SPOTblog

Just as “The Lion King” will be packing up in Syracuse from its month-long run, Broadway will introduce a modified version for a special performance.

A matinee for children with autism is planned Oct. 2 at the Minskoff Theater in New York City. The performance, already sold-out, is the first efffort of the Autism Theater Initiative. The Theater Development Fund is underwriting the program.

(Source: blog.syracuse.com)

With all of the new trends and tools in education technology, there’s no reason for special needs students and their teachers and parents to be left behind. This list of 100 useful tools can help anyone with a learning disability like ADHD, dyslexia or test anxiety, as well as students with visual or hearing impairments, use the Internet and other technology systems to help them with reading, math, organization, social skills, and more.

View 100 Useful Tools for Special Needs Students & Educators HERE.

Looking for school supplies for a child with organization problems, writing problems, dressing problems, fidgeting problems? Here’s a “mall” that can help you find just what you’re looking for. Click on this link and you’ll be guided to information on the About Parenting Special Needs site on finding the right tools and togs for your child.

As most scientific efforts focus on finding a reliable prenatal test to screen for Down syndrome, one researcher is instead looking to use medication to treat the disorder.

Alberto Costa knew little about Down syndrome when his daughter Tyche was born with the condition 16 years ago. But he quickly focused his expertise as a neuroscientist on better understanding the disability.

Today, Costa is preparing to release preliminary results of a four-month trial of an Alzheimer’s drug called memantine that he tested on 40 young adults with Down syndrome. Half received the medication — which Costa’s studies on mice indicate could help those with the developmental disorder boost their memory skills and become smarter — and half took a placebo.

Parents of those who participated in the study are largely optimistic about the treatment possibilities. One mother says that her daughter started doing puzzles in the newspaper and became more expressive, using full sentences to explain a dream she had.

But not everyone is pleased with Costa’s approach. Some families are concerned that medicating people with Down syndrome could mean altering a person’s personality or identity. In fact, a Canadian survey recently found that 27 percent of parents would decline a “cure” for their child’s Down syndrome, reports The New York Times. To read more click here.

(Source: disabilityscoop.com)

This is a four day training program hosted by the W&M School of Law and co-sponsored by the PELE Special Education Advocacy Clinic, Wrightslaw, and the Oklahoma Disability Law Center.

Training will include applicable laws, ethics, and best practices in advocacy.

The cost of the 4 day program is $495.00.  Your registration fee includes books, materials, lunches, and pre-Institute reception.  Attendance is limited to 20 people.  Attendees will be selected via an application process.

Details, Agenda, download the Application here:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/11.08.va.wm.htm

The Athens 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games concluded yesterday. Congratulations to the winners — including Hormelys Pichardo of Cuba, above, who shows his gold medal after winning halfmarathon division M6 on July 3 — and to all the competitors who showed their ability and talent and joy in sport. Read all the results and find more photos and news on the Special Olympics site.

(Source: specialchildren.about.com)

Forgot to toss toys in your purse? Carry-on consigned to the cargo hold? Long waiting-room stay used up all your distractions? No matter how organized the parent, there will always come a time when your child will rely on you for distraction, just you and you alone. What do you do when you’re stuck without props? Here are 101 informal activities that use nothing more than your clothing, your accessories, and whatever wits you have about you. If your child has a particularly short attention span or low tolerance for boredom, you may have to run through a whole string of these — but finally, the time will pass.

1. Play “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
2. Arm wrestle
3. Thumb wrestle
4. Push palms together to see who can push the hardest
5. Stack hands one atop the other, pulling out the hand at the bottom and bringing it up top
6. Stack fists, using same rules as above
7. Stack arms, similarly
8. Play with your child’s hair
9. Let your child play with your hair
10. Draw a letter on your child’s back with a finger and see if he or she can guess
11. Draw a letter instead on your child’s arm
12. Have your child draw a letter on your arm or back, and you do the guessing
13. Take off your shoe and have your child practice shoe-tying
14. Take off your child’s shoe and find a different way to lace it
15. Take off your child’s shoes and sock and use the socks as puppets
16. Use your wristwatch to give a lesson in telling time
17. Use your wristwatch to time things going on around you
18. Let your child try on your wristwatch
19. Let your child try on your jewelry
20. Count by twos, threes, fives, tens
21. Count backward from 100 
22. Pick a number between one and 10 
23. Teach the 9 times table trick
24. Give a math equation for your child to figure mentally
25. Give a string of math equations and ask for the answer at the end
26. Make up math story problems
27. Say words to spell
28. Say words to rhyme with
29. Play “I Spy”
30. Try some tongue twisters
31. Play “I Went to …”
32. Sing some silly songs (softly)
33. Do songs with hand motions, with and without the words
34. Play “20 Questions”
35. Look for things out the window
36. Play paddycake
37. Teach your child some clapping games
38. Have your child teach you some clapping games
39. Whisper secrets, silly and serious
40. Say “Tell you tell me three things you did today”
41. Tell a story, taking turns one sentence at a time
42. Write a poem, taking turns one sentence at a time
43. Hide something (even just your thumb) in one fist — guess which hand?
44. Count your change
45. Count your currency
46. Make a stack or a snake with loose change
47. Fold or roll up currency
48. Make a pattern, train, or house out of credit cards.
49. Show your child the pictures in your wallet (yes, even your driver’s license)
50. Try to remember one of your child’s favorite storybooks; let your child correct your mistakes.
51. See how your child looks in your glasses
52. Give an invisible manicure
53. Give an invisible pedicure
54. Get an invisible manicure or pedicure
55. Have your child name all his or her classmates
56. See how many people your child can name in your extended family
57. See how many birthdates of friends and family your child can recall
58. Name a relative’s birth year and have your child figure out how old; invent relatives if necessary
59. Guess what the people around you do for a living
60. Make a Christmas or birthday wish list
61. Count how many words you can spot — on signs, posters, clothes
62. Make faces
63. Play Straight Face
64. Try to make each other laugh — last one wins
65. Have a staring contest
66. Have your child narrate a favorite movie
67. Interview your child for a TV news show
68. Speak Pig Latin
69. Play “Truth or Dare”
70. Make up your own secret code
71. Think of rhyming words for items around you
72. Take turns naming words for a letter of the alphabet; last one to think of a word wins, and you move to the next letter
73. Same as above, but with rhymes
74. Same as above, but with entries in categories
75. Explain the meaning of various figures of speech
76. Make up silly similes
77. Make a puppet face with your fist, with your thumb as the lower jaw
78. Flip a coin
79. Do “This little piggy” on feet or hands
80. Give a backrub
81. Get a backrub
82. Crawl fingers up your child’s back or arm like a spider
83. Make up an acronym for your child’s name, and the names of other family members
84. Ask for favorites: TV show, movie, book, color, game, animal, friend
85. Play peek-a-boo
86. Give your child the name of an object and ask what color it is, what letter it starts with, what shape it is, if it’s heavy or light
87. Go on a “hike” with your two fingers walking over your child’s arms, shoulders and head
88. Break an egg over your child’s head by rapping it gently with your fist and then opening your hand to make the egg roll down the face
89. Do charades
90. Be mirror images
91. Play “Simon Says” on a smale scale.
92. Throw an imaginary ball
93. Blow imaginary bubbles
94. Blow a raspberry on your child’s arm
95. “Steal” your child’s nose
96. Be a little goldfish
97. Do “Here is the church, here is the steeple,” or make your own version for another building
98. Try guided relaxation
99. Practice breathing techniques
100. Repeat what the other person says; repeat what the other person says.
101. See who can go the longest without talking.

Medicaid is the major funding source for most community residential, day and soon to be family support services. The State of NJ receives approximately 50% of the cost of these programs from Medicaid funding.

If Medicaid is cut it will have a significant impact on the programs run by the ARC and other community agencies. The threat to Medicaid is the biggest threat the ARC has faced, funding wise, because it would be permanent and devastating. Unlike a bad budget year with the State which can be turned around in future years, changes to Medicaid will effect the provision of services going forward for as long as the eye can see.

Last week, there was a very powerful, nationwide response to calls for action to protect Medicaid from significant cuts.

While there has not yet been a resolution to the immediate crisis (deciding what federal programs will be cut to resolve the federal debt ceiling crisis), a plan must be devised and will happen in the next several days.

Thus, it’s absolutely critical that we do everything possible this week to tell Congress not to balance the budget on the backs of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) by making cuts to Medicaid, a program that truly is a lifeline for so many.

If you have not contacted your two US Senators and House Member, please do so promptly. Phone calls are the most effective means to do this, and it only takes a couple of minutes per call. Once you have made you own calls, we urge you to spread the word to your network of friends, relatives and other connections!

Read more about how children with special needs will suffer from Medicaid cuts from publicnewsservice.org. More information is also available on northjersey.com.

The Arc of New Jersey is a human rights advocacy organization actively committed to full community participation and inclusion across the lifespan for all individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Arc of New Jersey is an affiliated chapter of The Arc, and community-based services are available statewide through a strong network of local county chapters. Learn more about the ARC of NJ at http://www.arcnj.org/.

Students classified as emotionally disturbed can be a particular challenge for teachers, and may face misunderstandings and preconceived notions when they enter a classroom. Use these suggestions to create an information packet to bring educators up to speed and let them know your child has a supportive family eager to help.

FIVE THINGS TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW

1. Choose your battles carefully with my child. Selecting a couple of areas to focus on will work better than fighting over every misbehavior.

2. My child may seem to be doing things deliberately that are really not under his control. Figuring out what triggers the behavior and changing the circumstances works better than discipline after the misbehavior has occurred.

3. If you can fill out a behavior chart about what you see in the classroom, we will discuss problems and reinforce positive behavior at home. I’ll be happy to send in a chart you can use.

4. My child has significant challenges, but she also has many strengths and gifts. Please use these to help her have experiences of success.

5. Please keep the lines of communication open between our home and the school. My child needs all the adults in his life working together.

PRINTOUTS TO SHARE WITH TEACHERS

Emotional Disturbance (pdf)
Source: NICHCY

Emotionally Disturbed Students
Source: Association of Texas Professional Educators

PDFs from UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools:

• Enhancing School Staff Understanding of Mental Health and Psychosocial Concerns
• Guidebook: Common Psychosocial Problems of School Aged Youth
• Affect and Mood Problems Related to School Aged Youth

Best Practices for Administering Medication in School
Source: Council for Exceptional Children

RTI for Emotional/Behavior Disorders Shows Promise
Source: Council for Exceptional Children

For a national touring exhibition with the theme of “Imagination Across America,” CVS Caremark and VSA (Very Special Arts) held a contest for young artists with and without disabilities called “All Kids Can CREATE!” From 4,700 submissions by students ages 5 to 15, two winners were chosen (one with a disability, one without) for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This gallery features the work of the winners with special needs. Take a walk past its virtual walls and admire the abilities and spirit of these talented youngsters.

Visit the All Kids can CREATE Gallery HERE.

Artwork featured is titled “Honu” by Helena, Age 15 of Warsaw, Missouri