News for the Special Education Community
by Amy Julia Becker – This is a conversation with George Estreich, author of The Shape of the Eye, about writing and family and Down syndrome. George writes about medical ethics, culture, and inclusion, among other things: Q: When I wrote A Good and Perfect Gift, I hoped to write a book for people who have [...]
by Devon Dolan – New research coming out of the University of Utah could potentially change the treatments for people with Down syndrome. In the study, Dr. Julie Korenberg and her team at the University of Utah’s Center for Integrated Neuroscience and Human Behavior used functional MRI to study how a brain with Down syndrome [...]
by Amy Julia Becker – Nearly two years ago, I wrote a glowing review/reflection on a book that was new in hardcover by a writer named George Estreich. It’s the story of a little girl with Down syndrome growing up with her stay-at-home dad, her mom, and her older sister. It’s also a story about [...]
Federal law mandates that students in special education should be placed in the least restrictive environment to ensure a free and appropriate education. Sometimes, school and parents differ on what that should be. by Alejandro Davila – Diego is a 7-year-old boy with Down syndrome whose parents wish for him to get what most want [...]
Extra curricular activities offer individuals with special needs the opportunity to socialize while gaining additional functional skills. by Christie Lovvorn – Every Tuesday evening this year, the Icebreakers have put on their dancing shoes and gone to the Azalea City Center for the Arts where Ann Druhan taught them ballroom dances as part of the [...]
by Eve Britton – Logan Solomon loves hugs, pepperoni, pretzels, his puppy and, almost more than anything else, the New York Yankees, or “Ankees,” as he calls them. Now, thanks to the Cheshire High School Community Service Club and Circle of Care, a Yale-New Haven Hospital program, he has the bedroom to prove it. The [...]
by Amy Julia Becker – Over the past month, I have had the privilege of corresponding with Theresa Shea, author of The Unfinished Child, a novel about two families whose lives are affected by Down syndrome. In one narrative, set in the mid 1940s, Margaret gives birth to Carolyn, and her doctor convinces her to [...]
by Amy Julia Becker – I took two of my children to the mall a few weeks back. After stocking up on sneakers and sandals, we stood in line to ride the carousel. I paid $2 each for their tickets, then the lady at the cash register peered over the counter at my daughter Penny. [...]
by David Tenenbaum – Down syndrome, the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, results from an extra copy of one chromosome. Although people with Down syndrome experience intellectual difficulties and other problems, scientists have had trouble identifying why that extra chromosome causes such widespread effects. In new research published this week, Anita Bhattacharyya, a [...]
by Vikki Ortiz Healy – A few months before Ryan Burke became the first student with Down syndrome to attend Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, his father made an emotional plea to his son’s classmates. “All we ask is that you say ‘hi’ to him. Just give him a chance,” Kevin Burke recalled saying at a [...]
