August 2012 Disability News

Walmart sued for not providing accommodations to person with cerebral palsy. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/8-21-12.cfm Detroit School Board meeting is tomorrow evening at 6:00 pm, Frederick Douglas school on W. Warren ave.

Autism Statistics From Center For Disease Control

Good Evening,

Here is the latest press release from the Center For Disease Control regarding the rise in persons with Autism  (http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2012/p0329_autism_disorder.html)

Press Release

CDC Division of News & Electronic Media
(404) 639-3286

CDC estimates 1 in 88 children in United States has been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder

CDC data help communities better serve these children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 88 children in the United States has been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a new study released today that looked at data from 14 communities.  Autism spectrum disorders are almost five times more common among boys than girls – with 1 in 54 boys identified.

The number of children identified with ASDs ranged from 1 in 210 children in Alabama to 1 in 47 children in Utah.  The largest increases were among Hispanic and black children. The report, Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, United States, 2008, provides autism prevalence estimates from 14 areas. It was published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

“This information paints a picture of the magnitude of the condition across our country and helps us understand how communities identify children with autism,” said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  “That is why HHS and our entire administration has been working hard to improve the lives of people living with autism spectrum disorders and their families by improving research, support, and services.”
“One thing the data tells us with certainty – there are more children and families that need help,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We must continue to track autism spectrum disorders because this is the information communities need to guide improvements in services to help children.”
The results of CDC’s study highlight the importance of the Obama administration’s efforts to address the needs of people with ASDs, including the work of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The IACC’s charge is to facilitate ASD research, screening, intervention, and education.  As part of this effort, the National Institutes of Health has invested in research to identify possible risk factors and effective therapies for people with ASDs.

Study results from the 2008 surveillance year show 11.3 per 1,000 8-year-old children have been identified as having an ASD.  This marks a 23 percent increase since the last report in 2009.  Some of this increase is due to the way children are identified, diagnosed and served in their communities, although exactly how much is due to these factors is unknown.  “To understand more, we need to keep accelerating our research into risk factors and causes of autism spectrum disorders,” said Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., M.S.Hyg., director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. 
The study also shows more children are being diagnosed by age 3, an increase from 12 percent for children born in 1994 to 18 percent for children born in 2000. “Unfortunately, 40 percent of the children in this study aren’t getting a diagnosis until after age 4. We are working hard to change that,” said Boyle.
The most important thing for parents to do is to act quickly whenever there is a concern about a child’s development. 

• Talk to your child’s doctor about your concerns.
• Call your local early intervention program or school system for an assessment. 
• Remember you do not need a diagnosis to access services for your child.

To learn more about this study, visit www.cdc.gov/autism.
For information on CDC’s tools to help families track their child’s development, visit www.cdc.gov/actearly
To learn more about the research CDC is doing on autism, visit www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/research.html. 
To learn more about the Administration’s commitment to combating autism, visit http://www.hhs.gov/autism/factsheet_autism_support.html.

###

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

CDC works 24/7saving lives, protecting people from health threats, and saving money to have a more secure nation.  Whether these threats are chronic or acute, manmade or natural, human error or deliberate attack, global or domestic, CDC is the U.S. health protection agency. 

Today's Reading and Autism Lesson Plans

Today my nephew and I have been working on his reading skills. Since he likes to cook, we are reading his autographed copy of "Cooking Up Your Dreams" by our friend Chef Keith D. Jones. The book is about how Chef Jones became a chef with great recipes to try. The book is easy to read, with large print and chapters that have positive values for the titles. Last year, my nephew had a chance to meet Chef Jones and assist him with a cooking demonstration for his televised cooking shows. Chef Jones is a native Detroiter that graduated from Cass Tech. One of the things that I admire about him is that he has special needs students learning how to cook in some of his shows. You can see some of Chef Jones' videos on his website:
http://www.chefkdj.com/

Here are some other resources and lesson plans for students with autism:

http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/view_lesson_plans?subject=autism

http://www.scilearn.com/blog/improving-reading-comprehension-skills-autism-spectrum-disorders.php

Detroit Special Ed news: Still no comprehensive plan from the emergency manager for Detroit's K-26 Special Ed students. Michigan passed the insurance bill to allow persons with autism to bill insurance companies for services. Michigan parents are slowly finding out that certificates of completion that are given to special needs students and young adults 18-26 in vocational schools are not recognized by the State of Michigan. The certificates are worthless. There is talk about trying to get the students to take GED tests with accomodations. In June 2012, if you or your student do not have a High School Diploma or a GED, you will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Stay tuned for more updates.

Thank you and enjoy your Easter break!
Aurora Harris

American Psychological Assoc. Changes Autism definition

Happy New Year.

The latest news regarding Autism comes from the American Psychological Association's changing the definition of autism, that is causing many parents that have children with autism and adults with asperger to worry about the type of services they will receive in the future. The story ran in a New York Times article last week. Additional info can be found at the Washington Post's blog:
More info on autism definition change from a Washington blog: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-parenting/post/apa-considers-new-definition-for-autism-a-change-that-could-limit-kids-access-to-special-education/2012/01/22/gIQAb2rWJQ_blog.html


Aurora Harris

An Autism Research Institute Video Regarding Transition for Students

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Please see the link below for the video regarding transition of students with autism from the Autism Research Institute. There are other videos and interesting articles for parents to read.

http://www.autism.com/video_gassner.asp



Sincerely,
Aurora Harris

Education News: MI Reading And Math Scores Drop

Alternative Title: Race To The Bottom
An Open Letter To The Public-

Good Morning Parents, Teachers, Family, Friends, and Constituents.

Please forward this email to others that have children in Michigan schools, LSCO and PTA parent groups. If you have a school age child or children that are in General Education classes or Special Ed students included in General Ed Classes (find out if they took reading and math tests), I urge you to seriously think about what I am writing about and what you are going to do about it.

Last year, I was one of the members from the Community that served on the Detroit Public Schools' Education Transition Team that analyzed the Detroit Public Schools' District Plan ( by Ms T. Guyser ) and Robert Bobb ( Emergency Manager) Charter Reform plan.

Two of my concerns were: How will new, higher Reform standards and test score demands in English and Math affect future annual yearly progress and student testing, and, 2. What will be the social, emotional or psychological impact on students that a. Cannot meet the standards and b.  made improvements or received A or B grades that would be considered C D E or F (failing or failed) according to charter reform standards?

For over one year, I spoke to many parents, students and educators about my concerns and received very little feedback.    

At 6:08 a.m this morning, Nov 4, 2011, WDIV Channel 4 News announced that the new test scores for Reading and Math dropped.

"Students that formerly receieved a 95% score are now at 35%... students will have to score at 55% or better" on reading and math tests.

In other words, an "Honors" student is now considered a "Failed" student according to charter reform education "test" calculations. What is confusing to me and other educators and parents are the news sources that reported the story on November 3, 2011. Are the new cut scores the result of an experiment that reconfigured scores under reform standards and measurements that are going to be implemented in the future or not? Some news reports made statements as if the method used is actual, not experimental. In either case, whether it will take ten years for Michigan students to "catch up" in order to meet new test scores, the question remains the same: When and how will teachers, parents, and students that never had enough educational resources in failing or failed urban and rural areas obtain resources be able to move into 21st Century high technology related education and jobs?

As of this morning, it is clear to me that for many minority parents and students ( mostly poor, working poor, and what's left of the middle class) that worked or struggled to meet the old standards and test score requirements, today is the day that you discover that overnight you have "Raced To The Bottom."

So your Challenge for the day, week or month is how to sit your child or children down for the "Baby, I have something real important to tell you. Remember how you got all those A's and B's and they said you you were an honor's student? Well, as of Nov. 5, you are now considered a failed student" conversation, AND, be prepared to deal with your child's ability or inability to accept this truth, AND, be ready to have that hard conversation with teachers, principals, the State Board of Education, Arne Duncan in D.C, President Obama, and school social workers or psychologists on how you are supposed to deal with a depressed child whose self esteem got hit by a freight train and raise scores when most schools and over crowded classrooms are not equipped like charter schools with smaller student headcount, like 15 to 20 students in a class.

If you are a parent or educator, you need to find out if the Michigan Department of Ed is going to keep the higher grades or test scores from last year or reconfigure them to reflect failure as of today. What will appear on your child's high school transcript in the future may affect their chances to attend community college, university or trade school, or obtain a job. If I were an employer, I certainly would be asking: What happened? How did you go from being an honors or A or B student one year, then failed the next year?

Now I'm going to change the subject. While writing this, I just received a DPS call at 8:15 am informing me that city busses are not running. So what happens to the students that have been waiting at bus stops to get to schools and they don't show up in school? If they are at the "you have one more chance to be tardy or absent, or we will suspend you" stage, will their tardiness or absence be excused today or next week? It's not their fault that people chose to attack a bus driver yesterday because most city buses have a 2 to 3 hour delay. Thank God today is not a "test day."

Thanks for your time. Please feel free to call or write me, or contact WDIV Ch 4 in Detroit. They only mentioned the test score story once. Find out where they got their info. It wasn't as important as the repeated news that "Detroit has no buses this morning"

Aurora Harris.

Drew Transition Center News

On October 11, 2011, Drew parents completed their LSCO election and joined the PTA. Parents also received information on the community chapter of the Special Education PTA.

On October 13th, parents and students received their first school newsletter with much needed info for parents. Kudos to the parents and staff for creating the newsletter! Also, parents who are members of the Wayne RESA PAC attended the meeting "Special Education Funding 101" that explained how funding is allocated to special education in Wayne County. Ms Harris (Drew parent) requested that the presenter come to Drew and explain how the projected decrease in Act 18 funds will affect the school in 2013 and 2014. Since the Detroit district is now divided into a three tiered system with an emergency manager, parents are concerned about special education funds and federally mandated supports and resources being reduced or cancelled due to "inclusion" in general ed classrooms. Parents are advised by this blogger to learn about the differences between "inclusion" and "mainstreaming" and how shifting students into general ed classes without proper supports may create a lack of or reduction in Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE in federal IDEA and 504 mandates).

From September 30th to October 5th, Drew sponsored a voter registration drive. The Honorable Janice Winfrey, City Clerk made it possible for students and parents to practice voting on a touch screen voting machine.

The kitchen at Drew is still not up and running. Equipment has been moved in but fans and ducts need to installed. The projected time for completion of the kitchen is by the end of October (in a couple of weeks).