Man runs Great Wall of China to raise money for people with disabilities

Raul Saldivar of Omaha is training to run a marathon that goes up, across and down the Great Wall of China to raise money for a local organization.

In 2007 he raised nearly $20,ooo by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Read the whole story here.

Young Man with Autism Gets Degree from University of Tennessee

Great story of a young man that was diagnosed with autism at the age of three who went on to get a degree at the University of Tennessee.

Possible Tax Credit Available

A special tax credit is available to some families raising children with disabilities.

Get the details here.

Kids with Eczema more likely to have ADHD?

Seems that kids with eczema or other allergies seem to have more instances of ADHD. A strange connection.

Read the entire article here.

NH School keeps kids in district

A new program in a school in NH is keeping kids in their neighborhood schools, and cutting the costs of out-of-district placements.

Seems our district could learn a lesson.

Read the article here.

Parents of Children with Disabilities Have More Stress

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to many of us.

Read the entire article here.

Tax Breaks

If you have a child with a severe learning disability (LD), you may qualify for valuable tax benefits. If your child has AD/HD or other physical, mental or emotional impairments, you may also qualify for tax benefits.

Read more on this subject at the Great Schools website.

"How's Your News?"

"How's Your News is a new show premiering on Sunday at 10:30 on MTV. It follows a group of young adults with disabilities as they travel around the country and do interviews with the general public and with some celebrities who cross their path.

There is a great review of the show by Alan Sepinwall of the Star Ledger here:
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/02/sepinwall_on_tv_hows_your_news.html

I will definitely be watching.

NY School District Makes Parents "Proove" Their Religious Beliefs

The choice to vaccinate a child is a serious and personal choice for parents. So are religious beliefs.
One NY school district is making parents who opt out of vaccines for religious reasons "prove" that they are actually religious with questions like "Do you speak to God?" and "Does he tell you not to vaccinate?". Sounds to me like they are looking for crazy more than a belief system.

You can read the whole story here:
http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/01/witness-a-ny-religious-sincerity-test-for-vaccine-exemption.html

"It was just a learning opportunity"

Remember that teacher made her class vote an autistic child "off the island"? Well, now she is saying that she did it to create a learning opportunity, using math. She has also not apologized to the traumatized child.

Read the rest of this story here:
http://www.wptv.com/content/tcoast/story/Teacher-calls-student-vote-a-learning-opportunity/I2EPGkd5R0qiw7BtjvWU9g.cspx

US News

Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Decision in Fitzgerald v. Barnstable: Parents Can Sue School Officials Under Discrimination Laws

This suit was based on the case of a kindergarten girl who was sexually harassed by a boy on her bus and in school. When nothing was done to stop the harassment on the bus, the girl was driven to school, and eventually missed school because of the incidents. Her parents thought the school did not do enough to protect their daughter.

Read the whole story on the Wrightslaw website:
http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/fitzgerald.barnstable.supct.htm

Supreme Court News

From Special Ed News, Jan 22, 2009

Court Grants Cert in Private Placement Case
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in a private placement case from Oregon, giving it a new opportunity to decide under what circumstances families of students with disabilities can be reimbursed for the cost of private tuition. Forest Grove Sch. Dist. v. T.A., 50 IDELR 1 (9th Cir. 2008), petition for cert. filed (U.S. 09/03/08) (No. 08-305). The court announced its decision Jan. 16, after first discussing it Jan. 9. Briefs by the district are due Feb. 25, and briefs by the family of T.A. are due March 25. The Oregon case is important because it gives the Court another chance to decide what Congress meant in 1997 when it amended the IDEA and described at least one scenario under which parents could be reimbursed for the private education of a student with disabilities. Under that scenario, a court or hearing officer may award tuition reimbursement to the parents of a child who has previously received special education services under public auspices if the district failed to offer FAPE.

Boooo Hisssss

As there are programs and communities that get Kudos, and there are situations and places that deserve a big Booooo Hissssss.

This is one of them.

Click here to read about an 8 year old with Aspergers that simply wanted to wear her cow hoody to a school party. When told she would have to take it off to attend, she tried to leave to go anyway (stubbornness in an Aspie? Shocking!) teachers restrained her (leaving bruises on her body). When she began to struggle, the school called the police. The girl was handcuffed and taken in a police cruiser to a juvenile detention center, where she was released to her parents an hour later.

(Read the article on this story here.)

Can anyone say "overkill"? Why on earth would they just not allow this girl to wear her cow sweatshirt to the party? A big Boooooo Hisssss to Kootenai Elementary in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.