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Each week, LD OnLine gathers interesting news headlines about learning disabilities and ADHD issues. Please note that LD OnLine does not necessarily endorse these views or any others on these outside websites.
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Conclusions on San Diego Unified's Big Special Ed Shift
Voice of San Diego (CA)
It was the biggest change in the way San Diego Unified educates its students with special needs in a decade, and we wanted to know how the district had coped with the transition. In 2008, after a report concluded that children with disabilities were too often being segregated into separate classrooms, the district began a concentrated effort to include far more children with special needs in general education classrooms in their neighborhood schools. The shift required a complex reorganization of where kids with special needs would go to school. Rather than being grouped at relatively few sites that focused on special education, thousands of students with disabilities instead began flooding into their local schools.
Students with ADHD Have Legal Right to Supports in School
Toronto Star (Canada)
Thousands of Ontario students with ADHD who are struggling in the classroom now have the right to receive help at school, according to a statement from the Ministry of Education. A memorandum to school boards quietly posted on the ministry's website last month says children with conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are entitled to special education supports and services if the condition interferes with their learning.
ADHD Drug Shortage: Can Meditation Fill the Gap?
Huffington Post
Drugs designed to treat ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) have been widely available for decades, but America now faces its most severe shortage of these drugs since they came on the market. Meanwhile, more and more health professionals are recognizing the viability of effective meditation for overcoming ADHD.
F.D.A. Finds Short Supply of Attention Deficit Drugs
New York Times
Medicines to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are in such short supply that hundreds of patients complain daily to the Food and Drug Administration that they are unable to find a pharmacy with enough pills to fill their prescriptions.
GAO Says College-Entrance Exams Fall Short on Accommodations
On Special Education Blog, Education Week
College entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT aren't always reformatted for students with disabilities the way they should be, a recent report from the Government Accountability Office finds. The same goes for some tests that students need to get into graduate school, medical school, law school, and other programs.
No, the School Nurse Is Not In
National Public Radio
More than half of American public schools don't have a full-time nurse, and the situation is getting worse as school systems further cut budgets. This year, 51 were laid off in Philadelphia's public schools, 20 in a Houston suburb, 15 in San Diego and dozens more in other school systems nationwide.
Special-Ed Advocates Sue Schools Over Placement
Boston Globe
Even as it prepares to open five new classrooms for special education students this week, the Boston public school system is facing a class-action lawsuit in federal court asserting that the district routinely violates state and federal law by delaying evaluations and classroom placements for preschoolers with special needs.
Scientists Probe the Origins of Dyslexia
HealthDay
Problems in how people with dyslexia process the sounds they hear may be at the heart of this learning disorder, new research suggests. The study findings, published in the Dec. 22 issue of the journal Neuron, may one day lead to better therapies for children and adults who are diagnosed with this common yet still ultimately mysterious condition.
Study: Testing Firms Not Complying with Law on Disabled
USA Today
A new federal study criticizes the Justice Department for failing to enforce laws that provide disabled students with special accommodations for taking the SAT, bar exam and other high-stakes tests.
In RTI Era, is Federal Special Education Law Out of Date?
On Special Education Blog, Education Week
Response-to-Intervention, an approach that involves using an escalating set of techniques to address skills a student is struggling with, got a boost in 2004, when the federal law changed to require states to let districts use it if they chose. The hope was that its use would help distinguish between children who truly have specific learning disabilities and students whose learning difficulties could be resolved with general education interventions. Sure enough, in the last few years, the number of students identified as having learning disabilities has dropped. But there are still lots of questions about how RTI is used, and whether it's being used correctly, considering the federal rules about identifying students with disabilities haven't changed.
SC Educators Want Special-Ed Reform
Post and Courier (SC)
Charleston County school leaders want their special-education students to be able to earn a high school diploma, but making that happen will require changes beyond their control, and they're asking for help.
New Film Tells Story of Torres's Struggles with ADHD
New York Times
Discerning a fastball from a changeup is difficult enough; imagine doing it with untethered focus, attention meandering. This was precisely the obstacle impeding Andres Torres, who stumbled for a decade through baseball's minor leagues, working for a break, always falling short.
KUOW (WA)
Federal law requires that public schools teach every student, regardless of that student's disabilities. That can be complicated, labor–intensive and expensive. How is Seattle Public Schools doing when it comes to special education? Special education students are placed in mainstream classrooms now. Is that working for teachers and students? KUOW talks with special education teachers and parents about the district's successes and challenges in special education.
Some Advice for Students with Disabilities Heading to College
On Special Education Blog, Education Week
Last week, I wrote about the growing number of opportunities to attend college for students with intellectual disabilities. Although these programs provide a lot of independence, they also monitor students closely. For students with other types of disabilities, navigating traditional college programs doesn't often come with the same attention to detail. And sometimes, that turns out to be a big surprise for students used to the protection provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act from birth through the end of high school.
Motivation, Inattention, and ADHD
The Scicurious Brain Blog, Scientific American
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, and is becoming a big deal in adults as well. ADHD is a pile of related symptoms, most of them dealing with motivation, impulsivity, inattention, and, you know hyperactivity (they call it ADHD for a reason). Right now, we treat ADHD with stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall, which in low doses and when they act over a long period of time can increase focus and help people with ADHD function better. But the question remains as to what causes ADHD, what abnormalities are going on in the brain that cause the symptoms. There are several hypotheses as to what's going on.
College Opportunities Emerge for People with Intellectual Disabilities
On Special Education Blog, Education Week
Doesn't Brock McDonald sound like a typical college kid? He will graduate from UCLA next June. He lives in an apartment with two roommates, a place he has to clean and maintain, and he manages his weekly budget, hoping to spend wisely on groceries and other needs each week so he has money left over. He works part-time at Fox Studios, and he has an internship maintaining computers. He is hoping all of his computer skills will help him one day get a job at Apple. But for Brock, 24, who has severe dysgrafia, a typical college program may have been out of reach. He attends Pathway at UCLA, which is designed just for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Understanding My Head: My Alcoholism and My ADHD
ADHD & Addiction Blog, ADDitudeMag.com
I was nine months into sobriety and learning how to handle life without alcohol when my addiction-specialist counselor suggested that my disorganization, procrastination, lack of impulse control may stem from ADHD. He was right.
Inside Higher Ed Blog
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that George Washington University was within its rights in 2003 when its medical school kicked out Carolyn Singh, having determined that she was not meeting academic standards. Singh was diagnosed as having a learning disability shortly before she was dismissed, and she claimed that GW violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not accepting her diagnosis and approving adjustments she requested. The decision could be important not only for Singh and the medical school, but for others in higher education who are debating how to determine whether students have learning disabilities and, if so, what kinds of accommodations are appropriate for such students.
Concern Grows Over Special Education Vouchers in Florida
On Special Education Blog, Education Week
As the number of private school voucher and scholarship programs for students with disabilities across the country grow, meeting a variety of challenges along the way, one lawmaker in Florida is taking a hard look at that state's program.
Study: More Evidence Links Specific Genes to ADHD
USA Today
Variations in genes involved in brain signaling pathways appear to be linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study. The findings suggest that drugs that act on these pathways may offer a new treatment option for ADHD patients with the gene variants, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia researchers said.
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