News for the Special Education Community
by Terri Lobdell - The following is a condensed summary of the findings and conclusions contained in the Office for Civil Rights report concerning the Terman Middle School student. To protect privacy, the student whose family filed the Office for Civil Rights complaint is referred to as “the Student,” without gender identification, throughout this summary [...]
Whether it’s a casual remark tossed aside by a childcare provider or an earnest discussion with a teacher or coach, there’s nothing quite as painful as hearing negative feedback regarding your child’s intellect, developmental pace or abilities. Everyone wants to believe that their child is Mary-Poppins “practically perfect in every way,” but that’s simply not [...]
by Eden Kozlowski – I am the mother of a child with special needs. My daughter is 11 and was born with her brain’s prefrontal lobe not fully developed. The condition is called pachygyria. If you Google it (which is the first thing I did when we were given our official diagnosis), you will be [...]
A mother’s advocating efforts and community support paid off when Madison Newbury joined her peers on graduation day. by Eric Veronikis – After a month-long struggle that went down to the wire, the look of relief was palpable. Madison Newbury and her family and friends didn’t know until Tuesday evening whether Madison would walk with [...]
by Chris Papst – In two days, the 2013 graduating class of Boiling Springs High School will walk across a stage and receive their diplomas. But, if nothing changing, one student will not be there and her mother says it’s the school’s fault. “I’m angry. I’m angry enough that this is not happening just to [...]
For starters, “certificates” are not usually accepted for college admissions. We’re improving our outcomes for early childhood disabilities – early speaking and reading rates have improved – but the outcome is still the same twelve years later. by William Celis – U.S. high school students with learning disabilities graduate at much lower rates than other [...]
South Carolina Rep. Phil Owens says a story he heard from one of his constituents convinced him it was time to do away with the state’s requirement that students pass an exit exam to earn their high school diploma. The man had three sons, all close in age and approaching graduation from high school. One of the [...]
Dysfunctional mitochondria in brain cells can result in learning disabilities, according to a new study in Molecular Cell. The association between dysfunctional mitochondria and Parkinson’s disease has been known, but this new study, led by neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and KU Leuven, has revealed that it is also present in [...]
by Rebecca Rudolph – Four years ago, a teacher made a presentation to a class of freshmen about the special education program at Ellsworth High School. “I (wanted) to be a part of that,” Katie Deiss said. The next September Deiss walked into the special education classroom for her first day volunteering with the students. [...]
