploring strategies middle school teachers need to implement the Multi-tiered Support System with fidelity.  Please contact me at 954-288-6627954-288-6627 or lisa.rutner@marion.k12.fl.us.  Thank you

High-dose vitamin D appears safe for people with multiple sclerosis, and it may help quiet the immune system hyperactivity that marks the disease, a small clinical trial finds. The study, published online Dec. 30 in Neurology, bolsters evidence that vitamin D might benefit people with MS. But clinical trials are still underway to answer the big question: Does taking vitamin D improve MS symptoms and alter the course of the disease? The current study shows only that high doses -- 10,400 IU a day -- reduce the proportion of certain immune-system cells that have been implicated in the MS disease process. To read more,click here

The London Sperm Bank, the largest clinic of its kind in the U.K., has reportedly banned men who have dyslexia and other physical conditions from donating sperm to "minimize the risk of transmitting common genetic diseases or malformations to any children born." The Guardian obtained a flier from the sperm bank that says it screens for attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, Asperger syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia. Critics say the sperm bank is practicing a form of "eugenics," and the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has launched an investigation into the clinic. To read more,click here

Three-quarters of U.S. high school students who use heroin first tried narcotic painkillers, a new survey reveals. Survey results from nearly 68,000 high school seniors provide some clues to heroin's recent deadly path from the inner city into affluent suburbs and rural communities. "The more times a teen uses nonprescribed painkiller pills, the greater the risk he or she is at for becoming dependent on the drug," said lead researcher Joseph Palamar, an assistant professor of population health at New York University. To read more,click here

Parents of children with disabilities, empowered by a recent city audit that uncovered "shameful" misspending of taxpayer money, demanded new laws Thursday and a state investigation into the community boards that manage their children's services. In a standing-room-only Capitol rally, parents held signs and pushed their young or adult children in wheelchairs as they vowed to fight for action ahead of the legislature's return in January. "We are absolutely determined not to stop until there is reform in the system," said Maureen Welch, mother of an 8-year-old boy with Down syndrome. "Our concerns are real. They are legitimate. They are documented." To read more,click here

Kidney damage from diabetes may begin much sooner than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers found that higher-than-normal blood sugar levels associated with prediabetes increase the risk of kidney abnormalities that could lead to kidney failure. "Our research shows that the pathological process of kidney injury caused by elevated blood glucose levels starts in prediabetes, well before the onset of diabetes," study author Dr. Toralf Melsom said in a National Kidney Foundation news release. Melsom is an associate professor and senior consultant in the nephrology department at University Hospital of North Norway. To read more,click here

Lex Arriola is your typical 15-year-old girl. She uses her smartphone a ton. She texts. She FaceTimes. Like most teens, she loves emoji and, of course, Taylor Swift.

But unlike most of her peers, Arriola was born blind. When she gets texts with emojis, Siri translates them, so messages are punctuated by "face screaming in fear" and "puffing with angry face". She has a Braille Sense, a small book-sized beige contraption with a tactile keyboard that she uses to read and write. Arriola, a petite curly-haired brunette with a warm smile, commands her always-dark iPhone screen with a flurry of taps, swipes and voice commands to Siri. To read more,click here

The first Israeli college designed to accommodate students on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities is set to open in March 2016. The college, to be called BE Academic College, which will be run jointly by Beit Ekstein, an organization devoted to helping people with learning and developmental disabilities, and the Open University, a distance-learning school with multiple branches across Israel. BE Academic College will be based at Beit Ekstein's campus in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim. The school will offer three programs designed to give its students a boost to enter the workforce: psychology and education, psychology and communications, and economics and computer science. To read more,click here

It's estimated that up to 100 million people across the world could need orthotic supports - braces that help with posture and walking. And the number keeps on growing at 6 percent per year. But traditional basic methods of making them have create a whole set of problems, which can make the process traumatic for the patient. A British couple now reckons they've found a way to revolutionise the industry using 3D printing. CRI's Fei Fei reports. Andiamo's co-founder Naveed Parvez introduces their innovation using 3D printing that is a simpler and more comfortable solution to making braces and supports instead of the old plastic molds. "The process that people go through in the Andiamo service is you get 3D scanned, which takes anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds, and that gets a 3D image that's accurate to under a millimetre, and that 3D image is turned into a medical device using a computer edited design, and then that's sent to a 3D printer, that's fitted and then you're sent away. So rather than taking six months and a very distressing process it can take less than a week." To read more,click here