Updates

Last October, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education issued new guidelines for educating deaf and hard of hearing students titled: “Optimizing Outcomes for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Educational Service Guidelines.” The Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf is collaborating with the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center (the Clerc Center) to offer a free all-day summit on the new guidelines as well as other salient topics related to the education of deaf and hard of hearing students in all educational settings. The summit will be held at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26.

This summit is for special education directors and deaf education administrators/professionals in the areas of policy, best practices, and innovation related to educating deaf and hard of hearing students.

The summit is an opportunity to engage in discussion with school administrators from around the country whose schools serve large number of deaf and hard of hearing students about federally implemented programs based on laws impacting the education of deaf and hard of hearing students ages 0-21. The summit will also explore broader questions relating to early hearing detection and language acquisition and STEM programs at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The summit is offered free of cost through a collaboration with CEASD and the Clerc Center. It will be conducted in American Sign Language and spoken English. Hotel accommodations are available on the campus of Gallaudet University. Please click here to view the flyer for details. Click here to register.

What is it like to be a kid with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? Children with ADHD often struggle academically, socially and emotionally. They may be disorganized, forgetful, easily distracted and impulsive. And like all kids, they want to feel normal, says Dr. Sharon Saline, author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew. Saline, a psychotherapist who works with ADHD children and their families, argues that an informed empathy for ADHD children — for what they experience on a daily basis — can inspire parents and teachers to work with these children in ways that will help them grow into responsible and happy adults.  READ MORE

As soon as my nine-year-old daughter gets home from school, she tells me about her day. Even though she talks a mile a minute, it can take her 30 minutes to tell me a story that most neurotypical kids could tell in five minutes. But I always smile and listen. One of her stories had a big impact on me, not the story itself but my reaction to it.  READ MORE

New research finds that while youths with disabilities, mental health diagnoses and special education services experience peer harassment or bullying at similar rates as other youth, understanding differences in how they experience it may lead to solutions that minimize risk to all youth.  READ MORE

The parents of children with autism and other developmental disabilities are suing the state of Oregon over claims that the children are being deprived of an education through shortened school days. The plaintiffs, parents of four children, represent hundreds of students in Oregon who are removed from classrooms and schools because of their disability-related behaviors, according to Joel Greenberg, lead attorney for Disability Rights Oregon, one of four advocacy groups that filed the federal class action lawsuit.  READ MORE

Literacy unlocks the door to opportunity. Among the top five skills for tomorrow’s jobs, as listed by RBC Economics Research, is reading comprehension. Every student should have opportunities to engage meaningfully with rich, authentic, complex text. Complex text is text that is worthy of repeated readings over multiple instructional periods, allowing the reader to re-read, investigate, and deeply analyze a text for language and meaning, ultimately making connections to the author and the world.  READ MORE

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools Resources offer a range of free guides, curriculum aids, informational packets, and Playbooks to help lead one’s Special Olympics journey from elementary school to high school, and beyond. If you’re interested in starting a Unified Champion Schools program in your school or district, these resources are a great place to start. The Playbook series is intended for educators and students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels to assist in the process of becoming and maintaining a Unified program. Also included here are the Unified Physical Education Resource and the Unified Champion Schools Graduation Packet, tools that are essential for harnessing the passion of young leaders and offering a wide range of options for inclusive activities. READ MORE

This month’s update concerns two issues that were subject to recent court decisions and are of practical significance: (a) contingent IEPs for students in third-party placements, such as Medicaid-provided residential treatment facilities; and (b) restrictions on parental communications to district personnel based on a previous pattern of excessive or intimidating e-mails, calls, and/or visits.  READ MORE

The National Center for Systemic Improvement is pleased to present a two-part webinar series: Got Evidence? Where to Find and How to Use It to Make Sound Decisions About Evidence-Based Practices. The term “evidence-based practice” in early childhood has its roots in evidence-based medicine and relies upon identifying and combining multiple sources of evidence to make decisions about services for young children and their families. The NCSI has created an interconnected suite of tools that explain the history and rationale behind using these multiple sources, where to look for evidence, and how to appraise and combine the evidence to inform the selection, implementation, and evaluation of specific practices for individuals or groups of children and families.

The first webinar on Feb. 15 will introduce the suite of tools and engage participants in considering real world vignettes that illustrate their application in early childhood programs. Click here to register for webinar 1.

The second webinar on March 1 will engage participants more deeply in using the tools to conduct the search for evidence, evaluate information from different sources, and synthesize it to make decisions about practices to implement and how to ensure they improve outcomes for the children and families in participants’ specific contexts. Click here to register for webinar 2.