Mother Starts Life Skills Program after Exhausting her Search for One
Pamela Crum was searching for an adult day-care program for her daughter Ashley when it hit her: none of the programs available was what she envisioned for her child. Ashley was born with epilepsy and is neurologically impaired from the condition. She graduated from Mercer High School in 2009, from a program Crum was happy [...]
PERSONAL STORY
Girl with Multiple Disabilities Participates in Half Marathon
Sadhika Premkumar, an eight-year-old multiply disabled student at Bright Beginnings Learning Center, was pushed in an adaptive stroller for 4.5 miles and assisted by a physical therapist to walk the final 20 feet to cross the finish line in the Long Branch Half Marathon and Relay, a part of the New Jersey Marathon at the [...]
PARENTING
“Freedom Ride” Pairs Horses and Special Needs Children
by Martin E. Comas – Nearly two dozen foster children with a variety of disabilities spent time on Sunday petting, grooming and becoming friends with horses at Orlando’s Trotters Park. “He just loves animals so much, that for him to be able to come out here and be with these horses, it’s wonderful,” said Debbie [...]
EDUCATION
Teacher Programs Need to Address Dyslexia
by Sally Bouwman – The one thing my postgraduate teacher training course had simply not prepared me for was that more than a third of my first class of seven and eight year-olds might not be reading and writing with any degree of confidence. Granted, it was a school in special measures, and many of [...]
Research & Tech
Study Finds Links Between Childhood ADHD and Obesity
Identification and treatment issues surrounding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are challenging enough. Now research is shedding light on long-term outcomes for people with ADHD. A recent study in Pediatrics reports that men who had ADHD in childhood are twice as likely to be obese in middle age, even if they no longer exhibit symptoms [...]
Law & Politics
The Cost of Mandated IEPs
The number of students who have special needs in Minnesota is growing and the funding system to educate them needs to be repaired. Each student with special needs has an individual education plan (IEP) that by law must be funded. All children, including those with special needs, have an equal right to an education as [...]
COMMENTARY
The Symptoms of ADHD and Poor Sleep in Children Look Alike
by Dr. Michael J. Breus - Millions of children and adults struggle with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a condition marked by problems with concentration, impulse control, organization, and memory. It can be a frustrating and difficult condition, stigmatizing and often isolating for those who suffer from it. But what if some of [...]
