PLUK News feed

Virginia to launch standardized test for disabled students

• Virginia to launch standardized test for disabled students

  tags: testing

  • Virginia education leaders moved this week to introduce a standardized test for students with disabilities and phase out a widely used alternative that many officials say is undermining the state's accountability system.

Lawmakers expected to pass antibullying legislation today - The Boston Globe

• Lawmakers expected to pass antibullying legislation today - The Boston Globe

  tags: legislation, bullying prevention

  • State Representative Martha Walz, the bill’s primary author, said the mandates will deter bullying and prevent it from reaching dangerous proportions.

    “When this passes, it will the strongest antibullying legislation in the country,’’ said Walz, a Boston Democrat and House chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Education. “Without mandatory reporting, things can spiral out of control.’’

Differences in language circuits in the brain linked to dyslexia - VUCast: Vanderbilt University's News Network

• Differences in language circuits in the brain linked to dyslexia - VUCast: Vanderbilt University's News Network

  tags: dyslexia, research

  • Children with dyslexia often struggle with reading, writing and spelling, despite getting an appropriate education and demonstrating intellectual ability in other areas. New neurological research from Vanderbilt University has found that these children’s difficulties with written language may be linked to structural differences within an important information highway in the brain known to play a role in oral language.
    
    The findings were published in the June 2010 issue of Cortex.

Little-Known Disorder Can Take a Toll on Learning - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

• Little-Known Disorder Can Take a Toll on Learning - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

  tags: Auditory Processing Disorder

  • Parents and teachers often tell children to pay attention — to be a “good listener.” But what if your child’s brain doesn’t know how to listen?

    That’s the challenge for children with auditory processing disorder, a poorly understood syndrome that interferes with the brain’s ability to recognize and interpret sounds. It’s been estimated that 2 to 5 percent of children have the disorder, said Gail D. Chermak, an expert on speech and hearing sciences at Washington State University, and it’s likely that many cases have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Bright Futures: Health Care Professionals Tools and Resources

• Bright Futures: Health Care Professionals Tools and Resources

  tags: health care

  • These Bright Futures training and implementation materials funded by the Commonwealth Fund with support from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, have been developed to facilitate implementation of the Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3^rd Edition, at the practice system level (for tools and resources to use in conjunction with health supervision visits, see the Bright Futures Tool and Resource Kit).

In Their Own Words – Letter to My Younger Self « Autism Speaks Official Blog

• In Their Own Words – Letter to My Younger Self « Autism Speaks Official Blog

  tags: autism, aspegers, self-advocacy

  • I once received an e-mail from a woman, a reader of my blog, wanting to know what sort of advice I could give to her nine-year-old daughter recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. She gave me a very thoughtful suggestion, which was to write a blog entry in the form of a letter to my younger self, which could then also serve as advice for current parents of children with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Lit2Go: MP3 Stories and Poems

• Lit2Go: MP3 Stories and Poems

  tags: audio books

  • Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. You can:

    • Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go,
    • Listen to the Mp3 files on your computer,
    • View the text on a webpage and read along as you listen,
    • Print out the stories and poems to make your own book.

SEPTA's Top 5 "People in Special Education": Teacher Appreciation Week - Bozeman

When: Saturday, May 22, 2010
12:00-2:00 P.M.

Where: Eagle Mount 6901 Goldenstein Lane in Bozeman

What: As the end of the school year approaches SEPTA invites everyone to attend our last event of the school year. Potluck festivities and the distribution of Teacher Appreciation Certificates will follow after the Election of Officers on May 22nd. Come, celebrate the day with your student!

Please bring a dish to share for this Potluck event.
For more information contact Maggee Harrison at 580-6870

---

Expressions of appreciation can build mutual respect and open the door to better communication about expectations, student performance, and more.  It need not be elaborate--a thank-you note to your favorite teacher, volunteer your time in the classroom, contribute a classroom material, wear a "Thank-You, Teacher" button, or encourage your child to do one special, realistic and nice thing that he or she can do for the teacher on the week of May 2-8.

SEPTA will also be announcing its Top 5 Educators for 2009-2010 and distributing Teacher Appreciation Certificate to all Special Education teachers and supporting staff in the Bozeman area.
The event for this school year is also a family event and will feature a bundle of fun on this special day which is now scheduled on:

Saturday, May 22 from 12-2pm at Eagle Mount
(6901 Goldenstein Lane off of S. 3rd in Bozeman)

The deadline to send your Top 5 People in Special Education is May 5, 2010.  
Send any questions to Anchila Monks - vp.membership@septamt.org

High School RTI: Progress Monitoring - Webinar - May 12, 2010

When: Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 1:00 - 2:30 Mountain

What:
The High School Tiered Interventions Initiative (HSTII) is a collaborative effort among the National Center on Response to Intervention, the National High School Center, and the Center on Instruction that explores how RTI and tiered interventions are being implemented at the high school level. In this webinar, Dr. Kristen McMaster will provide an overview of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM), including the purpose, a brief description of research, and a demonstration of how CBM data can be used to monitor student progress.

She will briefly review CBM tools that are available for high schools in reading, mathematics, and the content areas, and provide instructions for developing CBM tools for use at the high school level. Following Dr. McMaster's presentation of CBM in high school, representatives from Walla Walla High School in Walla Walla, Washington, will discuss how they have monitored school progress as part of their tiered intervention model. This presentation is suitable for anyone interested in the researcher and practitioner perspectives of RTI and progress monitoring at the high school level.

JOIN THE RTI CONVERSATION To participate in the conversation, you may submit questions before and after the webinar by emailing them to: rtiwebinars@air.org. HSTII staff will be available to answer follow-up questions until Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

TO JOIN THE SESSION
To participate in the webinar, you will need (1) a computer with Internet connection and (2) a telephone line.

We ask that you register for this event by following this link. Once you register, you will receive an email invitation, which includes a link to where you may join the event on the designated date and time. You may register right before the event, but please keep in mind that the email invitation may take some time to reach your inbox. Space is limited, so please register early.

If you are unable to click on the website’s link above, please copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100002608/Registration.aspx?pageName=26xmg0lkvwj61znj

Spinal Muscular Atrophy 'Doesn't Define Me' : NPR

• Spinal Muscular Atrophy 'Doesn't Define Me' : NPR

  tags: NPR, audio, disability

  • SMA, which stands for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, occurs in one of every 6,000 births. Commentator Ben Mattlin has a SMA and is paraplegic. He is often asked what he would do if a cure became available. His answer: He wouldn't choose to be cured.