News for the Special Education Community
by Ansa Varughese – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first comprehensive report on the mental health of children from 2005 to 2011. A host of mental health disorders was monitored to improve public understanding of how children between the ages of 3 and 17 are affected by the debilitating aspects [...]
by Dr. Peter Jensen – Q: What symptoms should parents watch for if they are worried a young child may have autism? Is it possible to diagnose autism before age 2? A: With careful evaluation by an expert, diagnosing a child younger than 2 with autism is possible. More often, however, autism is identified in [...]
By MARGARITA TARTAKOVSKY, M.S. – In kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), impulsivity manifests in many different ways. “Kids can impulsively run into the street. They can hit another student in line at school. They can climb up on the roof and jump off, hoping to fly like Superman,” said Terry Matlen, ACSW, a psychotherapist [...]
by Andrea Spencer – The raft of school shootings across the country is dramatic evidence of the need to provide a better support system for children with mental illness. As schools have focused more and more narrowly on academic performance, early warning signs of mental and behavioral health disorders have been all too frequently overlooked. [...]
by Jessica Ryen Doyle – For George Estreich, the decision to write a book about his daughter, Laura, and her diagnosis of Down syndrome came naturally. A college writing professor and former poet, Estreich started documenting his life with Laura in 2001, when she was 3 ½ months old, shortly after she had undergone heart [...]
by Peter Jaksa – The term “learning disability,” or LD, covers a lot of territory. There is no neat, concise definition. Of all the complex things in the universe, the most complex is the human brain. People learn in unique and idiosyncratic ways. People with LD are generally of average or above-average intelligence, but they [...]
By Tara García Mathewson – Special education teachers and parents from across the region spoke out against proposed school rule changes during a public hearing hosted by the Chicago board of education. At the same hearing, four administrators spoke in favor of the changes, saying the rules now restrict local districts from making decisions that [...]
Using MRI, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups, suggesting that the disorder may have a different brain-based manifestation based on sex. Their study, investigating dyslexia in both males and females, is the first to directly compare brain [...]
by Jason Whitely – For seven years, Breggett Rideau has pleaded for cameras in the classroom to protect special education students. Her son, Terrence Rideau, can’t walk, can’t talk and can neither feed nor clothe himself. But he looks forward to horse therapy, which is designed to build his strength and balance. “He had an [...]
by Sharon Noguchi – Initiated by dissatisfied Morgan Hill parents, a lawsuit that could vastly expand services for disabled students in California, and greatly increase the costs of educating them, is inching toward trial. The suit, joined by parents throughout the state, asserts that California is shirking its responsibility to ensure disabled students receive what’s [...]
