Some Schools Rise From Mess to Model

By Nancy Badertscher and Gracie Bonds Staples
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
February, 2010

Stability in principal’s office a factor in Atlanta, Gainesville

For nearly a decade, Atlanta’s Kennedy Middle School exhibited all the signs of a failing school. Test scores were subpar, teacher morale was low and the principal’s office seemingly had a revolving door. Students roamed chaotic hallways. Broken furniture littered the building.

Today, Kennedy is dramatically different. The southwest Atlanta school is no longer one of 278 Georgia schools failing to meet student achievement standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Law. The law made standardized tests a key measure of success.

Schools are expected to improve student learning continually, with all students being proficient in math and reading by 2014, according to the law. Schools that repeatedly fail are labeled “needs improvement” and face sanctions ranging from requiring free tutoring or new teachers to being taken over by the state.

Kennedy is one of 17 Georgia schools that recently worked its way off the “needs improvement” list after five or more years. It did so by focusing on the students who were struggling most and, in some cases, expanding the learning day to include after-school time and Saturdays.

“It felt almost like my 16th birthday when I received my first car,” said Lucious Brown, 41, the school’s principal. “When you hear those scores and discover you’re off the list it’s awesome, truly awesome.”

Making it off the list is a huge achievement for schools like Kennedy Middle and East Hall Middle in Gainesville, which carried the stigma from 2002 to 2008.

East Hall’s biggest challenge: Students with disabilities were not making sufficient progress on state tests.

Under No Child Left Behind, subgroups such as low-income students, disabled students and English language learners must meet rising standards on the math and language arts portions of the Criterion Referenced Competency Test, Georgia’s state test. Otherwise, the entire school fails to make what is known as Adequate Yearly Progress, which measures performance on standardized tests as well as other factors such as attendance. In high schools, AYP is determined by the Georgia High School Graduation Tests in math and English language arts.

About 12 percent of Georgia’s schools have the “needs improvement” label, including 45 that have not met testing standards for five or more years, according to the Georgia Department of
Education.

To shake “needs improvement” status, a school must make AYP two years in a row.

The 17 schools removed from the list shared several traits, state school Superintendent Kathy Cox said recently. They had strong, instruction-focused principals, professional development and teachers who shared lesson plans and strategies.

Now, the goal is to make AYP a third straight year. In doing so, they’ll earn a new label: Title I Distinguished School.

To read the whole story go to:
http://www.ajc.com/news/some-schools-rise-from-292985.html

© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Editorial: Shortsighted State Government Disappoints

Athens Banner-Herald
January 26, 2010


The editorial board writes, At a time when taking the long view would seem to be the best approach for managing state government in Georgia, it's disappointing to see some shortsightedness emerging on vital issues including education, transportation and water resources.

To read the whole article go to: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/012610/opi_554645327.shtml

© 2010 OnlineAthens • Athens Banner-Herald • Morris Digital Works

Notes From The Senate

Georgia State Senator Jack Hill of the Fourth District took these notes last week at the Capitol in Atlanta.


BY STATE SENATOR JACK HILL
4th District
January 22, 2010

Budget Briefings
Governor Sonny Perdue released his amended FY10 and FY11 budget recommendations to the General Assembly on Friday, January 15, 2010. During Senate and House Appropriations Committee hearings last week, lawmakers heard presentations from state agencies regarding their individual budgetary concerns and the impact that can be expected in FY10 and FY11.

In July, Governor Perdue announced a $900M reduction in the revenue estimate for the FY 2010 Budget due to the sharp drop in revenues the last 6 months of FY09. The 2010 Amended budget presented by Governor Perdue raises that reduction to $1.44B.

2010 AMENDED BUDGET PROPOSALS
The FY10 Amended revenue estimate is 7.3% below FY09 actual revenues and 8.5% below the original FY10 General budget revenue estimate of $16.99B. The FY10 Amended revenue estimate represents a 23% decline from the original FY09 General budget ($20.1B) proposed by Governor Perdue just 2 short years ago. Governor Perdue is now projecting a $1.44B shortfall for FY10.

To combat this shortfall, Governor Perdue has proposed an additional 3 furlough days for state employees and teachers, bringing the total to 6 for this fiscal year. This measure alone would save the state nearly $245M. For additional funds, the Governor has chosen to liquidate $140M from the Other Post Employment Benefit reserve fund designated for the health benefits of future retirees. The budget also proposes to shift the State Health Benefit Plan to a cash basis using $67M in funds set aside for bills that are funded from “Incurred but Not Reported” (IBNR).

Education
Governor Perdue has allocated an additional $92.8M to the QBE formula to fund K-12 enrollment growth of 0.67%. Although this is an increase, the Governor’s recommended budget reduced the QBE formula by $188M for the 6 furlough days. This paired with a $281M across the board reduction brings the total QBE base funding to a -5.6% reduction, although partially offset by federal stimulus funds to local systems.

The Governor has called for a $9.7M reduction in Georgia’s school nutrition program and a $4M reduction to its Special Needs Scholarship Fund. Pupil transportation would also be cut by $24.7M and the Equalization formula would decrease by 4% or $17.5M.

To meet increased growth in enrollments, the FY10 HOPE program includes an increase of $146,963 for the HOPE GED, $49.3M for the HOPE Grant, $2.1M for private school HOPE Scholarships, and $26.9M for public school HOPE Scholarships.

Higher Education
The Amended budget recommends a net cut of 7.76% to the Regents funding formula, a net cut of 7.48% to the Technical Colleges funding formula, and the elimination of the Guaranteed Educational Loans Program. $33.7M in Lottery funds would supplant State General Funds to finance the HERO Scholarship, Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program (LEAP), North GA Military Scholarship Grants, North GA ROTC Grants, and Tuition Equalization Grants.

Medicaid, Peachcare, and Public Health
Governor Perdue has designated $20.3M in additional funds to the Department of Behavioral Health for state hospital improvements and $8.6M in state matching funds for private hospitals to assist in indigent and uncompensated care.

The Governor has also called for an 11% reduction in Low Income Medicaid, a 3% reduction to the Medicaid Aged Blind and Disabled fund, and a 9% reduction to Georgia’s Public Health Grant in Aid, generating the state nearly $90M in savings.

Corrections
The FY10 Amended budget recommends the closure of Scott State Prison (closed August 2009), Bostick State Prison (May 2010), and the Bill Ireland Juvenile Facility (January 2010) for a total savings of nearly $20M.

Next week’s column will include a summary of Governor Perdue’s FY2011 General budget proposals.

JOBS PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYERS
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has received nearly $200M in federal stimulus funds to be put towards a temporary, subsidized employment program for 5,000 adults. All families with dependent children and incomes of less than 300% of the federal poverty level (approximately $60,000 for a family of four) are eligible to participate.

Employers who choose to participate in this program will receive an 80% subsidy for employing adult workers for up to six months at minimum wage or above. The subsidy expires September 30, 2010.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements please send all inquiries to:
Employers: TANF-Employers@dhr.state.ga.us
Job Seekers: TANF-Jobseekers@dhr.state.ga.us


I may be reached at
234 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-5038 (phone)
(404) 657-7094 (fax)
E-mail at Jack.Hill@senate.ga.gov
Or Call Toll-Free at
1-800-367-3334 Day or Night
Reidsville office: (912) 557-3811



Angela Touhy
Senate Appropriations
234 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
404-656-5038

Coweta Special Ed Program Receives State Honor

By Jeff Bishop
The Times-Herald
Newnan, GA
January 15, 2010

The Coweta County School System's Special Education program has been recognized for high achievement by the state of Georgia.

"Your system is one of the highest performers on one or more indicators when compared to systems of similar size," Dr. Martha Reichrath, deputy state superintendent of schools, informed Coweta County Superintendent Blake Bass in a recent letter.

"Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishment," Reichrath said.

The recognition was announced at the annual fall conference of the Georgia Council for Administrators of Special Education.

Coweta County was recognized as a "leader in the state of Georgia" for its "outstanding efforts to improve the performance of students with disabilities."

The Coweta County Board of Education recognized Gina Murray, director of special education for the county, and several other staff members this week at the county school offices on Jackson Street.

The recognition was for the 2008-2009 school year.

"We are grateful to you... your staff, parents, and community members of your stakeholders committee," said Reichrath.

"With continued efforts, we will see even greater gains for students with disabilities in the future."

"We appreciate all your hard work," Bass told Murray and her staff team.

"This means a lot to us," he said. "We know about the good job our teachers do, but it's nice to be recognized by the state as a leader."

"Our teachers and parapros are the best in Georgia, and they work very hard," said Murray. "We're very proud."

Sue Brown, vice-chair of the school board, said that the special ed department has a crackerjack group of secretaries, too.

"Without them, you couldn't do the job, either," she said.

"I agree," said Bass.

http://www.times-herald.com/Local/Coweta-special-ed-receives-state-honor-952597
© 2010 The Newnan Times-Herald Inc.

State Education Board To Vote On Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Rule

By D. Aileen Dodd
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Metro Atlanta / State News
January 13, 2010

The state Board of Education will vote Thursday on new rules for providing vouchers to students with disabilities who want to transfer to other public or private schools.

The policy was crafted to clear up confusion about application criteria, parent notification and qualifications for private schools receiving students in the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program.

Some parents and education officials, however, say the measure doesn't go far enough in providing special needs' families with abundant school choice and should have been developed sooner.

“We needed some time to take in, analyze and get some data about how well the program was really working,” said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the state Department of Education. “Based on that, we were able to develop a stronger rule with guidance that can clarify the procedures for all involved.”

Currently, some 2,100 students receive the scholarships, nearly 640 more than the previous school year. The vouchers, which averaged $6,331 last school year, are awarded annually to students ready to start new schools in August. The program is in its second year.

To qualify, the new proposal says special needs students must be currently enrolled in a Georgia public school for at least one year; have a parent or guardian who has resided in the state for at least a year and have an active individualized education plan outlining academic expectations and the accommodations needed, among other things.

Parents can choose to transfer their kids to other campuses in their districts or move to a school in a different district if there is room. Most scholarship recipients opt for private school. Districts must now notify parents of the transfer option at least 10 days before the end of the school year.

Ben Scafidi, executive director of the Center for an Educated Georgia called the rule a "step in the right direction."

"We need to change the law to allow for more opportunities for special needs children to enroll in private schools during ... the middle of the school year," he said. "Florida does this.”

Georgia also excludes some special needs students if they are home schooled, in juvenile justice schools or in residential treatment facilities.

“The most egregious of the provisions goes beyond the statute to exclude students in residential treatment facilities," said John Zimmring, an attorney who represents special needs students.

Lawrenceville mom Tina Holt said the new rule won't help her. Holt withdrew her son Matthew from a Gwinnett middle school without knowing about the scholarship's enrollment criteria. She home schooled him for the rest of the year. “He was being bullied and could not keep up with the rest of his class,” Holt said. “He has a speech impediment and people were making fun of him.’’

Holt said she tried to enroll him in the Special Needs School of Gwinnett but learned she didn’t qualify for the state's special needs scholarship. The school helped her find a private scholarship this year, but she doesn’t know what she will do next year.

“He’s getting straight As,” Holt said. “When I first started this process ...if I had known that … he could not qualify I would have not home schooled him. A lot of parents are just like us, they had no idea.’’

http://www.ajc.com/news/state-education-board-to-274515.html

© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Houston County, Georgia Schools Recognized for Special Ed

EDUCATION BRIEFS
From staff reports
The Macon Telegraph/The Sun News
December 23, 2009

WARNER ROBINS — The Georgia Department of Education recently recognized the Houston County school system for its efforts to improve the performance of students with disabilities. It was honored at the Georgia Council for Administrators of Special Education conference in November, according to a news release.

Houston schools were recognized for high performance in achieving a higher percentage of students with regular education diplomas and increasing their percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards for reading and language arts, the news release states.

Houston also was one of 47 systems statewide that met three out of five state targets.

“These districts demonstrate the belief that all children can learn,” Kathy Cox, state superintendent of schools, said in a news release.

Perry FFA takes top state finishes at meat evaluation event

PERRY — Perry High School’s FFA chapter took first and second place finishes at the Georgia State FFA Meats Evaluation Career Development Event, according to a news release.

Perry’s Senior Meats Evaluation team, which included Kaila Ransom, Dereck Pollard, Edward Moore and A.C. Talton, took first place. Ransom was the “High Individual” of the contest, and all team members placed in the top 10, the release states.

Perry’s Junior Meats Evaluation team, including Myles Sowell, Daniel Bergman, Drew Rowell and Michael Herrin, took second place.

“All of the individuals on both teams worked very hard to prepare for the contest,” said Philip Gentry, an FFA adviser. “We are very proud of their accomplishments and look forward to working with them as we prepare for the national contest.”

Houston, Peach graduates earn research apprenticeship

ATHENS — Two University of Georgia students, from Warner Robins and Byron, are among 30 chosen for the 2009-10 Apprentice Program sponsored by the university’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, according to a news release.

The apprentice program gives undergraduate students funded opportunities for research in partnership with faculty.

Vinh Dong, a graduate of Houston County High School, is a freshman majoring in biology and chemistry. Dong is studying the effect of different amino acids on DNA condensation, a process that may be used to treat diseases like cancer, the release states.

Teddy Story, a graduate of Peach County High School, is comparing the effectiveness of different types of teen driver interventions. Story, a sophomore, is majoring in business, according to the release.

Mossy Creek student’s drawing nets third at state

KATHLEEN — A Mossy Creek Middle School student won third place for his grade division in the National School Bus Safety Poster Contest, according to a news release.

Sixth-grader Nicholas Moulder took the award home in the division for sixth- through eighth-graders. He previously won first place at the school system level. For his third-place win, Moulder will receive a $100 savings bond from the National Association for Pupil Transportation, according to the release.

http://www.macon.com/197/story/962062.html

Copyright © 2009The McClatchy Company

NJ Girl Who Helped Rally Support Joins State Senate for Vote

State Senate OKs Reading Disabilities Task Force Ocean City Girl Advocated

By DIANE D'AMICO
Education Writer
Press of Atlantic City
December 11, 2009

TRENTON - Not everyone gets a state senator to write their excuse for missing school.

But Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, was happy to accommodate Samantha Ravelli, of Ocean City, and her sister, Roseann, on Thursday when the two missed school to attend a Senate session during which Van Drew's bill to form a statewide Reading Disabilities Task Force was unanimously approved.

Before the vote, Van Drew said the Legislature often gets credit for passing bills, but it is people who inspire them.

"Ordinary people can become extraordinary through their advocacy and what they fight for," Van Drew told the Senate. "Samantha's work with her mother has advocated throughout New Jersey. She has achieved greatness."

Van Drew then asked Samantha to formally move the bill on the Senate floor. She also pressed the button to register Van Drew's vote. Samantha has dyslexia, a neurological disorder that makes it difficult for her to process language. She and her mother, Beth, began advocating for greater awareness of reading disabilities after struggling for years to find a program that would help Samantha learn to read.

After an article about Samantha was published in The Press of Atlantic City in 2005, the response from other parents in similar situations spurred Beth Ravelli and Samantha to begin a campaign to make sure all students get the help they need. Ravelli contacted local legislators and found a sympathetic ear in Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.

The Ravellis moved to Ocean City, which offers the Wilson reading system, when Samantha was in third grade and still could not read. Now in seventh grade at the Ocean City Intermediate School, Samantha is still tutored every week, but can read and has made the honor roll. She also started a Web site to help raise awareness of dyslexia.

Albano visited Samantha's school, and with colleague Matt Milam sponsored the Assembly bill in 2008 to create the task force. Samantha went to Trenton to testify, and Albano's bill, A880, was approved by the state Assembly in February. Van Drew picked up the Senate version, S2400, which was approved by the Senate Education Committee in May.

The Ravellis continued to lobby to get the bill to the full Senate before the legislative session ends, or they would have had to start over. As word spread around the state, more advocates contacted her and their own legislators to support the bill. After years of work, it took just minutes to get the bill approved. It must still be signed into law by the governor, which Ravelli said she was told could happen as early as next week.

Then the hard work of creating the task force begins. The new law calls for 13 members, including the commissioners of education and human resources, plus four legislators and seven members of the public. Ravelli said she would be interested in serving on the task force, and will be meeting with Albano early in 2010 to begin the process.

It is estimated that about 20 percent of the population have some type of reading disorder, and about 85 percent of students with learning disabilities struggle to read. The goal of the task force will be to identify practices and strategies to help those students, and spread awareness of them to teachers and school districts.

"Having the ability to read is vital to succeeding in school and getting a good job," Albano said in a release issued after the vote. "We need to redouble our efforts to ensure that every child is able to read and to overcome difficulties that can lessen their future prospects for success."

Samantha had no trouble reading the note Van Drew wrote for her school. In it he says that she was absent because she was with him in the Senate chamber.

"Along with the rest of the Senate, I am very proud of her," Samantha read. On Roseann's note Van Drew cited her support and assistance of her sister.

Beth Ravelli said she will make copies of the notes for the girls to bring to school today. The real notes will become part of the scrapbook she has made on how Samantha helped pass a law.

Contact Diane D'Amico:
609-272-7241

DDamico@pressofac.com

Samantha Ravelli's Web site to increase awareness of dyslexia:
www. sammiesmission.com

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/cape_may/article_
e0a20069-f98d-5385-8deb-6e8578b6fc63.html
pressofAtlanticCity.com
© 1970-2009 Press of Atlantic City Media Group

Law to Limit Use of Restraints and Seclusion by Schools

Steve Carter
Dallas Disability Examiner
December 9, 2009

Based on information from the Texas governor's office on disabilities, on Wednesday, December 9, U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) will hold a press conference to introduce new legislation to protect all children in schools from misuse of restraint and seclusion. Miller is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a member of Democratic leadership, McMorris Rodgers is a member of the Committee and the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference.

This legislation is the first national effort to prevent and reduce harmful restraint and seclusion in schools. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation found hundreds of allegations that schoolchildren have been abused, and some even died, as a result of the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in classrooms; a disproportionate number of them were children with disabilities. Yet unlike in hospitals, and other medical and community-based facilities that receive federal funding, there are currently no federal policies that prevent the misuse of restraint and seclusion in schools. State regulation and oversight varies greatly; many states provide no guidance or assistance regarding these behavioral interventions.

Steven Carter is a clinical assistant professor in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation Psychology. He has published a number of articles in professional journals and conducted research in areas related to disability and rehabilitation.

http://www.examiner.com/x-21533-Dallas-Disability-Examiner~y2009m12d9-Legislation-introduced-to-prevent-harmful-restraint-and-seclusion-of-children-in-schools

Copyright © 2009 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com. All Rights reserved.

State to Seek Race to the Top Funds

By Winston Skinner
The Times-Herald
December 2, 2009

Georgia will be seeking some of the $350 million in Race to the Top funds -- federal dollars earmarked to rethink how the educational process is evaluated.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has set aside up to $350 million of Race to the Top funds "for the potential purpose of supporting states in the development of a next generation of assessments," according to a U.S. DOE Web site. The department has sought "a wide range of input from assessment practitioners and researchers" in moving forward with the program.

"We have to lead the nation in improving student achievements," Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said at an Education Town Hall at Lindley Middle School in Mableton on Monday -- echoing a goal Georgia DOE adopted shortly after she took office in 2003.

Alisha Thomas Morgan, state representative for District 39, was host for the Education Town Hall. She said Race to the Top "is really a competition encouraging states to improve innovation and creativity and rigor."

Morgan said she believes Georgia is positioned well to get some of the money that is part of the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan. "We've been able to work together in a bipartisan way. We have not been afraid of accountability," she said.

Morgan is a Democrat from Austell. Cox, a Republican, was a Fayette County teacher before she was elected state school superintendent.

"The number one factor in student achievement is an effective teacher," Morgan said.

Cox said there are processes in place that will allow Georgia principals to fire incompetent teachers. "We're going to try to create some more carrots for those high achieving teachers in the near future," she said.

She said there is a national trend to move toward evaluating "what teachers are doing with student learning." Cox said the new Georgia teacher assessment instrument does a better job in that regard than previous evaluation methods.

Cox answered questions posed by adults in the audience and by a panel of Lindley students. One of the eighth graders asked Cox her opinion of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. "No Child Left Behind has helped our state. Are there problems? Yes," she stated.

Cox said there are national discussions taking place about how to fine tune NCLB.

One problem Cox pointed out was the requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that students with special needs be given modifications to help them achieve, but those allowances are not permitted under NCLB testing.

At the same time, NCLB has placed a focus on getting the most from special education students.

"The students who have made the greatest gain since 2003 are students with disabilities," Cox said. "We don't need to abandon the idea that all kids means all kids."

During her talk, Cox shared statistics from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The latest NAEP scores showed Georgia students improving. In most areas, Georgia test scores rose more than the national average -- and in some, Georgia pupils scored above the national average. The test compares students overall in grades four and eight -- and ranks black, Latino and white students as groups, as well.

The only measure on which a subgroup in Georgia did not increase scores more than the national average was fourth grade math scores for black students. Cox noted their scores were still close to the national average.

Reading scores for Georgia eighth-graders in all areas were above the national scores. Cox said middle schools "are doing a heck of a job."

Cox outlined the many responsibilities of the state school superintendent and of the Georgia Department of Education. She said an unofficial, but important, role for the superintendent is to have a vision for improving schools -- and to communicate that vision.

Cox said it is important to communicate "a sense of urgency" about the work ahead for schools and to "get people excited about that vision."

Cox said her biggest disappointment as superintendent was to face the economic downturn just when major strides were being made in education in Georgia. Schools were moving "full steam ahead" when the economic crisis hit -- causing most systems, including Coweta, to furlough teachers because of reduced state revenues, she noted.

"We've had the rug pulled out from under us because of the downturn in the economy," Cox said.

Cox and Morgan both suggested the economic strictures on Georgia schools are not over yet.

Morgan said legislators will face difficult choices when the Georgia General Assembly convenes in January. "We're going to have to make some tough decisions with the budget," she said.

"It's going to be a rough couple of years," Cox predicted. "I don't have a lot of hope to give you within the next two budget cycles in state education dollars."

http://www.times-herald.com/local/State-to-seek-Race-to-the-Top-funds-919031

© 2009 The Newnan Times-Herald Inc

High-Achieving Lee School Accused of Rejecting Low-Performing Students

By LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE
Naples News
November 22, 2009 .

Twice this month, the Lee County School Board was bombarded at a meeting with allegations against the principal of one of its top-performing schools.

The Sanibel School, a National Blue Ribbon School, is in many ways the feather in the school district’s cap.

But it is now the subject of investigations by the district’s Office of Professional Standards and Equity, as well as the federal Office for Civil Rights.

The school’s students regularly achieve some of the state’s top scores on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests (FCAT).

Some of the most serious allegations center around the principal of the school. Parents of students and former students at Sanibel say Principal Barbara Von Harten has forced children out of the school because they were either low performers or exceptional students who would work against the school’s stellar FCAT scores.

Von Harten didn’t return a phone message left with her office’s staff last week.

The Office for Civil Rights is responsible for investigating schools accused of violating civil rights laws, including denying legally guaranteed services to students with disabilities.

Both the district and the federal investigation stem from a Nov. 3 board meeting, when roughly 10 parents critical of Von Harten and the school spoke before the board, listing grievances such as poor response to bullying problems, denial of services to exceptional student education (ESE) children and fiscal mismanagement.

Charlotte Harlow, a former employee of the school who performed data entry work in Von Harten’s office, said she became concerned during the 2000-01 school year when Von Harten asked Harlow to pull the names of every ESE student and parent at the school. One by one, those parents came to Von Harten’s office for meetings, which Harlow said she can still recall vividly.

“She very calmly, and collectively told them, in a very matter-of-fact way, as if she was trying to do it to help them, and tell them the best thing for their son or daughter was to go to such and such school, and she would make recommendations,” Harlow said.

Harlow said she believed Von Harten was trying to push those students out because she feared they might drag down school scores.

“I know that’s what her intention was,” Harlow said. “And she certainly achieved that. Almost all of them (transferred to other schools).”

However, a contingent of parents supporting the school also flooded the board chambers during last week’s board meeting, the most recent one, to tell the board that the allegations against Von Harten are the byproducts of “rumors and gossip.”

“I listened carefully to the parents who presented (Nov. 3),” said Jeff Turner, a parent of three, at last week’s meeting. “I respect their right to air their grievances, but they do not speak for me.”

He was one of about 18 people speaking last week in support of the school; roughly as many people spoke critically about the school.

However, the parents who brought their concerns to the board this month say that until they made their public appeal, nothing was done to address their concerns. A group of parents made a similar rash of complaints to the board in 2007.

Superintendent James Browder said the district has conducted one other investigation into Von Harten, but it was closed without any findings against her.

“We have been to the state department of professional standards,” said Claudia Foster, a parent, at the Nov. 3 meeting. “They all say it needs to be addressed locally. We have tried to address it locally, with both the district’s department of professional standards and with the superintendent’s office. The superintendent’s office has known about it since 2002.”

Copies of e-mails and letters given to the Daily News by parents date to 2004, and outline problems to administrators and district staff, including complaints of teachers and administrators not following Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students.

An IEP is the document that outlines how to best educate a student with a disability, and includes treatments such as speech therapy or intensive reading time. It is developed through the cooperation of teachers, therapists and parents, and allegations of IEPs not being followed typically are addressed by the Office for Civil Rights.

Browder confirmed last week that an Office for Civil Rights complaint had been issued, and district spokesman Joe Donzelli said that the district is investigating some of the allegations against Von Harten as well. However, he said the specific allegations being investigated cannot be identified until after the inquiry is completed.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/nov/22/high-achieving-lee-school-accused-rejecting-low-pe/

naplesnews.com
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Naples, FL 34110
239-262-3161 Send us an email
2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.

State Bar Association Presents Important Continuing Legal Education Programs on Compliance Issues and Disability Discrimination in Employment

"Finding the Bottom Line: Rights of People with Disabilities in NYS"

by New York State Bar Association News Release

ALBANY, NY (11/18/2009)(readMedia)-- The New York State Bar Association will host an important series of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs next month that will provide a road map for attorneys as they advise clients on a host of disability, discrimination and compliance issues. The program, titled "Finding the Bottom Line: Rights of People with Disabilities in New York State," will review and analyze current federal, state and local disability laws and will examine how they relate to potential discrimination actions in the areas of employment, public and private sector public accommodations and housing. The programs will be presented in Rochester on December 1st; New York City on December 4th; and Albany on December 9th.

Presented by the State Bar's Committee on Continuing Legal Education and co-sponsored by the Committee on Issues Affecting People with Disabilities, the Labor and Employment Law Section, and that section's Equal Employment Opportunity Law Committee and its Individual Rights and Responsibilities Committee, the CLE program will offer 6.5 credit hours of professional practice and/or practice management.

Among the topics to be covered are "Who Is Protected," "What Is a Covered Entity and What Are Its Obligations" and "Housing Requirements" as related to the federal Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Housing Act, as well as New York State and local laws. Program attendees also will learn about remediation options, including mediation, administrative and court litigation and differences in the availability of compensatory and punitive damages, among other remedies and strategies.

"The significant changes in the law made by last year's amendments to the ADA, as well as the newly proposed regulations and evolving case law, make it critical for attorneys representing employees, employers and others to keep up to date on the ADA, FMLA, New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law," said Nancy Halleck, chair of the Committee on Issues Affecting People with Disabilities. "This CLE provides an excellent opportunity for attorneys to catch up on all of these changes and get a refresher course on existing laws. The faculty we have assembled comprises experts in disability, employment and housing law with experience in litigation and compliance. Participants will leave this workshop with a clear understanding of the changes in the law, and how it all fits together around the state. I urge all attorneys practicing disability and employment law to attend."

In a related event, as part of the United Nation's celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, New York City regional program co-chair Mark H. Leeds, Esq. has been invited to present copies of this CLE course program book to United Nations officials on December 3rd.

Ms. Akiko Ito, Chief of the United Nations Secretariat for the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said, "As we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations appreciates the contribution of the New York State Bar Association's continuing legal education program, 'Finding the Bottom Line - Rights of People with Disabilities in New York State,' to efforts that recognize and promote the rights of persons with disabilities. We look forward to working further with the New York State Bar Association in this cause."

A complete listing of participants for each of the three local area panels is provided below.

Tuesday, December 1st Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside; 120 Main Street East; Rochester
Melinda R. Saran, Esq., (Local Chair), University at Buffalo Law School, Buffalo * Mairead E. Connor, Esq., Law Offices of Mairead E. Connor, PLLC, Syracuse * Matthew J. Fusco, Esq., Chamberlain D'Amanda, Rochester * Michael Hanley, Esq., Empire Justice Center, Rochester * Amy L. Hemenway, Esq., Harter, Secrest & Emery LLP, Buffalo * Michael Mul, Esq., Empire Justice Center, Rochester * Sharon P. Stiller, Boylan, Brown, Code, Vigdor and Wilson, Rochester.

Friday, December 4th New York Hilton and Towers; 1335 Ave of the Americas; NYC
Mark H. Leeds, Esq., (Local Chair), Riverdale * Dennis R. Boyd, Esq., Dennis R. Boyd Legal Advocacy and Consulting Services, New York City * Patricia A. Cody, Esq., Wormser Kiely Galef & Jacobs LLP, New York City * John P. Herrion, Esq., New York State Division of Human Rights, Bronx * Alan M. Koral, Esq., Vedder Price, P.C., New York City * Rachel J. Minter, Esq., Law Office of Rachel J. Minter, New York City* Jason R. Mischel, Esq., New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities * Donald L. Sapir, Esq., Sapir & Frumkin, White Plains * Jo Anne Simon, Esq., Jo Anne Simon, PC, Brooklyn.

Wednesday, December 9th Crowne Plaza Albany; State & Lodge Streets; Albany
Simeon Goldman, Esq., (Local Chair), Disability Advocates Inc, Albany * Beth A. Bourassa, Esq., Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany * Ronald G. Dunn, Esq., Gleason Dunn Walsh & O'Shea, Albany * John P. Herrion, Esq., New York State Division of Human Rights, Bronx * Gregory K. Jones, Esq., New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Office of Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Albany * Alan M. Koral, Esq., Vedder Price, P.C., New York City * Tara L. Moffett, Esq., Girvin & Ferlazzo, Albany * Cliff Zucker, Esq., Disability Advocates Inc., Albany.

For further information on this CLE program series or to register to attend, please visit the following Web sites:

Rochester Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside
www.nysba.org/disabilityroc

New York City Friday, December 4, 2009

The New York Hilton
www.nysba.org/disabilitynyc
Albany, December 9, 2009
Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel

www.nysba.org/disabilityalb

Founded in 1876, the 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State Bar's programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.

Contact Information
Nick Parrella, 518-487-5532

http://readme.readmedia.com/Finding-the-Bottom-Line-Rights-of-People-with-Disabilities/983321

Bill To Provide Golf Carts for Disabled

By Georgina McNerney / Staff Writer
Daily Nexus, University of Southern California
Santa Barbara, CA
November 19, 2009

UCSB may soon have a fast and (not so) furious program to help disabled students get to class.

The student-led initiative aims to help individuals with crutches and other mobility problems get around campus by having drivers transport them via golf cart. The proposal, however, faces funding obstacles and liability concerns from campus administrators.

Associated Students Internal Vice President Chris Wendle and Ashley Day, a fourth-year political science major, are pushing for the program. The pair first imagined the service two years ago, when a mutual friend was temporarily disabled by leg surgery.

Wendle said his friend’s experience made him aware of the difficulties of navigating campus for the disabled. Wendle and Day served on the Associated Students Legislative Council together and decided to pair up to establish the program.

The program, however, must overcome a series of obstacles before it can be implemented.

“We need approval from all levels of campus admini-stration to ensure that we can offer everything that [we want to],” Day said. “[We have to] go through hoops to make sure its safe.”

Some campus administrators are concerned about potential school liability for the program.

Disabled Students Program Director Gary White said he is concerned about the dangers of motor vehicles being driven by students on campus. However, he also said that his program gets frequent calls from disabled students hoping for transportation, so there is a demand for the new proposal.

“The need is out there,” White said.

Wendle said his proposal needs more work, including determining what the boundaries of the service would be. He also acknowledged the liability concerns.

“The administration would be more comfortable if the program started small and on campus. Eventually [it] could move off once [it is] well established,” Wendle said.

UCSB is the only UC campus that does not have some kind of program to help disabled students get around campus. While UCSB once offered such a service, it was dropped approximately 10 years ago due to budget concerns.

Ultimately, Wendle said, he would want the program to operate online, where students could make reservations for specific times and locations. He aims to have to program running by the end of next Winter Quarter.

However, Wendle also said he is still determining how the program would be managed. The program could be designed as a part of the Disabled Students Program or included as part of Student Health, where students will be identified as injured or disabled and thus qualify for transportation.

Furthermore, Wendle and Day both hope the idea will eventually develop into a work study program.

The program would be entirely student-operated, Wendle said, and provide job opportunities for students. Undergraduate employees would be hired to schedule appointments and drive golf carts.

http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=19803

All content, photographs, graphics and design Copyright 2000-2009 Daily Nexus at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Homework and Beyond: Teaching Organizational Skills to Individuals with ASD

Students need to plan time into their schedule to locate different resources to complete a task.


By Michelle Garcia Winner
Thursday, October 22, 2009

Students need to plan time into their schedule to locate different resources to complete a task.

Our daily lives are made up of an endless stream of thoughts, decisions, actions and reactions to the people and environment in which we live.

The internal and external actions fit together, sometimes seamlessly sometimes not, largely dependent upon a set of invisible yet highly important skills we call Executive Functioning (EF). These skills, which involve planning, organizing, sequencing, prioritizing, shifting attention, and time management can be well-developed in some people (think traffic controllers, wedding planners, business CEOs, etc.) and less developed in others. They are vital in all parts of life, from making coffee to running a profitable business. The skills develop naturally, without specific, formal training, and we all have them to some degree – or at least, we all assume we all have them.

Things are never quite as simple as they seem, and these EF skills are no exception. They require a multi-tiered hierarchy of decisions and actions, all coming together within the framework of time, knowledge and resources.

Imagine trying to navigate life when EF skills are impaired or nonexistent, as they are with individuals on the autism spectrum. For most of us, our imagination won’t stretch that far. Therefore, we assume all these kids – especially those who are “bright” - have EF skills and we act and react to our spectrum children or students as if they did.

Nowhere does this EF skill deficit cause more turmoil than in the area of homework, producing monstrous levels of anxiety and dread in students, parents and teachers alike. The myriad of details that need to be accomplished in a student’s class, school day or week can overwhelm even the healthiest student; it can shut down our ASD kids.

I am regularly asked: if tasks are so overwhelming to their EF systems, should we just avoid having students deal with them? The answer is an unequivocal emphatic “NO!” Organizational skills are life skills, not just school skills, and even though they are “mandatory prerequisites” for succeeding at school, like social skills they are rarely directly taught. Few states include explicit teaching of EF skills in their “standards of education.”

So where do we start? First, by understanding how complex organizational systems become by the time students reach middle school. We can only be good teachers if we appreciate the demands the skills we teach place on our students.

Second, by understanding organization as a skill set, which involves static and dynamic systems.
Static organizational systems and skills are structured: same thing, same time, same place, same way. Static organizational tasks are introduced in kindergarten, first and second grade. We break down tasks and ask students to explicitly complete very defined units of information, at a certain time and place. Write your name at the top of the page, read the instructions, complete the work, when done turn the paper over and sit quietly until time is up.

Dynamic organizational systems and skills involve constant adjustments to priorities, workloads, timeframes, tasks and places. They are less teacher-directed and more student-directed. By 4th grade, teachers are introducing dynamic assignments to students with moderate levels of support. Soon after that we expect students to be able to manage increasingly dynamic workloads with little extra support or direct teaching. By high school, almost all school and homework has dynamic components requiring students to use EF skills to allocate time, resources, places to work, etc.

Here’s the good news: most of us understand that to tackle a dynamic task we have to break it down into its static elements. The dynamic part of the task requires thinking; the static part of the task requires doing. A dynamic assignment such as writing an essay requires a significant portion of the task be spent thinking about the topic before the static tasks of actually writing the paper at a table, at a specified hour, etc. One of the great challenges for our spectrum students is learning to break down dynamic tasks into more concrete, static chunks of work.

Fostering organizational skills in students with ASD requires an evolutionary approach towards teaching students, one that is ideally started at an early age. Students hone organizational skills starting in preschool, when we first ask them to clean up their toys. Teachers can accurately identify organized versus disorganized students as early as kindergarten. By 4th grade teachers expect students to be proficient with EF skills.

However, the reality is that the majority of our ASD students of all ages desperately need help with homework, specifically, and EF skills in general. Help is available. The following 10 steps illuminate specific aspects of EF skills that increase students’ static and dynamic organizational coping mechanisms. While these steps are interrelated and synergistic, avoid trying to teach them all at the same time. Each may be difficult to grasp and master for the student with ASD; allow learning to take its own pace. Keep expectations realistic, talk things through regularly, and probe for misunderstandings or miscommunication. Learning EF skills is a dynamic system of its own, with its static components. Make sure your child or student experiences success and feels competent at each stage of the process.

10 Steps to Build Organization Skills

1. Clearly define what needs to be done
Too often, parents and schools view organization goals too simply: “the student must write the assignment in his planner.” Clearly this is not nearly enough detail for most tasks and may not even be the best starting goal for a particular student. Adults must be organized in their own thinking if they are to effectively teach students with EF deficits this skill. Go beyond giving out assignments; help the student understand how to also approach the task from an organizational standpoint.

2. Move it with motivation
Almost all students with weak organizational skills also struggle with motivation to accomplish homework tasks. Parents and teachers often don’t realize this lack of motivation can stem from feeling overwhelmed by the task demands. Students with the greatest motivational challenges are often our most intelligent students (e.g. those with high IQ scores). We often assume “smart” means “organized” and say things like “come on, I know you can do this, I know you are smart.” Yet, they may have the hardest time motivating themselves when overwhelmed because they have never had to work at learning. Learning just happened if they stayed attentive.

By adolescence, students need to appreciate that completing work - even work that seems somewhat ridiculous to them – has its rewards. It establishes them as hard working in the eyes of others, improves their grades and increases feelings of self-worth through meeting their grade level academic expectations. However, as obvious as this sounds, this level of cause-effect can still be too overwhelming to some spectrum students because it requires delayed gratification.

Many students need to start at a much more concrete level of motivation, with very small work steps combined with reward early in the task completion process. For example, if a student cannot easily work for an hour, have him work successfully on a single part of the task for just 10 minutes before he gets to pause and congratulate himself. Self-motivation increases when students feel confident in understanding and accomplishing the task before them. It doesn’t matter how “well” you teach students these EF skills; if they are unmotivated, they will not implement the ideas. Work directly on helping students tackle and overcome motivation challenges.

3. Prepare the environment
Most adults familiar with helping students “get organized” understand this point. Establish a dedicated workspace for homework that includes the essential tools: pen, pencil, paper, etc. Color coding tasks, making sure the student has an organized binder, access to a time-timer (www.timetimer.com) create structures that promote success during homework time.

4. Chunk and time it
Assignments that sound coherent and structured to teachers can still overwhelm a student with EF challenges. For example: “write a report focusing on the economy, culture, weather and climate of a specific country.” Clear enough, you think? Maybe to us, but not to them. Make sure the student understands how to “chunk” an assignment (break it down into smaller pieces) and how the individual parts create the larger whole. For example, not all students will know their report needs four sections, producing essentially “mini-essays” worked on separately and then joined together.

Furthermore, once they “chunk” the project students also need to predict how long each chunk will take to complete. The majority of our students with poor organizational skill have a resounding inability to predict how long projects will take across time. In fact, they tend to be weak in all aspects of interpreting and predicting time. Consider this: Is there anything you do without first predicting how long it will take? We “time map” everything, gauging how the task will or will not fit into what we’re doing now, an hour from now, later in the day or later in the week.

Homework functions in much the same way. Students are more willing to tackle homework when they can reliably predict how long they will have to work on the task. For example, a student will usually calmly do math if it should only take 5-10 minutes. However, for those spectrum students who can’t predict time, the nebulous nature of the activity incites anxiety such that they may cry 45 minutes over doing a 10-minute math assignment. When the student does not – or cannot - consider time prediction as part of his organizational skill set, he is likely to waste a lot of time rather than use time to his advantage.

5. Use visual structures
As the school years progress, homework shifts from mostly static tasks doled out by one teacher to mostly dynamic tasks assigned by many different individuals. We expect students to self-organize and know how to juggle the many pieces of learning that make up each class, grade and level of education. Yet, this valuable skill is never directly taught!

Visual long-term mapping charts, such as a Gantt Chart, (www.ganttchart.com) can help students plan and monitor multiple activities. These bar type graphs allow a student to visually track multiple projects across time, determine when they are due and how much time is available to work on each. For example, a history paper may be assigned in February and due in late March; a line would run from early February to late March to indicate the time allocated to the project. A math project assigned in early March is also due in late March; another line would represent this project. Visually the student can see that two big projects are due at about the same time, and both are worth significant grade points. This then helps the student understand why he should not wait until the last minute to start one or both assignments. Gantt charts are frequently used in business, but have yet to make it into student software for school/homework planning. However, they are easy to create and use at home or in the classroom. For students with ASD, they are invaluable tools for organization.

Visual structures can represent entire projects and then also be used for individual chunks, creating the visual organizational framework students with EF deficits need. Once assignments are understood as needing to be worked on across time, we can encourage students to chunks tasks to be worked on during specific weeks, then make related lists of things to do on specific days.

6. Prioritize and plan daily
Learning to prioritize is a valuable skill and helps the student get things done. Keep in mind that many of us make daily lists but don’t always complete all tasks on our list, and that priority is largely based on the value we place on the assignment. Within the school setting, “value” is often dictated by the teacher. Priority is a factor of the task’s value overall, its deadline and the time to complete it. However, just because a task is due does not mean a student needs to make a decision to complete it, especially if it is a low priority or low value task to the student or the teacher. For example, during her sophomore year in high school my daughter was looking at her math grades online. I looked over her shoulder and saw she had mostly A’s and B’s but noticed she had two F’s. I exclaimed, “Robyn, you have two F’s”, to which she replied, “Mom, they were each worth one point. They were hardly worth doing.” Robyn realized that in light of the many assignments she had to juggle for all her classes, projects with the least point value were not worth doing; she’d rather save her time and effort for the larger, more important projects.

With a prioritized plan in hand, many students will still struggle with actually working on the tasks. Even students with high intelligence may have difficulty getting themselves to work on projects not of their liking. Their baseline attention span may be no more than 7-10 minutes. (Test one of your student’s baseline attention span by observing how long he can attend to mundane projects without self-distracting. You may be surprised by how short it is!)
Help students succeed with their daily schedule by teaching them to take frequent small breaks at the end of their baseline attention span. For example, a graduate student in theology found he could only push himself through 10-minute work cycles before feeling overwhelmed or internally distracted. He used a visual time-timer and gave himself a short stretch break every 10 minutes. Once he completed a number of these short work cycles he gave himself a larger reward. The key to using self-reward is to make sure the small reward isn’t likely to be distracting or absorbing (computer games, TV, reading a book). Instead make these small breaks quick and refreshing, just to refocus attention: sensory based activities (stretching or movement), a small snack, a quick trip to the bathroom or pencil sharpener.

7. Hunt and gather
Simply put: students need to plan time into their schedule to locate different resources to complete a task. For example, research at the library might be a “chunk” they plan for on their homework list (don’t forget travel time!).

8. Consider perspective
Homework is more effectively completed when students start by considering the teacher’s perspective before diving into the assignment. An assignment done well is one that meets the teacher’s expectations and follows the teacher’s instructions. A high school student went to great lengths to develop a computer program for his computer programming class. His teacher came to me exasperated, explaining that while well done, the project was totally unrelated to the class assignment.

Parent perspectives enter into the homework plan also. Many parents expect children to finish homework before watching TV. Even though children may have accomplished a great deal of homework (in their mind “enough”), trouble can still erupt because it wasn’t “finished” in the parent’s mind.

Perspective taking can be quite overwhelming to many students with social learning and organizational problems. A strategy called “social behavior mapping” (Winner, 2007) can help students understand how expectations, actions and reactions affect not only how we are viewed by others, but how their responses ultimately impact the way we view ourselves.

9. Communicate and then communicate some more
Homework assignments often result in students needing help from others. Knowing when and how to ask for help can be challenging for students with social learning and organizational weaknesses. Avoid assuming students – especially “bright” students - should intuitively know how to ask for help, clarification or even how to collaborate with others on assignments. These skills are not nearly as simple as they seem and may need to be explicitly taught by the special education teacher or speech language pathologist at your school. Tip: as students age into middle school and beyond, most are turning to their peer group rather than their teacher for help. This fosters peer support networks desperately needed for success in college and later life.
10. Completion and reward

Having a clearly defined “end” to a task is important for the concrete thinking minds of students with ASD. Be sure the child knows what “finished” means, both at school and at home. For instance, a homework assignment is not truly “done” until it is turned in to the teacher at school. While homework turn-in boxes (static) are commonly found in elementary school, they all but vanish during middle and high school years when even the act of turning in homework becomes dynamic. Make sure your students know where to turn in homework. Also, parents should save big celebrations for completed projects until the assignments are actually turned in. Some students may need reminder systems set up to make sure work is turned in on time. Visual notes, PDA messages or watch timers can be used to help.

At home, “finished” homework yields its own rewards when students can engage in more personally pleasing activities, such as a computer game, watching TV, reading for pleasure, etc. Even our favorite activities have a finite time frame attached to them before it is time to go to bed. Many of these organizational strategies can be used to help a student learn to shut down a favorite activity and get his brain ready for bed.

“Planning takes time!” This is a message we need to constantly reinforce with our spectrum students. “Teaching organizational skills takes time, across months and even years!” This is a message we need to reinforce to parents and teachers. Whether students are using organizational skills for homework, doing chores, preparing for a weekend activity or something as simple as getting a snack, as children grow and develop, tasks become increasing complex and dynamic with each passing year. Teachers and parents need to work together, while children are still in elementary school, to identify and teach any or all of the 10 steps mentioned in this article that are problematic for the spectrum child. In doing so, we give children the tools not just to handle homework, but to be successful in all areas of life.

Michelle Garcia Winner is internationally recognized as an innovative clinician, enthusiastic workshop presenter and prolific author in the field of social thinking and social cognitive functioning. She received a 2008 Congressional Recognition Award for her work. Visit www.socialthinking.com for additional articles, books and information.

Autism Asperger’s Digest © 2009. All Rights Reserved. Autism Asperger’s Digest is a multiple-award winning magazine providing real life information for meeting the real life challenges of autism spectrum disorders. Subscribe at www.AutismDigest.com

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569207,00.html

Children With Autism Show Specific Handwriting Impairments

Christina T. Fuentes, BS, Stewart H. Mostofsky, MD and Amy J. Bastian, PhD

Background: Handwriting skills, which are crucial for success in school, communication, and building children’s self-esteem, have been observed to be poor in individuals with autism. Little information exists on the handwriting of children with autism, without delineation of specific features that can contribute to impairments. As a result, the specific aspects of handwriting in which individuals with autism demonstrate difficulty remain unknown.

Methods: A case-control study of handwriting samples from children with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was performed using the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment. Samples were scored on an individual letter basis in 5 categories: legibility, form, alignment, size, and spacing. Subjects were also tested on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–IV and the Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle (Motor) Signs.

Results: We found that children with ASD do indeed show overall worse performance on a handwriting task than do age- and intelligence-matched controls. More specifically, children with ASD show worse quality of forming letters but do not show differences in their ability to correctly size, align, and space their letters. Within the ASD group, motor skills were significantly predictive of handwriting performance, whereas age, gender, IQ, and visuospatial abilities were not.

Conclusions: We addressed how different elements of handwriting contribute to impairments observed in children with autism. Our results suggest that training targeting letter formation, in combination with general training of fine motor control, may be the best direction for improving handwriting performance in children with autism.


From the Departments of Neuroscience (C.T.F., A.J.B.) and Neurology (S.H.M., A.J.B.), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore; and Kennedy Krieger Institute (C.T.F., S.H.M., A.J.B.), Baltimore, MD.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Amy Bastian, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 N Broadway–G05, Baltimore, MD 21205 bastian@kennedykrieger.org

http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/19/1532?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=autistic+handwriting&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

© 2009 American Academy of Neurology

About Special Needs Project

“Putting the right books in to the right hands”

Special Needs Project is a place to get child development textbooks, books about aspergers syndrome, autism, and other disabilities. Located in Santa Barbara, California, SNP serves families, professionals, agencies and schools worldwide with the largest, most authoritative collection of disability-related materials.

It began in an independent bookstore in Berkeley, California. For several years, the store produced a critical bibliography of the books available to parents at the time. Special Needs Project became a distinct entity in 1989, and it has grown from a local resource to today's catalog featuring hundreds of the best books (including selected audio and video material) in each of more than forty categories. Its Director is Hod Gray.

Special Needs Project is dedicated to making the best information available to those who need it. Adapting an often-repeated saying, Gray says, "Knowledge plus know-how equals power." SNP's unique experience knowledge base makes it particularly indispensible as consultant and source for libraries, schools and agencies wishing to build special collections in fields such as learning disabilities, autism & mental health, assistive technology, inclusion and independent living, disability rights and many others.

About SNP's Founder:

"My Hungarian was never very good," says Hod Gray, who started Special Needs Project in 1989 and continues at its head. The reference is to his graduate degree in Uralic Philology, but his life as a bookseller began in high school when as a student he started a campus bookstore. Gray has been an editor and professional fundraiser, and was an an executive in the non-profit world before returning from New York to his native California. He and Lynn Jehle started Gray's Book Company in 1980.

Their daughter Dolly (1971-1989) was born with cerebral palsy. Gray has been active with many disability organizations and now devotes full time to Special Needs Project.

http://www.specialneeds.com/about.asp

© Copyright 2000 Special Needs Project

Program Helps Students With Disabilities Get Textbooks

By Laura Diamond
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 3, 2009

When Kevin Roberts needs a textbook he goes to his college's disabled student services office for help. The office secures digital versions of the text so that Roberts, who is blind and wears hearing aids in both ears, can use a computer program that reads the material to him.

It used to take colleges up to a month to get an alternative text delivered to students. But a new national partnership involving a Georgia group makes it possible for students to get the material in about three or four days.

"When I was in high school I didn't have access to anything like this," said Roberts, a student at Columbus Technical College. "Now I can work on my computer and study just like any other student."

More than 650 college across the country use the AccessText Network, a new online database aimed at making it easier for students who are blind, dyslexic or have other print-related disabilities to get specialized textbooks.

Federal law requires colleges to give students with disabilities equal access to course materials, but getting copies that accommodate students' needs is challenging, said Christopher Lee, director of the Alternative Media Access Center, a state-wide initiative started by the University System of Georgia to provide technology and alternative texts to students with disabilities. The center is a partner in the new network with the Association of American Publishers.

Typically, each college must track down the publisher of each textbook one of its students with disabilities needs. Then the college has to ask for an electronic file, if it exists. Then it has to be converted to a format students can use. The process can take up to a month, Lee said.

In the meantime students don't have their texts and can't complete assignments, said Sarah Rogers, who is dyslexic and a senior at Toccoa Falls College.

The new network streamlines the process by serving as a go-between for colleges and publishers, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the publishers' association. The network cuts down on the paperwork required to protect copyrights and makes it possible for colleges to share the time and resources it takes to convert the textbook into files for students, he said.

Publishing companies paid about $1 million total to develop the network, Hildebrand said. The program is currently free but organizers said they will charge colleges an annual fee starting in July ranging from $375 to $500, depending on the institution's size.

Rogers, an English major, said the process makes it possible for her to read assigned books and participate in class discussions.

"You don't want to have to go to a professor and ask for any accommodations," she said. "I don't want any labels or anything special. I just want to do my work."

http://www.ajc.com/news/program-helps-students-with-184848.html
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Principals Want More Special Education Teachers, Consistency In IDEA

By Shaun Heasley
For Disabilityscoop
November 4, 2009

Lawmakers should work to increase the number of special education teachers and establish consistency in the implementation of services when Congress meets next year to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a group of school principals says.

The recommendations are just two resulting from a task force of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The group composed of middle and high school principals, assistant principals and college-level educators came together beginning in 2007 to assess the current state of IDEA and recommend changes for the 2010 reauthorization.

The recommendations released this week are:
• Help schools recruit and retain special education teachers.
• Boost opportunities for training and professional development for school staff working with students who have disabilities.
• Ensure that students have a transition plan with goals for life after high school by the time they are in the eighth grade or reach age 14.
• Research best practices for instruction and strategies to use with students who have various disabilities. Then, establish model individualized education plans (IEPs) and transition plans following these practices for school districts to base their own plans on.
• Create consistency across school districts so that student information can be easily transferred when a student moves to a new school.
• Improve year end evaluations so that IEP teams can better assess a student’s progress.
• Create incentives for highly qualified teachers to gain certification in special education as well as general education.
• Standardize language used across school districts to define a student’s disability and level of need.
• Fully fund IDEA.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/04/idea-recommendations/6044/

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Teacher Fired For Reporting IDEA Violations Can Sue, Court Rules

By Michelle Diament
For Disabilityscoop
November 3, 2009

A California educator who says she was fired for speaking out about the limited services provided to her special education students can sue for retaliation, an appeals court has ruled.

Susan Barker was a resource specialist in Riverside, Calif. in 2005 when she raised red flags about the limited services provided to students with disabilities in the school district. She made a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and says her superiors in the school district promptly began intimidating her.

Barker says her colleagues stopped communicating by phone and e-mail, excluded her from staff meetings, limited her responsibilities and changed her work location. As a result, she alleged in a lawsuit against the school district that she was “constructively terminated” in August 2006 because her employer “subjected her to an intolerable work environment.”

A lower court said that Barker lacked standing to sue because she does not have a disability and was claiming retaliation for advocating on behalf of her students under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On appeal, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said otherwise, asserting that educators do have the right to claim retaliation if they are acting on behalf of their students.

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Cheers All Around For Special Needs Squad

By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
October 19, 2009

When one Iowa high school football team takes to the field they have twice the cheering power. That’s because the school’s varsity cheerleaders are joined by the Spartan Sparkles, a sister cheer squad made up of girls with Down syndrome, autism and other special needs.

The squad is the brainchild of Sarah Cronk and Sarah Herr, two cheerleaders at the school who were inspired after attending a Special Olympics event. For more than a year now, the Spartan Sparkles and the varsity cheer squad have practiced together twice a week. They also perform at each Pleasant Valley High School game in Bettendorf, Iowa.

While the varsity girls expected to help the special needs squad members learn the routines, they never anticipated how much they would gain in return. They say they’ve learned about confidence and perseverance while realizing how much ability the girls with special needs have behind the disabilities most people see.

Now, organizers are hoping to replicate the Spartan Sparkles program at other schools, reports ABC News. To read more click here.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/19/cheer/5843/

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Newspaper Helps Teen Secure Special Education Services

By Shaun Heasley
For DisabilityScoop
October 15, 2009

In June a court ordered Chicago Public Schools to provide Christopher Cruz a private placement for the coming school year, but September came and went with Cruz biding his time at home instead.

When the Chicago Tribune got involved, however, it took the school district just half a day to sort things out. But Cruz’s case illustrates the great lengths parents must go to secure appropriate special education services for their children, advocates say.

In Cruz’s case, it took two years of advocacy, a lawyer, a court order and ultimately a newspaper reporter to get the boy, 13, who has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorder, the services he needs.

Advocates say the situation is emblematic of a broken system whereby school districts prefer litigation over solutions. Admittedly, Cruz’s school district says they should have placed him sooner so that he could start the school year on time.

This week, Cruz started at a local private school and his mother says she’s already seen a change. For the first time in a long time, Cruz came out of school with a smile on his face, reports the Chicago Tribune. To read more click here.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/15/chicago-sped/5821/

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved