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This website offers a list of programs and support groups for both employers of, and employees with disabilities.
Other helpful resources:
Disability Resources: (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability/index.htm)
Discrimination-Disability: (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/discrimination/disabilitydisc.htm)
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP): (http://www.dol.gov/odep/)
Workers with Disabilities: (http://www.dol.gov/odep/)
The letters include responses to:
--John Hill, National Alliance for Medicaid in Education (NAME) responding to the issue regarding parental consent requirements to accessing public benefits or insurance (same response as before)
Download john_hill_letter.pdf
--Catherine Clarke, clarifying when a speech or language impairment adversely affects educational performance, the need to use substitutes and schedule make-up speech-language pathology sessions, and the continuum of service delivery options
Download catherineclarke_letter.pdf
--Dixie Huefner, clarifying what decision would be the subject of an appeal by either a parent or a local education agency when requesting an expedited due process hearing and placement during appeals
Download dixie_huefner_letter.pdf
--Perry Zirkel, requesting guidance related to identifying children with specific learning disabilities; e.g., severe discrepancy, RTI and other research-based models
Download perry_zirkel_letter.pdf
Link: Post-secondary options
Exploring post-secondary options is often a daunting task for parents and students alike, but with the right planning, support, and information this can be a positive and truly successful next step for every student. You'll find all the information needed to make the right transitional decisions below, including useful tips, key websites, and in-depth research reports. Take a look at the Teen Topics page as well for detailed supports to help students and their parents make smart decisions about school, relationships, and building the skills needed to succeed in high school and the future.
Link: Humor in disability
When my child was born, and we found out that he had special needs, I was seriously bummed. I know that if anyone had suggested there was anything funny about this situation I would have called them callous and unfeeling and burst into a torrent of hysterical tears.
As the years passed, I began to realize that my child actually provided me with some pretty funny moments. For example, I recall one year when I took my son to the pediatrician for his annual checkup. The nurse asked my son to pee in a cup. As I waited outside the bathroom door, my son called to me to get him another cup. I couldn't imagine that this might be necessary so I asked him why. He replied, very naturally, "Because this one is full."
Link: Big Sky Project
The Big Sky Project is a national effort to create a new vision of the future for people with disabilities. The project is designed to raise public awareness about the serious challenges that remain for people with disabilities and develop strategies, initiatives, programs, and public policy to address them.
The project was conceived in April 2004 in response to the realization that goals set many years ago that led to both the deinstitutionalization of many individuals with disabilities and the passing of the ADA have not been fully realized. The fact that there is a long way to go before individuals with disabilities are fully integrated into all aspects of society motivated UCP to jump start a far-reaching dialogue about how people with disabilities can become fully integrated in society and live life without limits.
Link: Video blog
Hi folks... this is my first entry in a VLOG... check it out. Great for anyone who uses ASL (American Sign Language). Come sign with me!!
Link: School violence
Educators, parents, and mental health professionals are expected to deal with such scenarios on a daily basis, often with limited information. Schools sometimes request assurance that an aggressive or disruptive student is "safe to return to school," but how does a professional determine such a state?
Clinicians at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), who are also Harvard researchers--Drs. Nancy Rappaport, Lois T. Flaherty, and Stuart Hauser--examined the circumstances surrounding 33 urban students whom staff had designated as "threats to school safety" in a study published in the August issue of The Journal of Pediatrics. The students were characterized by severe untreated or under-treated psychopathologies and faced serious adversity, ranging from substance abuse to academic difficulties.
Link: Standardized testing
Congress is moving to end a standardized test backed by the Bush administration and given to hundreds of thousands of preschool children in Head Start programs each year, amid complaints from early childhood experts that the exam is developmentally inappropriate and poorly designed.
The National Reporting System, a set of mini-tests said to measure verbal and math skills, has been given in Head Start programs each fall and spring since 2003.
The controversy over the assessment underscores a key but often ignored component in the national debate about standardized testing: How is it determined whether a test measures what it is intended to measure?
Link: New Age bullying
When 14-year-old Olivia Gardner discovered the "Olivia Haters" Web page that her Novato middle school classmates had posted on MySpace, she was devastated.
They called her "homo" and "bitch" and suggested "kicking her ass."
"I wish she'd just leave Hill (Middle School) and never come back," one girl wrote. Olivia did leave for another school. And she has spoken to groups about how much cyberbullying hurts. But this week the nasty postings and phone calls started again at her new school, her mother said.
Link: Video games--a learning device?
Of all of the proposals aimed at improving America's failing schools, there's one idea kids will really like: More video games and fewer books. At least a number of educators hope so, arguing that children would get more excited about school and that video games can present real-life problems to solve.
Nobody is talking about putting violent video games such as "Doom" or "Mortal Kombat" into classrooms, particularly given concerns they may encourage aggressive behavior. Instead, educators such as Indiana University associate professor Sasha Barab are developing alternative video games that can teach as well as entertain.
