Week in Review - February 19, 2021
NASET
WEEK IN REVIEW
National Association of Special Education Teachers
February 19, 2021 Vol 17 Issue #8
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
Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals
JAASEP WINTER 2021
Table of Contents
NICOLE VOZZA
Quality of Life for Individuals with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
SHANNON L. SPARKS & SANG NAM
The Influence of Teaching Assignment on Burnout in Special Education Teachers
SHANNON B. ROMANO, OLIVIA R. HESTER, LAUREN H. ROLLINS, & RANDALL E. SCHUMACKER
Retaining Special Education Graduate Students in Times of Transition
KAREN M. POTTER, RANDA G. KEELEY & BREANNA L. SHERROW
MELISSA E. HUDSON
REBECCA D. DAIGNEAULT & EVAN D. BORISINKOFF
KARIN R. KLIEMANN, MIRIAM C. BOESCH & ENDIA J. LINDO
FUNDA ÖRNEK, RUBEN MIRANDA & METIN ORBAY
ALLISON L. MCGRATH & MARIE TEJERO HUGHES
The Role of Effective Communication in Co-teaching to Increase Student Achievement
KAYLA Y. FELLS
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People with Intellectual Disabilities are Often Overlooked in Pandemic Response
Peter Prater's family wasn't thinking about COVID-19 when the call came that he had been taken to the hospital with a fever. It was April, and the Tallahassee Developmental Center, where Prater lives, hadn't yet had any COVID-19 diagnoses. Prater, 55, who has Down syndrome and diabetes, became the Florida center's first known case, his family said. Within two weeks, more than half of the roughly 60 residents and a third of the staff had tested positive for the virus, according to local news reports. "We thought we were going to lose him," says Jim DeBeaugrine, Prater's brother-in-law, who also works as an advocate for people with disabilities. "We weren't aware of a correlation to Down syndrome and bad outcomes with COVID yet. He's just a frail person, period." Read More
The In-School Push to Fight Misinformation from the Outside World
When Jevin West read the news rife with number-heavy coverage of both Covid-19 and the election last fall, he kept finding new examples to bring to his class on data literacy and misinformation at the University of Washington. West, an associate professor, and Professor Carl Bergstrom teach “Calling BS: Data Reasoning in a Digital World” (although the actual course listing uses the more colorful language). Their course covers everything from interpreting data visualizations to understanding publication bias in academic literature to identifying fake news. They’ve never had a shortage of material to work with. “Almost every day there were things we could put in,” West, an associate professor at the University of Washington, said of the fall. “You have infinite material to pull from in real time.” Read More
5 Ways to Remotely Support Students with Dyslexia
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the needs of students with dyslexia, but also made it more difficult to support them. Some students have found that their support services, such as one-on-one or small-group reading sessions, have been disrupted by the need for social distancing. Others may bestraining to understand what their masked teachers are saying in class. And, almost a year later, still others remain physically separated from the teachers that help them overcome the challenges presented by dyslexia, which is marked by readers’ struggles with recognizing and decoding words. Because schools often don’t track it, there is no way to know how many students struggle specifically with dyslexia, which can lead to difficulty with reading comprehension. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation’s special education law, dyslexia is listed as an example of a disability under the broader term “specific learning disabilities.” Read More
Type 1 Diabetes Linked to Neurological Changes in Children
While many studies have linked inadequate glycemic control to declines in neurocognitive health among older adults with type 2 diabetes, new research suggests type 1 diabetes was linked to lower brain volume, verbal IQ, and overall IQ in children. A study lasting nearly 8 years with more than 200 children, results indicate children with type 1 diabetes had detectable changes in brain volumes and cognitive scores that persist over time and led investigators to call for further research into the phenomenon. "Our findings indicate that, despite improved glycemic control now possible with emerging technologies, individuals with T1D are at risk for cognitive dysfunction," said Nelly Mauras, MD, a principal investigator of the study and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at the Nemours Children's Health System in Jacksonville, Florida, and Professor of Pediatrics at the Mayo College of Medicine, in a statement. "Our longitudinal data support the hypothesis that the brain is a target of diabetes complications in young children. Whether these changes can be reversed with scrupulous diabetes control requires further study." Read More
Virginia Beach Rallies Behind Teen Fighting for Inclusivity, Exposes Statewide Issues
Whether you like tossing the football or cheering from the sidelines, every student should have the opportunity to participate on their school's sports team. However, the results of a recent study show that families believe their kids with disabilities are left out of extracurricular activities. It's a concern now being acknowledged across the Virginia Department of Education and in a memo released by the State's Superintendent of Public Instruction. Ellie Berrett, a Virginia Beach senior, experienced a personal connection with JLARC's findings when her friend Tia tried out to be a cheerleader at Cox High School. Read More
Bills Address Special Education Challenges During COVID-19
Many students have experienced academic and social challenges while learning from home, but trying to replicate school for special-needs children has been an especially confounding undertaking that some Maryland lawmakers are trying to alleviate. Hundreds of students who requested an assessment for special education service eligibility were left hanging, Lori Scott, a parent, told the House Ways and Means Committee this week. Some started the school year in the fall not knowing whether they had special needs accommodations or not, she said. A federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act gives every child the right to services necessary to learn, and children with disabilities are given an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a written plan that details how a school would meet student’s unique needs. Read More
Brain Activity Can Reveal the Severity of Autistic Traits
A team of researchers from Russia and Israel applied a new algorithm to classify the severity of autistic personality traits by studying subjects' brain activity. The article 'Brief Report: Classification of Autistic Traits According to Brain Activity Recoded by fNIRS Using ?-Complexity Coefficients' is published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. When diagnosing autism and other mental disorders, physicians increasingly use neuroimaging methods in addition to traditional testing and observation. Such diagnostic methods are not only more objective, but also often reveal the presence of a disorder in cases where the doctor has insufficient behavioral data, such as when the patient is young in age. An important task in the development of diagnostic methods is the selection of an algorithm that can identify certain brain activity patterns. Since brain cells generate many electrical impulses per second, the raw data is often insufficient to make any conclusions. The data must first be processed. Read More
Breaking Down Workplace Barriers for Those with Invisible Disabilities
Today, one of the single best indicators of an exceptional work environment is a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. As the co-founder and CEO of LeadHERship Global, I am very involved in both of these areas, especially since we actively promote responsible employment practices. Through this, I've observed that when it’s clear an employer values every individual’s contribution and all employees are provided the chance to succeed, you’ll find a more engaged, committed, loyal and high-performing workforce. When an employer focuses on individual abilities and rewards exceptional performance, the employees have the assurance of fairness and equity that diversity and inclusion initiatives were always meant to inspire. Read More
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Congratulations to: Patsy Ray, Karen Frantz-Fry, Laurie D'Amico, Cindi Maurice, Mariola Papa, and Tracey Christilles who all knew the answer to last week's trivia question:
The United States Department of Agriculture identifies a group of "big eight" foods. They are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. What percentage of food allergies do the “big eight” cause?
Answer: NINETY PERCENT (90%)
This Week's Trivia Question: According to recent research at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (see 2/12/21 edition of NASET’s Week in Review), negative perceptions of patients with disabilities are widespread among physicians -- to a degree they say is "disturbing." Those negative perceptions can have big impacts on the quality of care patients with disabilities receive. Based on the data collected, what percentage of American doctors say they believe patients with significant disabilities have a worse quality of life than people who don't have disabilities?
If you know the answer to this week's trivia questions, email it to us at contactus@naset.org by February 22, 2021. If you are correct, you will be acknowledged in next week's NASET's Week in Review
Sleep Keeps Teens on Track for Good Mental Health
As families settle back into a new school year, sleep experts at the University of South Australia are reminding parents about the importance of teenagers getting enough sleep, cautioning them that insufficient sleep can negatively affect their mental health. In a new research paper, UniSA sleep experts Dr Alex Agostini and Dr Stephanie Centofanti confirm that sleep is intrinsically linked to mental health, but is commonly overlooked by health practitioners as a contributing factor. Dr Agostini says it's imperative that parents and medical practitioners are aware of the bi-directional relationship between sleep and mental health, particularly across the teenage years. Read More
Students Use Technology to Improve the Lives of Those with Disabilities
Aurora students are developing new inventions to help the disabled in their community. They are designing items to make everyday tasks easier. What we love about this is nearly every student has someone in their life that can benefit from their inventions, from grandparents to neighbors. The kids are so proud to be giving back in such a powerful way. "I do know a family friend who lost complete mobility in his fingers, so he uses his wrists for basic tasks, so it was really nice to know that what I’m doing could potentially help him in the near future," said Shane Miller. Read More
Atlanta School System Considers Mandatory Summer School for Kids Who Fell Behind Due to Coronavirus
Atlanta Public Schools is considering mandatory summer school aimed at helping students who suffered setbacks in their learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a top district official. The plan, proposed February 1 at an Atlanta Board of Education meeting, has not been decided upon yet, but would focus on the unfinished learning dating back to March 2020 when schools first closed, Superintendent Lisa Herring said. Students across the country have spent much of the last year learning remotely in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus, and many worry that the disruption has left them with a lesser education and developmental experience. Though some teachers question if it is safe yet to return, officials in cities across the country are pressing to bring students back into the classroom and make up for lost time. Read More
Reducing Biases about Autism May Increase Social Inclusion
Efforts to improve the social success of autistic adolescents and adults have often focused on teaching them ways to think and behave more like their non-autistic peers and to hide the characteristics that define them as autistic. Psychology researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas, however, have been focusing on another approach: promoting understanding and acceptance of autism among non-autistic people. The researchers published their findings online Jan. 20 in the journal Autism. The study showed that familiarizing non-autistic people with the challenges and strengths of autistic people helped to reduce stigma and misconceptions about autism, but implicit biases about autism were harder to overcome. Desiree Jones, a psychology doctoral student in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS), is the corresponding author of the paper, and Dr. Noah Sasson, associate professor of psychology, is the senior author. Read More
Can Strep Throat Make Tourette Syndrome and Tics Worse in Kids?
Exposure to the bacteria that causes strep throat does not appear to make Tourette syndrome and other chronic tic disorders worse in children and teens, according to a study published in the February 10, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. However, exposure was associated with increased symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Previous studies have suggested a possible link between strep infection and tic and behavioral disorders. Tics are repetitive movements and vocalizations prompted by an irresistible urge to produce them. They are the defining feature of chronic tic disorders, including Tourette syndrome, which is a neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood. Read More
Identifying Risk Factors for Elevated Anxiety in Young Adults During COVID-19 Pandemic
A new study has identified early risk factors that predicted heightened anxiety in young adults during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The findings from the study, supported by the National Institutes of Health and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, could help predict who is at greatest risk of developing anxiety during stressful life events in early adulthood and inform prevention and intervention efforts. The investigators examined data from 291 participants who had been followed from toddlerhood to young adulthood as part of a larger study on temperament and socioemotional development. The researchers found that participants who continued to show a temperament characteristic called behavioral inhibition in childhood were more likely to experience worry dysregulation in adolescence (age 15), which in turn predicted elevated anxiety during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic when the participants were in young adulthood (around age 18). Read More
JOB POSTINGS
* SETSS (Special Education Teacher Support Services) Teacher - At Zeta, we pursue an unprecedented combination of high academic achievement and social-emotional development. We insist that every child receives a world-class education while fostering a love for learning. We are changing the public education landscape for all of New York City’s children, and we are uncompromising in our mission. To learn more - Click here
* Special Education Teacher - $60,000/school year (185 days), summers off with year-round pay and year round appreciation. Special Education Teachers needed in Arizona (Phoenix and surrounding cities). Needs are in the self-contained and resource settings serving students with emotional disabilities (ED), Autism (A), Severe/Profound (S/P), and Intellectual Disabilities (ID). STARS is the largest school contract agency in AZ. You will be an employee and receive full benefits. To learn more - Click here
* Special Education Director - 15,000 student school district is looking for special education leader. 27J Schools is one of the fastest growing school districts in Colorado and located in the North Denver Metro Area - 30 minutes from Denver and Boulder and adjacent to Denver International Airport. The Director of Special Education is responsible for the leadership, supervision, guidance and support for all school support staff providing services to students with disabilities across special populations, including preschool. To learn more - Click here
* Special Education Teachers - All areas - We are looking for highly motivated and skilled talent to join our team at District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). We seek individuals who are passionate about transforming the DC school system and making a signi?cant di?erence in the lives of public school students, parents, principals, teachers, and central o?ce employees. To learn more - Click here
If you are an Employer looking for excellent special education staff - Click here for more information
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Life’s persistent and most urgent question is “What are you doing for others?”
Martin Luther King Jr.
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