News for the Special Education Community
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 [...]
by Steve Tallantyre – Spain’s leading Down syndrome association has slammed a hotel for turning away a group of children with the condition ‘in case they annoyed’ other guests. A reservation for a group of children with Down syndrome, who were to celebrate an end-of-term trip, was refused by an Almeria hotel hotel on the [...]
by Todd Finkelmeyer – For many families, the occasional evening out for dinner at a restaurant is an enjoyable treat. But for parents who care for children with autism, the notion of eating out can be panic inducing. “We did not eat out at a restaurant until my daughter was 7 or 8 years old,” [...]
by Liz Adeola – The parents of a student in the Marion, Ohio say school leaders will not allow their child to participate in the cheerleading program because she has Down syndrome. Fourteen-year-old Alli Williams was born with Down syndrome and stop speaking when she was in elementary school but they say one thing helped her [...]
by Denise Coffey – Huge puppets line one wall of a room at the Arc of Quinebaug Valley on Cook Hill Road, in Danielson. Eleven of the 40 “Kids on the Block” look down from their shelf. There is Mark Riley, a boy with cerebral palsy in his blue wheelchair. There is Lynne Casey, a [...]
by Jessica Yadegaran – Shanti Kurada is the editor and publisher of Autism Bay Area Magazine. Her younger son, Rahul, has autism. She started Autism Bay Area Magazine with the aim of helping other parents feel more connected, have access to information on therapies, tools, and technologies, and find support and inspiration. Here are excerpts [...]
By Suzan E. Kurdak As moms around the world reflect on their role in helping to shape their children this Mother’s Day, Mendy Hood will hold her dear one near and delight in the fact that she has the opportunity to do so. The former deputy has seen more than her share of hospitals, doctors [...]
by Joe Lee – Brent Lape of Flowood and his brother, Todd, have become avid runners in recent years. When Brent’s daughter, Lillian or “Lily” Margaret, was born seven months ago with Down syndrome, he and Todd decided on a lofty goal — to run 321 miles in a single year to raise awareness and [...]
by Eliza Murphy – For James and Libby Waechter, 12-year-old twins with cerebral palsy, their backyard has never been so accessible, let alone adventurous. “Oh my gosh, it is super fun,” the twins’ mother, Katie Waechter, 33, of Wellington, Colo., told ABCNews.com. “It’s like going to one of those amusement parks and riding those rides. [...]
by Amy Nichol Smith – Five years ago, Martha Aguilar was beside herself with joy when she gave birth to her third child, a baby girl. At first, everything seemed fine. Even the doctor commented on newborn Angela’s striking resemblance to her mother. “She looked just like me,” the 34-year-old said. “But … one of [...]
