PLUK News feed

U.S. Reluctance to Sign Treaty on Disabilities is Painful, Puzzling

Link: Treaty

A treaty that takes effect this month could benefit one quarter of humanity: the 650 million people, as well as their families, who live with disabilities. The U.N. International Treaty on the Rights of People with Disabilities is also the first international treaty that guarantees the rights of such people to equality and self-determination.
People with disabilities are the world's largest minority, yet the United Nations reports that only 45 countries have disability-rights laws

Nurses' Offices Overburdened

Link: Nurses

Caseloads for school nurses exceed federal guidelines in much of the Washington region at a time when campus clinics serve growing numbers of students with severe disabilities or chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma. As health-care needs multiply, school nurses are struggling to keep up and finding less time for preventive education on public-health issues such as childhood obesity or substance abuse. Many still dispense bandages and bags of ice, but they also counsel pregnant teens and manage complex medical plans for children with seizure disorders or feeding tubes. Schools often hire unlicensed aides for help.

A Place Where Troubled Kids Can Turn Their Lives Around

Link: Foundation School

They were sent to the Foundation School in Largo as a last resort. Nobody else could handle them, let alone figure out why they were so disturbed. Some had even been expelled from pre-kindergarten because teachers could not get them to be quiet or stay in their seats or stop picking on their peers. They scowled at classmates and cursed their teachers, always bucking for a fight.

CDC: About 8 percent of Americans have diabetes

Link: Diabetes

ATLANTA -- The number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population, the government said Tuesday. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data from 2007, said the number represents an increase of about 3 million over two years. The CDC estimates another 57 million people have blood sugar abnormalities called pre-diabetes, which puts people at increased risk for the disease.

House Votes to Expand Disabilities Law

Link: Disability Law

WASHINGTON -- People who take medicine to control epilepsy, diabetes or cancer or use prosthetic limbs or hearing aids could use the Americans With Disabilities Act to fight workplace discrimination under legislation the House passed Wednesday.

Eye Movements Could Replace Tactile Electronics Controls

Link: Eyes

YOKOSUKA, Japan — Rolling your eyes to turn up the volume of a portable music player and tapping your fingers to turn on a DVD player are among technologies Japan's top mobile carrier is testing for "wearable" gadgets. In one version, sensors and chips inside headphones detect electrical current produced by movements of the wearer's eyeballs, says Masaaki Fukumoto, executive research engineer at NTT DoCoMo.

A Professor Turns Cellphones Into Aids for the Disabled

Link: Cellphone

Ms. Narasimhan, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, soon became the hub for student research projects that develop technologies to assist the disabled by doing such tasks as identifying buses or translating sign language into spoken words. Their creations turn the most ubiquitous device on a college campus — the cellphone — into an independence-enhancing machine.

U.S. Department of Education Response to Montana's Annual Performance Report Under IDEA

On January 31, 2008, the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) submitted its Annual Performance Report (APR) regarding the State Performance Plan (SPP) under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Upon review, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determined that Montana needs assistance in meeting the requirements of Part B of the IDEA.

Montana demonstrated substantial compliance with 18 of the 20 Performance Indicators contained in the APR. The two areas in which ED determined that Montana needs assistance were:

Indicator 11: Percent of children with parental consent to evaluate, who were evaluated within 60 days (or the state established timeline).

Indicator 12: Percent of children referred by Part C, prior to age 3, who are found to be eligible for Part B, and who have an IEP developed and implemented by their third birthdays.

In response to these findings the OPI will be participating in additional technical assistance activities designed to help the state address these areas.

The FFY '06 Annual Performance Report is available at: http://www.opi.mt.gov/PUB/PDF/SpecED/08APR.pdf

The U.S. Department of Education response to Montana's APR is available at: http://www.opi.mt.gov/PUB/PDF/SpecED/08JuneOSEP_ltr.pdf

Debbie Macomber's Disability Didn't Have a Name

Link: Macomber

When Debbie Macomber began first grade in 1952, her teachers didn't have a word for dyslexia. “They just told my mom I had word blindness,” said 59-year-old Macomber, an author whose books have sold more than 100 million copies, in a telephone interview. “My third grade teacher said I was a nice girl, but I wasn't going to do well in school.” Eventually, in fifth grade, Macomber learned to read. Years later, after two of her children were diagnosed, she realized she had dyslexia.

ADHD with Autism Explored

Link: ADHD/Autism

A new grant has been awarded to conduct a national study of the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children with autism spectrum disorders. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC received $3 million from the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct the study.