Dear NASET News, Welcome to NASET'sWEEK in REVIEW. Here, we provide you with the latest publications from NASET to read and or download, as well as some of the most interesting articles that have happened this week in the field of special education. We hope you enjoy this publication. Feel free to send us articles for this publication or let us know your thoughts about the WEEK in REVIEW at news@naset.org. Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
NASET News Team |
NEW THIS WEEK ON NASETAutism Spectrum Disorder Series
Educating Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Literature. By Michelle NovoitAutism spectrum disorder is best defined as a range of conditions characterized by difficulties with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. Autism isn't a singular disability, there are many types of autism and they are all caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental factors. Individuals with autism are said to have autism spectrum disorder for the word "spectrum" reflects the wide varieties of challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism. This issue of NASET's Autism Spectrum Disorder series was written by Michelle Noviot and will be a review of the literature on the education of children with autism spectrum disorder. Read More
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NASET's Parent Teacher Conference HandoutWhat are Other Health Impairments under IDEAIntroduction Sometimes parents will get confused about what specific types of disorders are included under categories of disabilities. One of the more confusing areas for parents is Other Health Impaired. Many parents are not aware of the range of disorders that are included and this PTCH explains the basic that they will need to know. Other Health Impairment" is one of the 14 categories of disability listed in our nation's special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, a child who has an "other health impairment" is very likely to be eligible for special services to help the child address his or her educational, developmental, and functional needs resulting from the disability. Read More |
Children of Mothers with Lupus More Likely to Develop Learning Disorders, Review ReportsChildren born to mothers with lupus may end up with developmental disabilities, according to a review of more than two dozen studies. Learning and reading difficulties and dyslexia are among the problems the children may experience as they develop, researchers said. Pregnancy and the period right after birth are risky for both a woman with lupus and her child. Systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, puts pregnant women at higher risk of infections, a high-blood-pressure condition known as preeclampsia, and death. A child is at higher risk of dying in the womb, being born prematurely, and dying after birth. Read More |
Bullying and Bias Can Cost Schools Millions in Lost FundingWhen children avoid school to avoid bullying, many states can lose tens of millions of dollars in lost funding, and California alone loses an estimated $276 million each year because children feel unsafe. New research from The University of Texas at Austin published in School Psychology Quarterly highlights the hidden cost to communities in states that use daily attendance numbers to calculate public school funding. When children are afraid to go to school because classmates target them because of bias against their race, gender, religion, disability or sexual orientation, schools lose tens of millions of dollars each year linked to this absenteeism. Read More |

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Virginia Robotics and Cyber Academy Helps Teens with Disabilities Gain Technology SkillsSome of the robots climb hills and others tell jokes. Students at the Virginia Robotics and Cyber Academy used their new coding skills to program robots to do a variety of activities. The five-day robotics academy, through the Career Pathways for Individuals with Disabilities, served 24 high school-age students from across Virginia. It took place at the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired in Henrico County last Monday through Friday, serving students with disabilities ranging from blindness and low-vision to autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities. Christopher Freeman, a recent graduate of Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield County, programmed his robot to perform stand-up comedy. Read More |
Preschoolers Learn from Math Games, to a PointWhat is the best way to help poor schoolchildren succeed at math? A study co-authored by researchers at MIT, Harvard University, and New York University now sheds light on the ways preschool activities may -- or may not -- help children develop cognitive skills. The study, based on an experiment in Delhi, India, engaged preschool children in math games intended to help them grasp concepts of number and geometry, and in social games intended to help them cooperate and learn together. The results contained an unexpected wrinkle. Children participating in the math games did retain a superior ability to grasp those concepts more than a year later, compared to children who either played only the social games or did not participate. However, the exercises did not lead to better results later, when the children entered a formal classroom setting. 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 |
Finding What's Right with Children who Grow Up in High-Stress EnvironmentsA new research article proposes that more attention be given to what's right with children who grow up in high-stress environments so their unique strengths and abilities can be used to more effectively tailor education, jobs and interventions to fit them. Stress-adapted children and youth possess traits -- such as heightened vigilance, attention shifting and empathic accuracy -- that aren't tapped in traditional learning and testing situations. In addition, these skills may actually allow at-risk children to perform better than their peers from low-risk backgrounds when faced with uncertainty and stress. Most research to date has focused on detrimental effects of growing up under stressful conditions and the deficits in cognitive development that can result, said Bruce J. Ellis, lead author. Read More |
How Cats and Cows Protect Farm Children from AsthmaIt is a known fact that microbes on farms protect children from asthma and allergies. But even non-microbial molecules can have a protective effect: Immunologists from the University of Zurich have shown that a sialic acid found in farm animals is effective against inflammation of lung tissue. This study opens up a wide variety of perspectives for the prevention of allergies. More and more people suffer from allergies and asthma. In the past decades, these diseases have massively increased in industrialized countries. Today, about 30 percent of children have allergies -- with the exception of farm children. Among farm children, the disease is increasing less dramatically than in the case of their friends who live in the same village, but not on a farm. Microbes that occur in higher amounts and greater diversity on farms protect farm children from allergies and asthma. An environment that is not highly hygienic has a positive effect on the development of the immune system as it learns not to react to harmless materials as is the case with allergies. Read More |
PTSD in Children Quickly and Effectively Treatable within HoursChildren and adolescents with posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) can be successfully treated with only a few hours of EMDR or cognitive behavioral writing therapy (CBWT). This is the finding of a new research paper by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and GGZ Rivierduinen (Trauma Center for Children and Youth). The paper was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder which can develop after exposure to a traumatic event such as a terrorist attack, a road traffic accident, sexual or physical abuse. Previous research shows that PTSD can be treated effectively in adults with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) or trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy/imaginary exposure. Until now, however, strong evidence for the efficacy of EMDR in children has been lacking. Read More |
Widening 'Race Gap' in U.S. Infant DeathsThe death rate for black infants in the United States has risen in recent years, while the rate for white infants continues to decline, a new study finds. "The sustained progress in reducing infant mortality among black infants since 2005 has stalled in the past few years. This has led to increases in the absolute inequality in infant mortality between black and white infants during the past three years," said a team led by Corinne Riddell of McGill University in Montreal. One U.S. pediatrician who reviewed the findings said it's unclear why this racial gap in infant deaths is widening. "Infant mortality and racial disparities in this outcome are very complex phenomena, and seem to involve both medical care access and other social factors," said Dr. Michael Grosso, chair of pediatrics at Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y. Read More |
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