THE WEEKEND INTERVIEW with Temple Grandin
Life Among the 'Yakkity Yaks'
By Bari Weiss
online. wsj.com/article/ SB10001424052748 7035257045750611
23564007514. html

A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis

Switch Adapted Toys


Dealing With the Financial Burden of Autism

By WALECIA KONRAD
Published: January 22, 2010

Overcoming Cerebral Palsy Through Dance
www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/cerebral- palsy/overcoming-
cerebral-palsy

Check out the video of Gregg Rogoff dancing at www.nytimes.
com/2009/11/25/arts/dance/25palsy.html?_r=2&ref=health


Alternative test may inflate score gains
'Portfolio' exams spread in Va. 'How do you know we are
closing the . . . gap?'

By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 19, 2009

Lynbrook Elementary School, which serves one of the
poorest communities in Fairfax County, seems to be a model
for reform. Three years ago, the Springfield school failed to
meet state testing goals in English. Since then, it has charted
double-digit gains in passing rates for every one of its closely
monitored racial and ethnic groups of students.

But the success at Lynbrook and other schools throughout
the state is not only due to better teaching. More and more,
students who have struggled to pass Virginia's Standards of
Learning exams are taking different tests.

The trend dates to 2007, when federal officials approved an
alternative assessment after the Fairfax School Board
threatened to defy a mandate to give multiple-choice reading
tests to students who were destined to fail -- students who,
like many at Lynbrook, were just beginning to learn English.

The Virginia Grade Level Alternative, like the multiple-choice
test, assesses students' understanding of the state academic
standards. Teachers document learning throughout the year
in a binder of class work, including worksheets, quizzes and
writing samples. Some special education students and non-
native speakers in early stages of learning English are
eligible for the portfolio, but final decisions are made by
committees of educators and often parents.

Educators say the "portfolio" tests are valuable teaching tools
and fairer and more meaningful than multiple-choice tests.
With more time and flexibility, students have seen their
passing rates soar.

Since 2007, Lynbrook's reading passing rate for students
learning English shot from 52 to 94 percent. Among special
education students, the rate went from 34 to 100 percent. At
the same time, the number of portfolios increased from a
handful to more than 100, including nearly half of the English
learners and 78 percent of students with disabilities. All
passed. The school had more than 460 students last year.

With more students taking the new test, many schools are
showing sudden surges in performance. And some parents
are concerned the portfolios are muddling scores the public
relies on to see how racial and ethnic groups of students are
performing and how they compare.

"How do you know we are closing the achievement gap,
because thousands of our kids are not being tested the same
way?" said Maria Allen, a Fairfax parent and longtime
advocate for minority students.

Success at a cost

The remarkable gains at Lynbrook fit into a picture of ever-
greater success in the region's largest school system. Fairfax
Superintendent Jack D. Dale announced record highs in test
scores and impressive progress in narrowing achievement
gaps this fall. He attributed the progress to "a powerful shift"
toward more personalized instruction systemwide.

Dale, who helped lead the fight to provide an alternative test
for those beginning to learn English, said portfolios produce
more accurate results that are consistent with how non-native
speakers perform on multiple-choice tests once they master
English. "We are seeing the same great improvement in our
kids and our teachers no matter what instrument you look at,"
Dale said.

In an era of high-stakes testing, school leaders walk a
tightrope. They must balance a lofty mandate to measure all
students according to the same high expectations with a
reality of classrooms filled with children who have trouble
processing basic information or who recently arrived from
another country. Every state makes some allowances for
students who cannot meet testing requirements.

Maryland officials permit students who fail an exit exam
required for graduation to do a project instead. District
schools offer a "read aloud" accommodation for students with
disabilities during reading tests, but began to dial back the
program this spring after education officials found it was
being overused. Most states offer alternative tests for
students with serious cognitive disabilities.

Alternative test may inflate score gains

Virginia's move to expand its use of portfolios to include
students who are learning grade-level skills is unusual. It's
costly. Fairfax spent more than $500,000 to train teachers
and score portfolios last year, not to mention thousands of
hours of teacher time compiling them. It's also risky. Experts
say blending the results of different tests is very difficult.
Closely watched trend lines and the accountability system's
credibility are at stake.

"Schools or districts that are administering more of these
alternative assessments may look better than those who are
using fewer, and it may not have anything to do with the
quality of the program," said Joan Herman, director of the
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and
Student Testing at UCLA.

Virginia education officials say they have worked hard to
make the tests comparable in rigor and scoring. A Virginia
Commonwealth University study found that both tests are
"well aligned" to the same academic standards, and the
federal government has scrutinized and approved the
alternative test.

But rollout has been uneven as the number of portfolios in
Virginia has more than doubled to 47,000 in the past three
years. Richmond, a district with about 23,000 students,
administered nearly 3,800 portfolios last year; Loudoun, a
district of 57,000, collected fewer than 1,000.

Fairfax, with 169,000 students last year, compiled 9,440
portfolios, up from 700 three years ago. The number
represents about 2 percent of the total assessments given in
Fairfax last year and about 6 percent of reading and math
tests given in elementary and middle school. High school
students are not eligible for the portfolio.  

Students excel

The remarkable gains at Lynbrook fit into a picture of ever-
greater success in the region's largest school system. Fairfax
Superintendent Jack D. Dale announced record highs in test
scores and impressive progress in narrowing achievement
gaps this fall. He attributed the progress to "a powerful shift"
toward more personalized instruction systemwide.

Dale, who helped lead the fight to provide an alternative test
for those beginning to learn English, said portfolios produce
more accurate results that are consistent with how non-native
speakers perform on multiple-choice tests once they master
English. "We are seeing the same great improvement in our
kids and our teachers no matter what instrument you look at,"
Dale said.

In an era of high-stakes testing, school leaders walk a
tightrope. They must balance a lofty mandate to measure all
students according to the same high expectations with a
reality of classrooms filled with children who have trouble
processing basic information or who recently arrived from
another country. Every state makes some allowances for
students who cannot meet testing requirements.

Maryland officials permit students who fail an exit exam
required for graduation to do a project instead. District
schools offer a "read aloud" accommodation for students with
disabilities during reading tests, but began to dial back the
program this spring after education officials found it was
being overused. Most states offer alternative tests for
students with serious cognitive disabilities.

Last year, students tested with portfolios outperformed
classmates who took multiple-choice tests in Fairfax.
Students with disabilities surpassed schoolwide pass rates in
reading or math tests in more than a dozen schools. Students
learning English were far more likely to score in the highest
performance tier on the reading test, which measures
knowledge of language arts concepts such as metaphor and
plot, than their native-speaking peers. Overall, English-
learners and students with disabilities charted 20- and 18-
point gains respectively in reading pass rates, compared to a
six-point gain for the division.

At Weyanoke Elementary School near Annandale, a third of
students were tested with reading portfolios last year, up from
none three years ago. Passing rates jumped from 41 to 100
percent for students with disabilities, from 69 to 97 percent for
English learners, and from 66 to 91 percent for black students
(more than a quarter of whom were tested with portfolios).

Principals at Weyanoke and Lynbrook say that the boost in
scores has gone hand in hand with improvements in
instruction and that portfolios help teachers focus on
students' unique learning styles.

Weyanoke teacher Candy Kwiecinski is assembling about 10
portfolios for students in her fourth-grade class this year. One
October afternoon, she taught a lesson on dictionary skills
and how to use guide words at the top of the page. Some
students might see a question on guide words next spring on
a multiple-choice test. Others were tested that day.

A work sheet asking for examples of guide words could go in
the portfolio. Or if it that proves too challenging, Kwiecinski
can ask a student to explain what they are or whether they
can select examples of guide words from an assortment of
flashcards. Her job is to find the right way to teach and to test
each student.

Last year, 100 percent of the portfolios at Weyanoke received
passing scores. That does not mean the students who took
them are the school's top performers, Kwiecinski said; it
means they all learned the curriculum.

The portfolios show that her students "are learning the exact
same things in different ways," she said.

Special Ed e-News - August 6, 2009  Continuing drop in
LD ranks sparks speculation on causes  

The number of children identified with LDs has been falling
for several years. In 2007, for example, 2.56 million students
aged 6-21 were in this category, according to the Data
Accountability Center, compared with about 2.79 million
students in 1998. In some respects, the decline is illusory,
because the ranks of children in other disability categories
have surged. The number of children with autism, for
example, leapt from 53,644 in 1998 to 256,863 in 2007,
according to the center. Meanwhile, the number of children
with OHIs grew from 220,643 to 625,187, an increase that
largely came after the addition of ADD and ADHD to that
category in 1999. In fact, the number of children aged 6-21 in
the IDEA Part B program grew by 8 percent from 1998 to
2007, compared with a rise of only 3 percent in the number of
children in that age group.

Nonetheless, it is interesting to speculate whether the
decrease in children with LDs can be attributed to better
teaching. For example, a state's Part B grant is no longer
based strictly on its share of children with disabilities. Rather,
it is based on the state's 1999 allocation, with 85 percent of
the remaining funds distributed according to the state's share
of children with and without disabilities and 15 percent
according to its share of children in poverty. The same is true
at the LEA level, so there is no longer a financial incentive to
identify more children as students with disabilities, said
Candace Cortiella, director of the Advocacy Institute. Children
at risk of being identified with LD have also benefited from the
renewed emphasis on phonics, said John Lloyd, a professor
of special ed at the University of Virginia and executive
director of the Division for Learning Disabilities.  

At one time, it was thought children would gain reading skills
if teachers put words on the wall and placed tubs of books
around the classroom, he said. But children in such
environments "don't necessarily learn how to read effectively
or how to solve words," he said. Congress responded by
passing the Reading Excellence Act and then the Reading
First program, both of which supported professional
development in helping children master the "pretty critical,
smaller elements" of reading, Lloyd said. However, Lloyd
cannot draw any conclusions about the effectiveness of
Reading First or any other instructional approach from the
drop in the number of students with LD, given the way the
disability numbers have moved around among categories.    

Special Ed e-news brings you significant case decisions and
important developments in special education. The stories
mentioned in this e-news edition are brought to you by
Special Ed Connection®, LRP Publications’ one-stop online
reference center for all your special education needs.   

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWSLETTER, Summer 2009
AUTISM AND RELATED DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
"Health and Safety" Child Safety: Our Children Are At Greater
Risk! What Can We Do?

July 30, 2009 What Is ‘Real’ Autism? By Lisa Belkin
http://parenting. blogs.nytimes. com/2009/ 07/30/more-
of-the-many- views-of- autism/


This is the original article from which this blog springs
from....

July 22, 2009
The Unvarnished Reality of Autism
By Lisa Belkin

http://parenting. blogs.nytimes. com/2009/ 07/22/the-
unvarnished- reality-of- autism/

New National Professional Competencies for Teachers
of Autism
Thursday, July 30, 2009 By: Robin Gurley

July 29, 2009

Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic has a grant from the US Dept. of
Education to provide FREE membership access, through 1/25/10, to
the entire library of books at RFB&D.  This is for the downloadable
books only, not the CDs.  To join, you must have a qualified disability
and a qualified professional to sign the application form.  This is an
excellent opportunity to try this out for students.  RFB&D has both
textbooks and regular books.
www.rfbd.org/ promotions.htm

May 27, 2009

Autism and Vision

Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and other developmental disabilities can
bring with them a variety of vision problems; yet many of these children
have either never had an eye exam, or have been told that their vision is
fine.  However, some of the behaviors associated with these spectrum
disorders actually have a visual component, which, when addressed,
can make a huge change in the child’s behavior and ability to learn and
interact with their world.

Most people don’t realize that our eyes are actually part of the brain.  
Therefore, if someone has a neurological disorder that impacts the
brain, their vision would be compromised in some way.  Being able to
see things clearly from a distance of 20 feet (i.e., “20/20”) is just one of
over 15 visual skills required to read, learn and function in life.

While 1 out of 4 normal children struggle with reading and learning
because of undiagnosed vision problems, research is showing that a
significantly higher percentage of children with autism spectrum
disorders have vision problems which, when corrected, can make a
huge difference in their lives.

For more information, please give us a call at 703-508-2454.
Dr. John Dresely


April 7, 2009

ASA applauds the recent introduction of two bills to mark World Autism
Awareness Day by U.S. Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Chris
Smith (R-NJ).

The first bill is a House concurrent resolution observing World Autism
Awareness Day and calling for greater federal action to address the
needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, this
resolution recognizes the importance of autism awareness and
expresses the House of Representatives’ commitment to increase
funding for research into the causes and treatment of autism and to
improve training and support for individuals who care for those with
autism.

The second bill would fund programs addressing autism in the
developing world. This legislation, the Global Autism Assistance Act,
would authorize $10 million over three years for service providers and
advocacy groups for children with autism specifically in countries with
weak healthcare infrastructure and help America regain its leadership
position around the world. The Global Autism Assistance Act would
fund small grants to raise autism awareness and create new ways to
share American expertise and advancements in the diagnoses and
treatment of autism with families and medical professionals in countries
that have yet to focus on the worldwide increase in the prevalence of
autism.

The Global Autism Assistance Act would also establish a "teach the
teachers" program in which qualified U.S. specialists would train
education and health professionals working with children with autism in
the developing world. The program would host multiple workshops to
enable American education, medical, and psychological specialists to
share their expertise with parents and health and education
professionals in the program's pilot regions. This is designed to help
create a new corps of professionals in the pilot regions who can then
fan out and help others further their autism assistance programs on
their own.

Help support these important bills by writing to your U.S. representative.
Use this link to write in support of the World Autism Awareness Day
Resolution, and
use this link to write in support of the Global Autism
Assistance Act. Together, we can improve the quality of live for
individuals with autism around the world.

Sincerely,

Lee Grossman
President & CEO
Autism Society of America  


A Genetic Clue to Why Autism Affects Boys More
By Alice Park Tuesday, May. 19, 2009

www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1899756,00.html

Support for homeschoolers with autism and PPD's
March 25, 2009

A Step Back for Disabled Youths

Families Fear Cuts in County Services May Harm Progress of
Mentally Challenged

By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
March 12, 2009

The holidays can be a stressful and uncertain time for individuals on the
spectrum and their families. Routines are disrupted, family members
are pre-occupied with shopping and preparations, and families are
often travelling and/or hosting visitors in their home. The “Dear Friends
and Family” letter was written for relatives and hosts of holiday
gatherings who might need a crash course in what to expect from their
guest with autism. The article is reprinted by permission of
editor/author, Viki Gayhardt.

www.autism-society.
org/site/DocServer/Dear_Friends_and_Family. pdf?
docID=1141docID

Sensory Strategies for Surviving the Holiday Season

For more holiday tips or strategies for helping sensory sensitive
children, contact Jamie Levine, OTR/L, owner of OT Ventures,
LLC at (443) 812-6396.  Or visit:
www.ot-ventures.com/


Tips for travel with autistic kids Taking the Kids
by Eileen Ogintz - July 21, 2008

Flying can be a rough ride for autistic children, families
By Rebecca Kaplan, USA TODAY

Fringe autism treatment could get federal study
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

Hands On Learning For The Visually Impaired

10 Tips for Ending the School Year by Pat Howey, Advocate

Bookshare.org Partners With Don Johnston to Provide Free Text
Reader for Print Disabled Students

Summer is Here. Good Tips on helping kids stay safe.

Written By: Carin Yavorcik, ASA

Kid CallCard ensures phone numbers are always nearby.

In a large crowd (e.g., a major sporting event, the shopping mall, an
amusement park, the beach, etc.), an accidental separation between
parents (or chaperones) and children can and often does occur. With
The Kid CallCard, the lost child is usually reunited in 5 minutes - as
opposed to 35 or 45 minutes, or longer.

The Kid CallCard facilitates a very practical, common-sense idea: A
child should have the cell phone numbers of chaperones in case an
accidental separation occurs.

The Kid CallCard is a two-sided waterproof card that holds up to 10 cell
phone numbers on one side, and is personalized with your child's first
name on the other. It's the size of a credit card, and provides space for
two primary cell numbers (usually Mom and Dad), and up to 10
secondary cell numbers for grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends,
etc., with whom your child attends outings.

Learn more or purchase a card at http://
kidcallcard.com/.

Safety When Out Tips

For more ASA Tips of the Day, visit www.autism-society.org


Sensory treatment yields promising results for children with
autism
Written by Anna Nguyen
For the Temple Times


Pete and Pam Wright: Founders of Wrightslaw,
www.wrightslaw.
com

At Wrightslaw, our mission is to provide parents, advocates,
educators, and attorneys with accurate, up-to-date information
about special education law and advocacy so they can be
effective catalysts.

You will find articles, cases, newsletters, and resources on
dozens of topics in the Advocacy Libraries and Law Libraries.
You may subscribe to The Special Ed Advocate, the free weekly
e-newsletter about special education legal and advocacy topics.
Here is a sample of what is on the site.

Summary of Stimulus Bill & IDEA Funding

Parent Guide to Response to Intervention (RTI)

Overcoming Autism
A local high school student succeeds with lots of help from
parents and teachers.
By David Schultz/The Connection

Getting help for a child with autism
By Elizabeth Cohen
CNN

Montgomery Parents Help Give Kids a Solid Foundation
Nonprofit Group Funds Exercise Therapy for Children
By Erin Donaghue
Gazette Staff Writer


Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills
February 21, 2008
by Alix Spiegel
www.npr.org

Discovery Of New Cause Of Mental Retardation Simplifies
Search For Treatments
www.sciencedaily.com

Autistic Children May Have Abnormal Functioning Of Mirror
Neuron System

www.sciencedaily.com

How kids can get over the 'motivation brick wall'
By Tracey Wong Briggs, USA TODAY


Bad Behavior Does Not Doom Pupils, Studies Say
By BENEDICT CAREY
The New York Times

Asperger’s Syndrome Gets a Very Public Face
By TARA PARKER-POPE
The New York Times
well@nytimes.com


Autistic Children May Have Abnormal Functioning Of Mirror
Neuron System
www.sciencedaily.com

CEC Publishes Position on Response to Intervention


Special Ed Advocate Newsletter, Feb. 24, 2009,
Waiting to Fail" Instead of Teaching a Child to Read


Easter Seals Supports Autism Insurance Coverage Bill Sensory



Q-and-A: How to better manage behavioral disabilities
By Michelle Diament
CEC Smart Brief

Science Daily:

Measuring Intellectual Disability
http://
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624093309.htm

Researchers have developed a specific and quantitative means
of measuring levels of the fragile X mental retardation 1 protein,
which is mutated in fragile X syndrome.

Parent Tips from Pathfinders for Autism
Halloween- October 2009

By its very nature, Halloween is scary. Everything from the decorations,
AMC's listing of the top 100 horror films, the inflated price of candy, etc.
But perhaps the scariest part of Halloween is trying to understand it
through the eyes of our kids with autism. So how do we make this
spooky night less of a nightmare?

BOO! Take out the surprise factor
Talk about Halloween ahead of time so your child will know what to
expect. Show her pictures of kids in costumes, videos of kids trick-or-
treating, and make sure you show your child what this will look like when
it's dark outside. Social stories can be a great preparation tool. You
can even create your own social story using pictures of your kids in
previous years. And don't forget to take pictures this year for next year's
story.

Scope out the neighborhood
Take a nighttime stroll through the streets where you plan to trick-or-
treat and look at the decorations. Are there any houses you might want
to avoid because they look too scary? Talk to your neighbors. Is anyone
planning to dress in a costume and scare the kids as they approach a
house? You may also want to do an advance visit to any party or
Halloween stores where you plan to take your child. I know when you
walk into our local party store, you are greeted by a mechanical Jason
from Friday the 13th. We all want to avoid months of sleeplessness
thanks to nightmares.

Teach the rules of trick-or-treating
Provide step-by-step instructions for how trick-or-treating works. For
instance, how we knock on the door and say "trick-or-treat" but don't go
into the house, put the candy in the bag, say thank you, and go to the
next house. Practice this routine before the big night. Some kids may
need days of practice, some kids may be good with only one dry run.
Don't forget to go over what to do if there is a break in the routine, for
instance if a neighbor is not home. Here's one tricky rule. We teach our
kids all year that they should never take candy from strangers. Since our
kids live by rules, they may have a difficult time reconciling this rule
infraction. You may think that of course you would never go to a
stranger's house, but the stranger issue could come into play if you go
trick-or-treating at a community center, mall, etc.

Have a dress rehearsal
For a child with sensory issues, costumes can pose some problems.
The costume can be itchy, too tight, too loose, too hot or not warm
enough. Makeup can be sticky, or smell and feel weird. Masks can
make it difficult to see or hear, or cause irritation to the head. Have your
child try on her costume far enough in advance that you can make
adjustments and alterations if necessary. Easy costumes made from
clothing articles you already have may be the perfect route. If your child
isn't very enthusiastic about wearing a costume, now may be an
opportunity to tie in a passion and let him dress as the character he
watches 800 times a month. But also let him know it's ok not to wear a
costume.

Make a candy plan
Think pre- and post trick-or-treating. If your child has a restricted diet,
you could drop off packages of allowable snacks or small toys to your
neighbors for them to give to your child. Or be prepared with
acceptable treats you can substitute when your child gets home. If there
are some candies on the approved list, ask a sibling if they would be
willing to swap. Tell your child ahead of time what he can/can't do with
the candy when you get back home. Can he dump it all out and eat the
entire bag that night? Will you limit her to a certain number of candies
each day? Make sure you don't keep this plan to yourself - share it with
your child so expectations are known up front.

Go with friends
Pair you child up with a neurotypical buddy that can help your child
remember the trick-or-treating rules. That buddy can also be another
set of eyes on your child amidst the flurry of masquerading candy goers.
If your child is an eloper, it might help everyone if your child is wearing
sneakers that light up, or has a glow stick or bracelet. And if you have
other children, make sure you have a plan in case your child with autism
wants to go home before your other children are done.

Eliminate the fear factor
There's a lot going on during Halloween's evening hours that startles the
senses. It's dark and there are lots of people running around in scary
costumes. Go before it gets dark if your child would be afraid during the
later hours or if you need a less crowded time. If going door-to-door is
overwhelming for your child, give her the option to stay home and pass
out candy, or invite a small group over for a candy swap. Malls and
community centers might offer an alternative location, but inquire about
the size of the crowds they are expecting. If your child stays home,
consider the commotion. Will constant knocking at your door, or the
doorbell ringing upset your child? Or the dog barking each time it rings?
Or kids screaming "trick-or-treat"?

And perhaps the most important tip: make sure your plan to steal your
favorite candy from your child's bag is foolproof.

© 2009 Pathfinders for Autism

www.merrittproperties.com
Merritt Properties is a proud sponsor of the
Pathfinders for Autism Resource Center.
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