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Click here to visit the Western Montana CSPD homepage to register What: Want an intriguing conference that will channel you and your students to an invigorating new level, change the current path of your classroom, and set the course for change in your school? Then don't miss the 2011 August Institute. There is something for everyone regardless of how you perceive your classroom technology integration skills and teaching. You’ll leave with new ideas, knowledge of at least one free online application and many techniques to set your students on an exciting path of innovation and self motivation. When: August 8-10, 2011 Where: Missoula, MT

We spoke to Uta Frith, author of Autism: A Very Short Introduction and asked her about diagnosis, the perceived links between autism and genius, and how autism is portrayed in culture. Autism was not identified before the 1940s. Weren’t there any autistic people before this? Autism was not a new phenomenon starting in the middle of the 20th century, but it needed people like Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger to point out the striking constellation of poor social communication and stereotypic behaviours for others to see it too. Clinicians used the terms ‘infantile’ or ‘early childhood autism’ and located it among the neglected population of children who were born ‘mentally deficient’. Gradually clinicians became aware that most of this neglected population showed similar problems in varying degrees, and that specialist services were needed to educate children who could not communicate appropriately. They embraced the idea of the autism spectrum. So, just as there has been an increase in the autism spectrum diagnosis, there has been a corresponding decrease in the diagnosis of mental retardation.

For decades, frustrated parents and teachers have barked at fidgety children with ADHD to “Sit still and concentrate!” But new research conducted at UCF shows that if you want ADHD kids to learn, you have to let them squirm. The foot-tapping, leg-swinging and chair-scooting movements of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are actually vital to how they remember information and work out complex cognitive tasks, according to a study published in an early online release of the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. The findings show the longtime prevailing methods for helping children with ADHD may be misguided. “The typical interventions target reducing hyperactivity. It’s exactly the opposite of what we should be doing for a majority of children with ADHD,” said one of the study’s authors, Mark Rapport, head of the Children’s Learning Clinic at the University of Central Florida. “The message isn’t ‘Let them run around the room,’ but you need to be able to facilitate their movement so they can maintain the level of alertness necessary for cognitive activities.”

What: Ron Hager from the National Disability Rights Network will present information on the variety of funding sources available to preschool students needing AT.  One of the most important is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Part C of the IDEA, the early intervention program for infants and toddlers, covers children with disabilities from birth through age two.  The school-age provisions of the IDEA, Part B, cover students beginning at age three. This session will look at meeting the AT needs of infants and toddlers under Part C, as well as selected issues for preschoolers under Part B.  To connect to the webinar visit: http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs0e572c05aff0 .  When: 1:00-2:15 pm Mountain

It is 8:30 on a crisp September morning, the start of a busy day for preschoolers at the Waisman Center's Early Childhood Program, a nationally renowned laboratory school.

Register Now! Early Registration $30.00 - By October 1st  After Oct 2nd -- $45.00

Dr. Jorgensen is Project Director for the Institute on Disability at The University of New Hampshire and Director of the National Inclusion Education Initiative for students with Autism or Related Disabilities. Dr. Jorgensen Outlines Steps for Genuine Classroom Inclusion, with clarity, proven research and true compassion. The time to change the vision for the future of students with autism and other related disabilities begins Oct 7th!

This event features more than 200 educational sessions spanning the breadth and depth of assistive technology and an exhibition hall where you can see the power of assistive technology in action. Professionals, teachers, users and parents will all benefit from this empowering new conference. For full details on Conference Packages, Early Bird options and group discount program. ONLINE REGISTRATION

The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247) was introduced by Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference and Co-Chair of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. At the same time, Senator Chris Dodd has introduced a companion bill, S.2860, declaring, “The tragedies associated with the inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint are not only unacceptable, they are unconscionable.” The two bills are almost the same, with only two differences, noted below. The bipartisan House bill will be considered by the full Committee early next year (called “marking up.”)  If the Committee votes in favor of the bill, it will go to the full House for a vote.

Increasingly, neuroscientists, psychologists and educators believe that bullying and other kinds of violence can indeed be reduced by encouraging empathy at an early age. Over the past decade, research in empathy — the ability to put ourselves in another person's shoes — has suggested that it is key, if not the key, to all human social interaction and morality.

What: In order to help keep you more informed, the White House is hosting monthly calls to update you on various disability issues as well as to introduce you to persons who work on disability issues in the federal government. This call is off the record and not for press purposes. Guests will be: Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights - Department of Education, Russlynn Ali Director of Federal Contract Compliance Programs -Department of Labor, Patricia Shiu When: Thursday, May 26, 2011 1:00pm Mountain Conference call information: Dial in: (800) 230-1085 Title: White House Disability Call (use instead of code) Date of Call: 05/26/2011 Start Time: 1:00 PM Mountain (I encourage you to call in five minutes early due to the large volume of callers) For live captioning, at the start of the call, please login by clicking on the following link: http://www.fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1745291&CustomerID=321. Please only use this feature if you are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

President Barack Obama signed a three-year extension of the Combating Autism Act Friday, the very day the law — and many of the programs it established — was set to expire. The reauthorization Obama signed calls for $231 million annually through 2014 to fund everything from autism research to prevalence tracking, education, early identification and intervention programs.

Long-awaited legislation to replace three federal reading programs—Early Reading First, Reading First, and Striving Readers—was introduced Nov. 5 by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and would authorize $2.35 billion in funding to improve reading and writing in kindergarten to 12th grade.

Click here to register for this event What: Please join HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau for an informative webinar showcasing: “Autism Case Training (ACT) – A Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Curriculum.”  This curriculum is designed to educate future pediatricians on fundamental components of identifying, diagnosing, and managing autism spectrum disorders.  It was developed in a partnership between HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship Training Program and CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early” team. When: 9am-11pm Mountain Registration: Available at http://mchcom.com/

Click here to register for this event What Mark your calendars for Friday, November 18 and plan to attend the 2011 Prematurity Summit! This educational conference will feature sessions on Post Partum Depression and PTSD relating to premature birth, a parent panel on the effects of prematurity, and the importance of waiting until 39 weeks completed gestation for delivery. This conference will provide a luncheon, light snack and materials, and CEU’s will be available! Seating is limited, so make sure to reserve your spot early! When: Friday, November 18, 2011 11:00am - 5:00pm Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel 3rd Floor, Ballroom C 27 North 27th Street Billings, Montana

Working and non-working parents alike are forced to scurry to school in the middle of the day to pick up children for issues that the school could have typically handled internally. These repeated pick-up calls beg the question as to whether the school can legally require parents to come get their special needs children before the school day concludes.