Harassment and bullying guidance

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Department of Education issued guidance to support educators in combating bullying in schools by clarifying when student bullying may violate federal education anti-discrimination laws. The guidance issued today also makes clear that while current laws enforced by the department do not protect against harassment based on religion or sexual orientation, they do include protection against harassment of members of religious groups based on shared ethnic characteristics as well as gender and sexual harassment of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender individuals.

continued
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/guidance-targeting-harassment-outlines-local-and-federal-responsibility

BrowseAloud

BrowseAloud is free software that reads web pages out loud. It can help anyone who has difficulty reading online, including people with visual impairments or learning disabilities, and English Language Learners.

Once you have BrowseAloud installed on your computer, all you need to do is point your mouse at the words on the site. BrowseAloud will highlight the words and read them out loud.

http://www.browsealoud.com/page.asp?pg_id=80096

More intellectually disabled youths go to college

In years past, college life was largely off-limits for students with such disabilities, but that's no longer the case. Students with Down syndrome, autism and other conditions that can result in intellectual disabilities are leaving high school more academically prepared than ever and ready for the next step: college.

Eight years ago, disability advocates were able to find only four programs on university campuses that allowed students with intellectual disabilities to experience college life with extra help from mentors and tutors. As of last year, there were more than 250 spread across more than three dozen states and two Canadian provinces, said Debra Hart, head of Think College at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, which provides services to people with disabilities.

That growth is partly because of an increasing demand for higher education for these students and there are new federal funds for such programs.

YES THEY CAN

Every parent with a student heading into a transition program please read more: http://tinyurl.com/2b3fyfa

Disability Mentoring Day Wed Oct 26

A national effort to promote career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration, on-site job shadowing, and ongoing mentoring leading to internship and employment opportunities. If you can provide and opportunity for someone I hope you will.

Poll: Learning Disabilities Are Often Misunderstood

About 80 percent of Americans believe the statement “people with learning disabilities are just as smart as you and me” to be generally accurate. http://t.co/4IxxZvT
But a majority of the public also link learning disabilities with mental retardation and autism, and more than 50 percent agree that learning disabilities are “often caused by the home environment children are raised in.”

Thank you Education Week

About bullying

Do everything you can help end bullying. Our special needs children population is some of the most vulnerable.

1 Ohio school, 4 bullied teens dead by own hand http://tinyurl.com/2cen2za

You can help end bullying by donating $5 to @TrevorProject. Text "KIND" to 85944. Then respond "yes". Pass it on!

About Rosa's Law

Institute for Community Inclusion On Tuesday, October
06, 2010 President Obama Signed S. 2781, “Rosa's Law”, requiring the
federal government to use the term “intellectual disability” instead of
“mental retardation” and “individual with an intellectual disability”
instead of “mentally retarded” in health, education, and labor policy.
...

Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
thomas.loc.gov

Everyone with a special needs child needs to read this
Thank you ICI for sharing

Students Who Struggle: Focusing on Strengths

Edutopia ‎"Studies show that in the next few years, our schools will see a wider spectrum of special needs kids than ever before. What if we could sell these struggling kids on the fact that sometimes their difficulties can become their strengths? What if ADHD became a student's superpower one day?" - blogger, Heather Wolpert-Gawron. What are your thoughts? Has anyone tried a similar approach?
Thank you Edutopia for this thought

Use a Peer Tutor or Use an Instructional Aid?

I really don't know (yes I said that). How I see it is: a) What kind of support it says the student needs in the IEP. b) What "goodness of fit" is the support to whom the student is. c)How the district sees it. Now having said that my experiences with peer tutors is only so so. They tell these tutors basically nothing and a quick assumption is made that they can just babysit. Want a peer tutor to really help your student?
Here are some guidelines or help you should be able to ask that tutor for.

1. Note taker (takes notes of teacher lecture in legible writing for study and review at home)

2. Facilitator (checks regarding homework to turn in, notes to give to parents or teacher, USB keys to give to the teacher, helps with saving data to USB key in appropriate format to continue work on the project at home.)

3. Messenger (write due dates in planner or on the assignment sheet to facilitate with time management at home.)

4. Gatherer (helps collect and place in folder all appropriate handouts for use at home)

It never hurts to ask and the benefits can be huge for the tutor and your student as well.