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New York, NY — Eleigha Love, who describes her brain as a computer, and Jared Schmidt, a teenage sky diver, are the recipients of this year's $10,000 Anne Ford and Allegra Ford Scholarships given to two graduating high school seniors with documented learning disabilities (LD) who are pursuing undergraduate degrees. Anne Ford, Chairman Emerita of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), is a well-known philanthropist and author, who has been a long-time parent advocate for children with learning disabilities, starting with her own daughter, Allegra. The scholarship was created in 2001 by the NCLD board when Ms. Ford stepped down as chairman in honor of her service. In 2008, Allegra agreed to match the existing award, creating a second scholarship. Anne Ford and Today Show Host Al Roker presented the scholarships at this year's NCLD 34th Annual Benefit Dinner, emceed by Paula Zahn in New York City. Jared and Eleigha are two of more than 2.5 million students who are wrestling with learning disabilities. They are among the mere 64 percent of students with LD who graduate high school, and only 10 percent with LD that go on to a four-year college. "We received over 300 applications, and let me tell you everyone of them came from students deserving a scholarship," said Anne, handing out the awards to this year’s winners. “We hear so much about the challenges and struggles of students with LD, and it is so inspiring to see that so many are able to meet and surpass those challenges." "Our goal is to see every child with LD graduate from high school," said James Wendorf, Executive Director of NCLD. "We are still failing about 1 million children. We've seen graduation rates and classroom inclusion rise more than 15 percent over the past 10 years. But we need to continue to empower parents and teachers, reduce stigma among kids, and keep education funding on the top of the education agenda if we are going to see those numbers increase, not decrease." One of the biggest problems with learning disabilities is diagnosing them in time, before children get frustrated with the system. "To a child with learning disabilities, school can be a very isolating place, it can be a very frustrating place and frankly overwhelming," relayed CNN's Anderson Cooper at a recent NCLD lunch. "Too many kids with LD struggle to try and keep up with their peers and suffer from low confidence and self-esteem and lose their love of learning at a young age. It's hard to rekindle that once it's gone, which is why the work of this organization is so important."

Click here to register for this event What:  On April 7, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a notice of proposed rulemaking to clarify and update the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). DQC is pleased to host this webinar featuring prominent FERPA legal expert Steve Winnick of EducationCounsel LLC to offer an initial analysis of the proposed regulations, including the extent to which they provide much-needed clarity to states to both use data for continuous improvement and protect the privacy, security, and confidentiality of student-level data. According to the notice, the public comment period for these proposed regulations will close on May 23, 2011. Only comments submitted formally, through the Department's articulated process, will be considered. The DQC will work with its partners to develop formal comments following these initial analysis. Participants are encouraged to submit their own comments as well. When: April 14, 2011 10:30-11:30am Mountain

Freeland High School plans a new class this semester to provide peer support to students with autism. The pilot LINK course, inspired by Freeland Elementary School’s successful Peers Actively Learning Social Skills program, will include three students and their peer “links” who receive class credit for participation, Special Education Supervisor Erin Senkowski said. if(typeof oTNCMS_Ad.setRelative == 'function'){ oTNCMS_Ad.setRelative(); } oTNCMS_Ad.show(); “This came to be at the high school because we have a very good program at the elementary and as students moved up (we needed to continue),” Senkowski said. “We find kids learn social skills best from their peers.”

AbbVie is honored to continue the nearly 25 year commitment of helping people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The AbbVie CF Scholarship program expands this tradition, offering support to CF families through financial assistance towards higher education.

Teenagers who have difficulty making and maintaining healthy friendships with peers at age 13 continue to struggle with relationships long after high school, according to a new University of Virginia longitudinal study. Early secondary school is well-known as the time social pecking orders are established, bullying and gossip proliferates, and kids start seriously thinking about jumping off that bridge if all their friends do. The study suggests that a student's ability to balance peer pressure with social desirability in early adolescence can predict how well they will handle social relationships in adulthood.

What can we do as parents if our children with disabilities are getting bullied in school?  If you feel the School did not take action to correct the situation in an acceptable manner and the bullying continues, then talk to an attorney about writing a “Gebser letter” to your school.  In a 1998 Supreme Court decision for Gebser v. Lago Vista School District the court concluded that in order to receive damages under a Title IX discrimination suit you must prove that the school district actually knew about the offense and refused to take action to correct it.  Thus, the term “Gebser Letter” was coined to mean a letter notifying a school district employee with authority about the discrimination or bullying.

“Stigma, underachievement and misunderstanding of LD continue to be stubborn barriers for parents and children to overcome. The data in this 2014 report reveal that, left unaddressed, as many as 60 million individuals risk being left behind, burdened by low self-esteem, subjected to low expectations, and diminished in their ability to pursue their dreams.”

“Nobody Is Too ‘Anything’ to Read, Write or Communicate” The late news broadcaster Walter Cronkite catalogued the ills of the world every night for television viewers. But through the cataract of daily despair he always glimpsed a reason to hope, to be joyful about the possibilities of the moment and beyond. For the tens of millions of viewers who watched his coverage of the first lunar landing 40 years ago that enthusiasm reached out from their TV sets, when, at the moment of human touchdown on the surface of the moon, Cronkite shed his cloak of objectivity and exuberantly exclaimed, “Oh, boy!”

Despite the many daily challenges that confront them in their sphere, members of school district assistive technology teams nationwide share Cronkite’s enthusiasm for the vast potential of technology to change the lives of individuals with disabilities. Sure, the struggles AT team members face are daunting: lack of time and money; too many pre-service and in-service teachers without sufficient AT training; funding-strapped districts that are sometimes reluctant to approve teams’ AT recommendations for individual students; the reluctance of some districts to accept AT’s viability, and a continuing belief in a few education quarters that some children with disabilities may never learn to read and write. Fortunately, among district AT team members – speech-language pathologists (SLP’s), occupational therapists (OT’s) and others – the technology flame burns brighter than ever. Their enthusiasm still bubbles. Their thirst for information about the latest technology developments that may aid their district’s children is unquenched. And their conviction that no child is too disabled to read or write remains not only ironclad but often translates into a hard-won happy reality for the children with whom they work.

Click Here to Register for this Webinar What: Having Trouble Navigating through all of those apps? Over 250,000 app have been developed for the iPad, iTouch, and iPhone. This webinar will discuss fun and interactive apps that can be used by kids who experience various disabilities. When: Thursday, December 9, 2010                              11:00am-12:00 p.m. (MT) Cost: Free for Lekotek Affiliates $30 General Public $200 for groups over 10 people Continuing Education: 1 IACET CEU

C-Print®: Technology Research for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Trailblazers in technology sometimes make their mark and then fade away. In the assistive technology field, however, Mike Stinson is one who has worked continuously, through three decades, to help students who are deaf or hard of hearing to reach their educational potential through the use of emerging technology.

If you are working in the field of assistive technology or rehabilitation engineering, studying or just interested in the field, then this is the conference for you!  You will be able to learn about the latest advances in technology solutions for persons with disability and network with others with similar interests while earning continuing education credit (CEUs).  

Visit https://sites.google.com/site/westernmontanaautismconference/ for full information on this event When: April 16 -17, 2011 Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Where: Continuing Education Building on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, MT  Registration and Check in begins on Saturday at 8:00 am Tickets must be purchased prior to the event Childcare will be available free of charge, however we will require reservations to ensure appropriate amount of staff on hand. To register for childcare contact mtautismcommunity@gmail.com

In relation to new state licensure requirements, we will be offering supervision training for experienced Class 6 School Psychologists in the Spring of 2011. Successful applicants will have at least three years full-time experience and be willing to offer supervision to Class 5 school psychologists holding an alternative license who are completing their formal internships within districts. Training will be provided with the support of the Office of Public Instruction and two applicants from each CSPD region will be welcome to attend. The two-day course will be based on an NASP format and taught by staff from the University of Montana, Missoula, and members of the MASP Competency Review Board. Training will be held in Helena on March 18 and April 15, 2011,  and will include both group work and independent study.  A small stipend will be offered to psychologists who plan to offer supervision within their region. Office of Public Instruction recertification credit will be available or one continuing education credit from the University of Montana, based on a minimum of 15 hours attendance. For more details and an application form, please contact Ann Verploegen by e-mail at annsnp@yahoo.com.

Click here to register for this webinar What: Join Occupational Therapist and Inclusion Advocate Ingrid M. Kanics, OTR/L for this enlightening webinar. Participants will learn about the seven senses as well as how the brain integrates and uses this sensory information in everyday activities. The webinar will provide participants with activities in each sensory area that can be used to help children explore and integrate sensory information in their daily lives. When: June 1, 2011 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Mountain Cost: $30 per person (free for Lekotek affiliates) Special-FREE for all caregivers of children with disabilities (just email domahen@lekotek.org to resgister) Presenter Bio: Ingrid M. Kanics, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist who has worked for 10 years helping communities create and run amazing places where all children can play together. She was senior consultant on the national advisory team for the Center for Creative Play, Pittsburgh, PA. During that time she worked with numerous communities and children's museums helping them expand their understanding of Universal Design and the importance of Sensory Play in every childs' development. She continued this work as Therapy Director at Hattie Larlham, Mantua, OH, where she oversaw therapy and recreation programs for children of varying abilities. She now owns her own consulting business focusing on great play spaces in communities. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences on the topics play, sensory integration and Universal Design. Conferences include the Association of Children's Museums, American Occupational Therapy Association, Parents As Teachers, and National Association of the Education of the Young Child (NAEYC).

Click here to download the brochure, with registration, for this event (PDF) What: The successful implementation of Response to Intervention system involves both the collection and skillful analysis and use of data. However schools often struggle with the second half of this requirement: continuously using assessment to make data-based decisions. This workshop will focus on: A short view of the 8 Montana RtI Essential Components with an emphasis on ongoing as-sessment at the school wide and student level. Going beyond data collection to using the information to make strong, viable data-based decisions. Using benchmark data from multiple sources to develop effective instructional plans for schools, classrooms and small groups. Collecting and using various types of progress monitoring data to track the effectiveness of individual student intervention plans. Individual break-out sessions focusing specifically on DIBELS, AIMSweb and MAP systems. When: September 13, 2011 Where: Hampton Inn Great Falls, MT Free training for: Elementary teachers, Special education teachers, Administrators, and Paraprofessionals. To register online: Register online at www.havre.k12.mt.us Click on the CSPD icon (upper right hand corner) Click on CSPD Calendar

Metro Nashville Public Schools continues to move its 8,200 special-needs population into mainstream classes, satisfying parents who want inclusion for their children. The school district and the mayor's office made it a priority last year because federal law requires students with disabilities to be educated in the least-restrictive environment available.

What: Click here to learn more about speakers and conference schedule. When: April 16-17, 2011 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Where: Continuing Education Building on the campus of the University of Montana. Missoula, Mt. More information: Registration and Check in begins on Saturday at 8:00 am. OPI and CEU credits are available for attending the conference. Tickets must be purchased prior to the event