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The National Review: Special-Education Needs Help : NPR

• The National Review: Special-Education Needs Help : NPR

  tags: special education

  • Officially reported disability rates in public schools are entirely unreliable and are almost certainly inflated indicators of how many students are actually disabled. Eventually, school and government officials are going to have to acknowledge that our current procedures for identifying students as disabled are fundamentally flawed and commit themselves to improving these procedures.

Cyber Scout Puts Autism Studies On Faster Track

Link: IAN Scientists researching autism are getting help from a friend in cyberspace: IAN. IAN, which stands for Interactive Autism Network, is a research-oriented Web site created two years ago by the Kennedy Krieger Institute, a top-flight research center in Baltimore, with funding from Autism Speaks, a major nonprofit advocacy group.

CBC audio: the hurried infant

In 1981 a book called The Hurried Child warned us that children were being pushed too far, too fast. David Elkind’s book became an instant classic. Today it seems the process has only intensified. There are pre-natal stimulation kits to induce fetal learning. Baby Einstein toys. There is also much discussion of how to smart-wire baby’s brain to expand cognitive powers, foster language abilities and improve sleep patterns. IDEAS producer Mary O’Connell explores this new terrain of Super Babies.

Play Audio - 53:05

Link: CBC Ideas

npr.org: Recession Hurting Kids With Developmental Delays

Link: npr.org
Ben Johnson, 2, has developmental delays due to autism. He has been wait-listed for Nevada's free early-intervention services because of state budget cuts, and his parents are now paying for private therapy.

wwj.com: Education Minute Podcast

Link: wwj.com
WWJ Newsradio 950 and Eastern Michigan University bring you this Education Minute: Helping parents prepare their K-12 children for future success in college and beyond.

Researchers Find Possible Genetic Clue To ADHD

Link: Clue

This week in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists report that in two brothers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, a genetic change appears to make one of the brain's neurochemical pathways — the dopamine transporter — run in reverse. The result of that miswiring is that the brain acts as if amphetamines are always present, the researchers say.

Researchers stimulate brain cells to treat autism

Link: Autism

Given mirror neurons that allow people to imitate and empathize don't work normally in people with autism, neuroscientists are experimenting with stimulating such cells as a possible treatment.

Spy Museum to Improve Access for People with Disabilities

Link: Museum

After a 2004 complaint that the six-year-old International Spy Museum discriminated against people with visual impairments, the for-profit organization announced it had reached an agreement with the Justice Department. The museum will close-caption video presentations, offer special tours with visual descriptions of exhibits, hire sign-language docents and improve wheelchair access.

VOAnews.com: Three Schools for the Learning Disabled

Link: Voice of America News

Today we complete our series on learning disabilities.

In the United States, federal law requires public schools to provide special education services to children with any disability. Specialists commonly provide these services while the children attend the same schools, and often the same classes, as other students.

But today we look at three private schools that serve only students with learning disabilities.

Hillside School in PA
Shelton School in TX
Landmark College in VT

NPR: Pediatrician: What Parents Should Know About Autism

Link: National Public Radio

Recent news that a couple was compensated by the government for their daughter's autism-like symptoms after a series of routine vaccinations raises concern among parents about the developmental disorder. Pediatrician Dr. Marilyn Corder, talks about the couple's case, and what parents need to know.