NASET

WEEK IN REVIEW

National Association of Special Education Teachers

August 26, 2022                 Vol 18 Issue #34

Dear NASET Members and Guests,

Welcome to NASET's WEEK in REVIEW.  Here, we provide you with the latest publications fromNASET 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,

WHATS NEW AT NASET

fastIEP by NASET

fastIEP gives teachers an easy to use tool to record goal progress data in real time, in the classroom, and generate progress reports and charts any time that are always up to date. fastIEP’s day-to-day data can then be uploaded to your IEP reporting tool to create compliant reports. This eliminates a huge manual step and ensures data is accurate and recorded in the moment, not days or weeks afterwards. Teachers can always see charts of their students’ progress that are up to date, so they can intervene quickly when students are struggling. Try it for Free!

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Strategies for Navigating Common Conversation Stumbles in ADHD

People with ADHD have a hard time with conversation. They might get distracted and lose track of what the other person is saying. They might ramble, and monopolize the conversation, said psychotherapist Terry Matlen, ACSW. They might interrupt. They might stand too close to the person they’re talking to. They might monitor everything they say because of past social slipups, said Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D, a psychotherapist and author of several books on ADHD, including 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD. The good news is that these potential stumbles have solutions. Being able to connect with others and navigate social situations takes learning a few new tools and practicing them regularly. Read More

Parents’ 2022-23 Back-to-School Checklist: Tutoring, Therapy, COVID-19 Vigilance

It’s been a while since Sherry Jones’ 15-year-old son has worried about familiar back-to-school activities — getting a fresh haircut, buying school supplies and shopping for cool clothes for the first day. “He’s more himself now,” said Jones, a Carson resident. “He’s excited about the upcoming school year. He’s seeing his friends and playing sports.” In a hopeful sign for Jones and other parents, the start of school this month is feeling almost normal after the pandemic traumatically altered the three previous academic years. Yet parental optimism is tempered with lingering concerns about the long-term toll of the COVID-19 years on their children’s education and development. Read More

Parents Feeling the Strain of Special Education Teacher Shortage

Luke Eizen is getting ready for his second year of high school in Seattle. Luke is a special education student and his mom, Sara, says he was in an unstable learning environment last year. "He didn’t know the teacher," Sara Eizen said. "And, so there were so many new things. Going into high school, that was already a big adjustment. And then to only have a consistent qualified teacher for six weeks." Luke didn’t have a qualified special education teacher for most of the last school year. Sara’s worried this could hurt his long-term education. Read More

Sensory Cooking Program Teaches Kitchen Skills to Kids with Autism

There are picky eaters, and then there are kids for whom the sensation of a grape tomato exploding in their mouth is unbearable. Children with autism spectrum disorder tend to favor particular sensations and avoid others (loud noise, particular colors, too many people). The same applies to food: They often are extremely sensitive to certain tastes, smells, temperatures, textures, and appearances. This sensitivity causes avoidance of specific foods or food groups and restrictive eating. Sensory Enrichment Therapy, a science-based approach in which certain experiences can help to mitigate such responses in the brain, provides various sensory stimuli on a daily basis for individuals with autism. Read More

American Dental Association Committed to Helping Patients with Disabilities Achieve Optimal Oral Health

Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and to feel valued. Inclusion was the impetus of the Americans with Disabilities Act — a landmark law that recently celebrated its 32nd anniversary. Dental care is no exception. The American Dental Association supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and is committed to helping dentists care for persons with disabilities as well as helping people with disabilities access dental care. In June, ADA President Cesar R. Sabates and American Medical Association President Gerald Harmon, M.D., discussed long-standing inequities for people with disabilities during a fireside chat at the One Voice for Inclusive Health Conference, hosted by the American Academy of Developmental Medicine & Dentistry. Read More

Computer Science Benefits Students with Learning Disabilities – But Not Always for the Long Term

When computer science courses are delivered through career and technical education in high school, the courses can help students with learning disabilities feel better about their ability to succeed in STEM. The classes also help the students see the usefulness of computer science. This is what we found in a recent study with our co-authors – education scholars Michael Gottfried, Jennifer Freeman. We used national survey data from more than 20,000 students across the country to dig into this connection between computer science and science, technology, engineering or mathematics, a group of subjects generally known as STEM. In our work, we found that – compared with other students with learning disabilities – those who took computer science courses in a career and technical education program were more likely to believe they could succeed in STEM. They were also more likely to believe STEM was useful for future employment or college options. Read More

Periods of Calm Down: New Resources Helping Students with Mental Health, Emotional Support

Galena Park ISD is working to provide additional emotional support for students as they return to class for the new school year. “I think every year, the beginning of school is probably the best time,” said Lisa Hamblen, Principal Havard Elementary School. This year, as Galena Park ISD begins classes, the district has a brand-new position. “Since the pandemic, like most districts across the country, we’ve seen an increase in behavioral concerns,” said Tammy Takeda, Director for Special Education Programs. The district hired four behavioral technicians for this school year. “They can come in, they can support a classroom. They can support a specific student, or they can kind of support the whole campus,” said Chad Perry, Senior Director for Special Education. “Those positions really are meant to just be another avenue to support some of our students that have some challenging behavior.” Read More

5 Ways Schools Can Respond to Student Anxiety

As schools note more incidences of student anxiety, experts warn against being dismissive of students’ worries on the one hand or of overcompensating by removing triggers that contribute to the anxiety on the other. That’s what not to do. What should be done, however, often has educators perplexed. That’s because anxiety symptoms and reactions vary from child to child. And intervention should be nuanced based on the intensity and longevity of the anxious behaviors, said Peter Faustino, a school psychologist and board member of the New York Association of School Psychologists. Read More

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to: Tracey Christilles, Lauro Esquilona III, Bonnie Baldwin, Karen Frantz-Fry, Miranda Marrott, Corinn Mildenberg, Patsy Ray, Diane Campbell-Mitchell, Cynthia Turcotte, Katrina Snider, and Cindi Maurice who all knew the answer to last week's trivia question:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost two-thirds of children with this disorder have at least one other condition, 45 percent are affected by learning disorders, 32 percent by anxiety, 17 percent by a mood disorder, and 14 percent by autism spectrum disorder. Yet despite the prevalence of co-occurring conditions, experts in the field — advocates, learning specialists, and psychologists — report that many students with this disorder do not receive assessments for common comorbidities, at least initially. What is the disorder?

Answer: ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

This week's trivia question: According to a new study led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers, elementary school-age children who get less than nine hours of this have significant differences in certain brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who get the recommended nine to 12 hours of this. Such differences correlated with greater mental health problems, like depression, anxiety, and impulsive behaviors, in those who lacked this. It was also linked to cognitive difficulties with memory, problem solving and decision making. What is it?

If you know the answer to this week's trivia questions, email it to us at contactus@naset.org by August 29, 2022. If you are correct, you will be acknowledged in next week's NASET's Week in Review

Free Assistive Tech Tools That Support Academic Success

One of the many things we’ve learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is that technology has become more and more essential in schools. Although IDEA 2004 and Section 504 mandate that provided services must address the individualized needs of students with disabilities, in reality when students require a support that has a higher cost, schools might not provide it, or they might choose other alternatives that may not be as effective. Assistive technology is a good example of this. Some school professionals may still believe that assistive technology costs a lot of money, which isn’t always true. With more advances in technology, many assistive technological tools are actually free and easy to use. They not only are able to address the needs of students with various types of disabilities but also enhance their learning. Some of these applications may have already been preinstalled in our devices, while others are free to use online. Read More

Low Birth Weight Associated with Attention Problems in Children

The psychological effect of birth weight leads to the most attention problems in children aged 9 to 10, according to a recent study. In previous studies, children with lower birth weights were seen with more symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study set out to model the continuous dose–response association between birth weight and psychological outcomes. Specificity was defined as one of the criteria for the study, to determine if the psychological effects caused by low birth weight are specific to attention problems. In many prior instances of association, other disorders were found in children, such as affective disorders, schizophrenia, substance-use disorders, and stress-related disorders. Because of this information, it is not certain that birth weight effects are specific to ADHD. Read More

Chancellor Want to Cut Private School Payments for NYC Students with Disabilities

As the education department faces intense pressure to reconsider school budget cuts, Chancellor David Banks indicated that there’s another pot of money he wants to slash: hundreds of millions worth of tuition payments for students with disabilities. “All this money that is meant for the kids in our public schools are going to private schools,” Banks said during a regularly scheduled meeting of his parent advisory council. “Folks have figured out how to game this system.” If that money were plowed into traditional public schools, “We wouldn’t be having this fight about budget cuts,” Banks said. “We’d be able to pay for all that after-school programming, all of those kinds of things. This is money that’s going out the back door every single day.” Read More

Strategies to Turn Struggling Students into Confident Readers

The ability to read–and read well–sets kids on a path to success. That’s why at Cambridge School, we focus on helping students with learning differences learn how to read. Students attend Cambridge School because they have been diagnosed with a language-based learning difference, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, auditory processing disorder, or executive function difficulties, and have struggled in traditional academic settings. But if you walk into a Cambridge School classroom during one of our reading sessions, you will see engaged students reading both silently and aloud, using devices and books. You will see teachers working one-on-one with students checking their fluency progress and reviewing important comprehension skills and relevant vocabulary. You will see hard-working students becoming more motivated, confident readers. Read More

There’s Still Time to Do School Discipline Differently, Researcher Says

As students and educators head into their third full year of schooling during a pandemic, they’re doing so amid a flurry of conversations happening around support for their mental health. What are behavioral issues and discipline going to look like this year? And where are the opportunities to make sure consequences are doled out equitably? That’s what New York University researcher Richard Welsh tried to glean by looking back at how discipline practices have evolved throughout the pandemic. He sifted through media reports for a national view but looked closely at changes at one school district in the Southeast—an “urban emergent” district where Black and Latino students together made up nearly 75 percent of its roughly 13,000 enrollment. Read More

‘So Rudderless’: A Couple’s Quest for Autism Treatment for Their Son Hits Repeated Obstacles

When Sebastian Rios was a toddler, he hardly talked. “Don’t worry,” his pediatrician told Amparo and Victor Rios, Sebastian’s parents. Kids who grow up in households in which both Spanish and English are spoken are sometimes slower to develop language skills, she said. Plus, Sebastian was developing well in other ways: When he was just 18 months old, for example, he could identify the magnetized letters of the alphabet on the refrigerator at their home in Bronxville, a short train ride north of New York City. But by the time Sebastian was a little over 2 years old, his skills weren’t keeping up with those of other kids his age: He spoke only simple words, like “mama” and “dada,” and had problems interacting with people, Amparo Rios said. He didn’t know how to play with other kids and didn’t care about showing people his toys or sharing them. He made eye contact less and less. Read More

Early-Term Births Associated With Higher Rate of ADHD as Reported by Teachers

Among children born at term (37–41 weeks), those born before 39 weeks are more likely to experience symptoms associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. ADHD, which affects more than 10 percent of U.S. school-age children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, manifests early in childhood with symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity or inattention, and has known links to preterm birth (less than 37 weeks gestation). The study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, is one of only a few to investigate the associations between gestational age at term (37–41 weeks) and a diagnosis or symptoms of ADHD. It is the first to include reports from teachers. Read More

Toddlers’ Responses to “Baby Talk” Linked to Social, Cognitive, Language Abilities

Across languages and cultures, caregivers tend to have one thing in common: they speak to babies in a happy, sing-song way that they would never use with adults. This type of speech, sometimes called “infant-directed speech,” “baby talk,” or “motherese,” is a particularly exaggerated form of emotionally expressive speech. In a recent study, researchers found that toddlers respond to this emotionally expressive speech in different ways, and these varied responses are linked with their social, linguistic, and cognitive abilities. Supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the study highlights an early developmental mechanism that may contribute to differences in social interaction and communication that are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  The research team, led by Karen Pierce, Ph.D., and Eric Courchesne, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Diego, studied 71 toddlers who were part of an ongoing study. Of these toddlers, 40 had an ASD diagnosis, and 31 did not. The researchers already had data from standardized measures that assessed the toddlers’ ability levels across various domains, including social interaction, language and communication, motor function, perception, and daily living. Read Mor

JOB POSTINGS

* Student Learning Support (SLS) Teacher (Immediate Opening) - Rochambeau is committed to a diverse workforce representative of our students, one that embraces cultural competency and an international community. Diversity is the hallmark of Rochambeau, with over 80 nationalities represented in the student body. We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teachers K-12 (1 Year Only) - Skills and experience with standardized academic testing, writing IEPs, developing positive behavior support plans, and strong direct scientifically – based instruction utilizing a variety of interventions such as Wilson, Seeing Stars student success preferred. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher - Avondale House is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit agency that provides, educational services to children with autism, a day habilitation program for young adults, where clients receive training in daily living skills and pre-vocational activities, employment services for those with disabilities and four residential homes for individuals unable to live in their own home. Avondale House has been serving individuals with autism since 1976. To learn more- Click here

* [2022-2023] High School Global History and Earth Science Learning Specialist - Reporting to the Academic Dean, the High School Global History and Earth Science Learning Specialist will be responsible for building meaningful relationships with students, implementing a Common Core-aligned curriculum, and working with their grade team to analyze data to drive instruction. This is an exciting opportunity for an educator who is passionate about improving student outcomes by leading excellent instruction and building a positive school culture. To learn more- Click here

* [2022-2023] Middle School ELA Learning Specialist - Reporting to the Academic Dean, the Middle School Social Studies Teacher will be responsible for building meaningful relationships with students, implementing a Common Core-aligned curriculum, and working with their grade team to analyze data to drive instruction. This is an exciting opportunity for an educator who is passionate about improving student outcomes by leading excellent instruction and building a positive school culture. To learn more- Click here

* [2022-2023] High School Earth Science Learning Specialist - Reporting to the Academic Dean, the High School Global History and Earth Science Learning Specialist will be responsible for building meaningful relationships with students, implementing a Common Core-aligned curriculum, and working with their grade team to analyze data to drive instruction. This is an exciting opportunity for an educator who is passionate about improving student outcomes by leading excellent instruction and building a positive school culture. To learn more- Click here

* Teacher Child Development Center - The Teacher is responsible for the planning and provision of individualized instruction to children with disabilities and typical role models ages birth to three years old. Incumbent in this position demonstrates sensitivity to the service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher $2,000 sign-on bonus! - BASIS is seeking an experienced Special Education Teacher who is eager to develop leadership skills by serving as a member of the school’s administrative team. This is a teacher/administrator hybrid role whose primary responsibilities include the provision of special education services and supporting special education program operations as part of the administrative team at a school site. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Assistant $2,000 sign-on bonus! - BASIS.ed offers an incredible opportunity to be deeply involved in an academic community that is dynamic, exciting and unpredictable. You'll join others in a highly social, supportive and collaborative environment. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teachers - The Teacher position is responsible for the planning, organization and implementation of an appropriate instructional program, in an elementary or secondary virtual learning environment, that encourages students to develop and fulfill their full academic potential, in accordance with the school’s vision and mission. An appropriate instructional program includes academic instruction that is aligned to state standards, and includes appropriate interventions to improve student learning. To learn more- Click here

* Private Teacher - An experienced, private, in-home schooling educator is needed for a full-time opportunity! Promote academic, social, and environmental growth of child. Plan and implement lessons and activities to engage the child in learning. To learn more- Click here

* Teacher - Special Education - This position involves developing and implementing individualized educational programs, which address the educational needs of elementary, secondary, and transition-age students with disabilities or the remediation of social/emotional, educational, and prevocational/vocational skill deficits primarily for students in a transition 18–21-year-old program at Skagit Valley College and to serve as a transition facilitator as our students leave the juvenile justice school and return to their districts. To learn more- Click here

* [2022-2023] Middle School Learning Specialist - Reporting to the Academic Dean, the Learning Specialist will be responsible for providing tailored support to students with special education needs, through integrated co-teaching, in small group settings, or a combination of both. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned educator who is passionate about ensuring all students succeed and thrive in school. To learn more- Click here

* Learning Specialist/IDD Program Manager (Grant) - The Full-Time Learning Specialist/ IDD Program Manager reports directly to the Director, Center for Accessibility and Inclusive Education. The Learning Specialist/ IDD Program Manager performs administrative level functions to support the daily activities of the Adult Transition Program and in doing so, contribute to the success of grant implementation. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teachers (In Person) - Reporting directly to a Special Education Administrator the Special Education Teacher provides services to special education students with a range of moderate to severe disabilities ages three to 21 years of age. The Special Education Teacher leads the IEP team to develop data driven student learning and behavioral goals. To learn more- Click here

* Special Education - Elementary Teacher - Career opportunities where you can choose your path. From coaching to administration, there are many options to grow your career, while pursuing your interests and passions. We are hiring immediately for a full-time Special Education - Elementary Teacher. Come grow your career with the Clark County School District! To learn more- Click here

* Special Education Teacher and Paraprofessional Positions – District Wide - The purpose of these positions is to help each student learn subject matter and skills that will contribute to his/her development as a mature, capable, and responsible adult. Provide a positive, healthy, and safe environment in which the student can achieve his/her maximum potential. To learn more- Click here

If you are an Employer looking for excellent special education staff - Click here for more information

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.

                                                         Theodore Roosevelt