Special Education Today

In case readers of LD Blog missed it, I posted a new version of the Bogus Bowl over at Teach Effectively. This one is about the excuses that people use for not teaching students. As of this writing, there’s a close contest between the excuse of not liking helpful teaching methods and the rationalization that [...]

Nancy J. Minshew, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Excellence in Autism Research, told Mark Roth of the Pittsburgh (PA, US) Post-Gazette that she considers the debate about a connection between mercury and autism to be closed: Vaccinations do not cause Autism. Dr. Minshew told Mr. Roth, “The weight of the evidence is [...]

I spent two hours today at our University talking to student nurses about Learning Disabilities and ADHD. It was really fun. These nurses will have to do public education, and they needed to learn about some of the issues they may encounter in their "classrooms". They asked really good questions... and as always happens when I do these talks, they relate on a personal level. Two came up to talk during the break and relayed some of their painful experiences is public school, and another came up to ask some questions as she thought her husband was dyslexic.
Since my son has ADHD (Inattentive type)and as he has given me permission to talk about him, I am able to relate some personal and real stories about ADHD. The nurses really liked that. I am hoping to do more talks like this in the future. I like public speaking (strange, I know, but I am an actor after all) and I think it's really important for people to get the message that medication for people with ADHD is not a bad thing- in fact the medical community believes that it is an essential part of an effective treatment plan. I have to say from experiences with my son, that I believe this to be true.
I have had so many parents over the years express, "I'm not medicating my child!"... and that makes me sad as I watch their child struggle to hang onto the concepts he's learned. I see many children who's attention span is so fleeting that information just seems to evaporate like ether, as new information comes in. Seeing how my son's situation improved so quickly and so drastically- I wish they would keep an open mind. I do understand the fears- I was there myself, but I do think it's worth a try. It think it's important to remember there are side effects to NOT finding an effective treatment for ADHD- the most notable one is the child's self esteem.

Students who are members of the Council for Exceptional Children may be eligible for awards or scholarships. 2008 CEC STUDENT AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS CEC’s Student Committee is soliciting nominations for its awards and scholarships. Some awards include a scholarship or stipend ($2,000 was distributed to 2007 award winners). Susan Phillips Gorin Award ...

I sometimes note how much I'd like to help policy makers learn to discriminate between evidence- and bologna-based educational programs. Apparently, I'm not alone. The US Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, a non-profit promoting excellence in government, is offering a workshop for public-sector administrators on understanding research that should form the ...

Given the proliferation of professional journals in special education, it might seem difficult to determine appropriate places to publish one's work. Of course, we surely don't have as much difficulty as those in biological sciences, where journals focused on sub-sub-specialities exist. To help folks in those disciplines, perhaps a dose ...

Late last week, Christina A. Samuels, the special ed beat writer for Education Week posted an entry on US political candidates' views about disabilities and education. Writing under the title "Presidential Candidates and Spec Ed," Ms. Samuels started her post with these words: They may have other policy differences, but when ...

Special Education Tenure Track Positions in Mild/Moderate Disabilities The College and Graduate School of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University invites applications for two (2) tenure-track positions: Assistant/Associate Professor of Mild-Moderate Disabilities (No. 998395 & No. 993093) We are seeking individuals committed to the preparation of special education professionals at ...

The current Carnival of Education is available here. For those who are unfamiliar with carnivals: Blog carnivals are periodic aggregations of links to (usually) relatively recent posts on blogs that address a common topic. Bloggers who post about the common topic band together and share the responsibility of collecting and ...

In "‘Scientific Research’ and Policymaking: A Tool, Not a Crutch," Frederick M. Hess and Jeffrey R. Henig present concerns about how research affects educational policies and how public policymakers use educational research. These are heady times for education researchers. The No Child Left Behind Act famously endorses the use ...

Wired magazine has a nifty Flash image that shows what happens when one posts to a blog. For sure, the content of the example it uses (aEntre más poker compares mejor. post about a Super Bowl commercial for beer) is a bit different from the content we have here on ...

The National Council on Disability (NCD) published a document entitled "The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: A Progress Report" that describes changes in student outcomes, professional practices, and policies across the US. Here's an excerpt from the executive summary that provides an ...

Hi all! I have pasted a new position below at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. This position will work directly our Behavior and Education Division at the Thompson Center. The academic home is special education (however, our university allows you to switch academic homes pretty easily) and ...

Over on On Special Ed, Christina Samuels had a post entitled “Differentiated Learning” that discussed plans by some schools to employ co-teaching. Because Peggy and I studied co-teaching a few years ago and because we are privy to a Current Practice Alert on the subject, we created a comment on Christina’s blog entry, hoping to [...]

The frequently maligned local education agency of Washington (DC, US) is taking steps to improve the services it provides to students with disabilities, according to an article by V. Dion Haynes entitled “Special-Ed Getting New Computer System, Staff” and published 27 February 2008 in the Wasington Post. These changes stem from a suit—Blackman v. District [...]

Last week, Liz Ditz teased us with notices about her whereabouts: She was attending an annual conference about brain research and learning. Don’t think I’ve flipped a wig; she wasn’t hearing the pablum that we usually get on this topic. This is a scholarly event, with presentations by eminent authorities (Is that redundant? Nope.) who [...]

US television broadcaster ABC has a series entitled Eli Stone and an as-of-now pending episode treats the topic of a component of vaccine as the cause of Autism. The TV show has generated quite a lot of interest (probably great for the advertisers, no?) with many publishing opinions about whether it is appropriate to air [...]

Over on Math Stories, Mr. K. has some comments about classroom discipline that are worth reading. Try this for example: What the “good” teachers do So, at this school at least, discipline is a huge part of being able to teach at all, much less well. Many of the teachers are successful. They have well run organized [...]

William C. Morse, one of the major influences during the 1950s-90s on the education and treatment of children and youths with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, died 25 January in Michigan, at 92 years of age. Professor Morse was born in Erie (PA, US) in 1915 and spent his academic career at the University of Michigan. [...]