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Montana’s mental health safety net is full of holes.Stigma, lack of insurance, Medicaid restrictions and a shortage of mental health professionals all contribute to the “state of despair” that reporter Cindy Uken has been detailing in a Billings Gazette series on suicide. The state’s suicide rate — the highest among the 50 states and double the national average — is cause for alarm. Yet it isn’t the only terrible symptom of Montanan’s mental health care gap.

(GREAT FALLS, Mont.) - Senator Jon Tester is backing three bills to improve care for Montanans with mental illness and to reduce the state's suicide rate. In the wake of December's tragic shootings in Newtown, Conn., Tester is concerned about services available to individuals struggling with mental illness. His bipartisan Mental Health First Aid Act aims to help community leaders identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness.

Another survey, released about the same time, has not gotten the attention it deserves. This one conducted by Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is called Primary Sources: 2012. It contains valuable information about what teachers think. Among other things, the survey asked teachers what they believe will have the greatest impact on improving academic achievement. This is what teachers said were the most important factors: 1. Family involvement and support (84 percent said it would have a "very strong impact"); 2. High expectations for all students (71 percent said it would have a "very strong impact"); 3. Fewer students in each class (62 percent said it would have a "very strong impact"); 4. Effective and engaged principals and building-level leaders (57 percent said it would have a "very strong impact"). These were the factors that teachers said were least important in improving academic achievement: 1. A longer school day (6 percent); 2. Monetary rewards for teachers based on the performance of the entire school (8 percent); 3. Monetary rewards for teachers based on their individual performance (9 percent); 4. A longer school year (10 percent).

A pair of congressman are pushing for legislation to dramatically enhance training for educators who teach students with autism. A bill introduced in Congress late last week would establish a five-year federal grant program to allow school districts to team with universities and nonprofits to train general education teachers and other school staff to best support students with autism.

The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act considers the issues of “self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life” for individuals with developmental disabilities. All of these values presume respect for people with developmental disabilities. Where respect is lacking, self determination and independence are often denied. Integration and inclusion without respect become merely symbolic. As we celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2012, it is clear we have achieved much over the past 50 years, but we still have far to go before we can claim full success.

Wineman, of Cut Bank, was diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder, including borderline Aspergers Syndrome, when she was 11 years old. The diagnosis followed a two-year process that included counseling, an exhaustive battery of tests and at least one misdiagnosis.Wineman was often teased and bullied at school and said she usually avoided interaction with others when she was younger.“I felt so alone growing up, and I still do at times,” she said Thursday during a conference on autism at the Montana State University Billings downtown campus. “Nobody understood what I was going through. I separated myself from my classmates and spent most of my time alone. I stayed quiet to hide my speech problems. Due to these overwhelming and daily struggles, I looked at myself as a punching bag for others, and a burden to my family.”

With significant public backing and support in Congress, advocates say federal lawmakers are poised to consider a major change to the money-saving abilities of those with disabilities. Just one hurdle remains before Congress is expected to take up the Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act. The bill — which has lingered since at least 2009 — would establish special accounts to allow people with disabilities to save up to $100,000 without risking their eligibility for benefits like Social Security. What’s more, under the plan, individuals could retain Medicaid no matter how much is deposited.

An increasing number of physicians across the country are turning to their smart phones and tablets for clinical purposes that range from diagnosis to dictation.The mobile devices are revolutionizing the manner in which some physicians approach — and deliver — health care.Dr. Steven Arbogast, a neurologist at Billings Clinic, frequently uses his smart phone and a $2.99 application, Neuro Toolkit, to help assess stroke patients in the ER.

Today, as part of the Obama administration’s work to make our health care system more transparent, affordable, and accountable, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of new, privacy-protected data on services and procedures provided to Medicare beneficiaries by physicians and other health care professionals. The new data also show payment and submitted charges, or bills, for those services and procedures by provider.“Currently, consumers have limited information about how physicians and other health care professionals practice medicine,” said Secretary Sebelius “This data will help fill that gap by offering insight into the Medicare portion of a physician’s practice. The data released today afford researchers, policymakers and the public a new window into health care spending and physician practice patterns.”

Legislators and candidates vying for different House and Senate positions in the Montana Legislature joined together to learn about different challenges faced by the disabled community Tuesday night.The forum on disabilities at City College in Billings helped to shed light on issues that many families with disabled children or family members face.The event, put on by the ARC of Montana, Disability Rights Montana and Parents Let’s Unite for Kids (PLUK) hosted 14 candidates campaigning for House and Senate seats, a few of whom are running for re-election.

Brown, 44, of Billings, is a paraplegic, substitute teacher and example for disabled people in the workforce. On this Tuesday, he’s headed to class to read to students about dragonflies and metamorphosis.

Yet another semester is underway, and students with disabilities will yet again be left behind because schools are not providing equal access to electronic materials. The issue has been a subject of escalating tension between students with disabilities and their universities. Surprisingly, a common-sense, noncontroversial solution to solve this problem exists in a bipartisan, bicameral bill being considered by Congress. Even better, Massachusetts representatives have taken center stage in support of this solution; the Senate version was introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren and cosponsored by Senator Ed Markey, and Representative Joseph Kennedy III supports the House version. So what’s the hold-up? A vague, unexplained opposition to “accessible instructional materials” on the part of colleges and universities and their lobbying associations.

Howard said the area will give children a compact, accessible—it’s also accessible to people with disabilities—play space that can serve as a portal to the wider world of nature.

A new clinic inside Orchard Elementary that promises to make health care more convenient for its students and families is now enrolling patients, the first of its kind to open in Billings and only the third in the state.

In a move aimed at boosting mental health treatment, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday announced new rules that will put teeth in a 2008 mental health equity law. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, signed by President George W. Bush, requires doctors and insurers to treat mental illness the same as physical illness.

Let's keep IDEA PTA alive with renewed parent input and involvement.    The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Mary Hall of PLUK, which is located at 380 Keith, which is the NW corner of Keith and Hilda in the University area.   Several of our wonderful MT CAAN members have already brainstormed some exciting ideas as to how parents can unite with enlightened educators to utilize this group as an important vehicle by which:  Parents can gain the empowerment and voice they should have in the special education process and at school, generally; We can work together systematically to achieve the kind of meaningful changes, opportunities, and supports that we want and need to see in the school environment, so that all children, regardless of diversity, get the free and appropriate education they are due by law and that they deserve by human right.