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This mass of flesh in the wheelchair - obese, constricted, imperfect - is Chris Johnson's body. It is, he says, "his monster." It's a cruel joke of Mother Nature, explained in words such as "cerebral palsy" and delivered in humorless punch lines that, instead of laughter, can leave him lonely, melancholy and despairing.Chris Johnson knows them all. But know this about Johnson - the brain damage that he experienced at birth 30 years ago relegated his body to a wheelchair but did not limit the boundaries of his mind.As proof, he will roll across the stage May 22 at Augustana College's commencement ceremony, a double major in French and English with a 3.95 grade-point average and a story of inspiration.

Accessibility is the word at the Minnesota Twins’ new ballpark, as fans relying on wheelchairs bask in their unobstructed views of the field and extra touches like nearby plugs to recharge mobility devices. Planners for the new stadium known as Target Field, say they intentionally went above and beyond the accessibility requirements mandated by law. For example, all of the entrances are wheelchair accessible even though laws only require a portion to be.

I once received an e-mail from a woman, a reader of my blog, wanting to know what sort of advice I could give to her nine-year-old daughter recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. She gave me a very thoughtful suggestion, which was to write a blog entry in the form of a letter to my younger self, which could then also serve as advice for current parents of children with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Many years ago, at my children’s inclusive elementary school, I was asked to observe in a fifth-grade classroom, and to share my ideas on better strategies for Chris, a boy with autism. Chris received intensive adult support: a teacher’s aide usually sat right next to him. During a spelling test, Chris told her how to spell each word, and she wrote for him since his writing was illegible to everyone except Chris. But most of her efforts were to keep Chris in his seat. It was painful to watch as—every few minutes—Chris fidgeted and started to rise, and a gentle, but firm, hand on his shoulder kept him in his seat.

My daughter has a language impairment and has been on an IEP since last year. She has had a rough year and was just suspended from school for pushing another student into a locker. This is her second suspension this year for fighting. I think she's getting into these fights because she has so much trouble understanding how to use words in tense social situations. Does the school have to provide her any educational services while she is suspended? The Vice Principal told us he's considering expelling my daughter. Can the school system do that?

What:Prentke Romich Company and AAC: The Language Behind the Device   PRC believes in providing single words for novel communication in addition to pre-programmed sentences and topic/environment specific vocabulary. This webinar will explain the unique method of organizing and accessing vocabulary for all language levels and addresses the ongoing struggle with the constant need for adding vocabulary. When: February 28, 2011 2:00-3:00 p.m. Mountain Click here to join webinar:  http://tinyurl.com/atforum10

Robbie also wrote a letter to all members of the Virginia House of Delegates, which passed HB 2467 on the floor just yesterday.  His mother, Marybeth, forwarded his letter to Autism Speaks and Robbie’s words resonated in such a way with us that we are eager to share them with the entire community.

Something magical happens in the Jefferson School classroom on "Scouty day," because words suddenly come easier for autistic and special needs preschoolers and the air is filled with the joy of reunion.

“We found that when creating a story or just responding to pictures, the parent used many words and complex sentence structures while engaging with their child. That level of engagement wasn’t as present when reading books with text,” said Gillam. “These results fall in line with the generally accepted belief that less structured activities, such as playing with toys or creating things with Play-Doh, elicit more productive language interactions between parent and child. These findings in no way diminish the importance of reading printed books, but incorporating interactions with wordless books is a way to build a more solid literacy foundation in children with developmental disabilities.”

A Note from Vicki S. Dohrmann: Our planning committee has been working hard at planning the annual Special Education Conference. We are pleased to announce our 2012 conference faculty and full-day course schedule.  We are bringing specialists from all over the U.S. to present current research and evidence-based interventions.  The conference is scheduled for March 7-9, 2012 (Wednesday-Friday) at the Shoreline Conference Center. We are asking local businesses interested in supporting special education to donate directly to schools to support staff development for special education teachers, therapists and support personnel.   If you have an intern or parent that may be interested in volunteering at the conference, please ask them to contact me at vickid@seanet.com; we currently have volunteer positions available for all courses.  If you have an active parent-teacher organization at your school, please share this information with them.  We appreciate your support in helping us "get the word out" about the annual conference. Sincerely, Vicki S. Dohrmann, MA, CCC-SLP Planning Committee Chairperson-Rehab Seminars When: March 7-9, 2011 Where: Shoreline Conference Center Greater Seattle, Washington Area

Click here to register for this webinar What: Come and learn about the many low ($1-15) and mid-priced ($20-60) iPad apps out there to meet the needs of people with communication difficulties. These apps range from simple to complex, from word-based to icon- or picture-based. They are designed to facilitate communication for users of various ages and in various settings, including home, school, the community, and medical settings. See them, hear them, and hear what we think of them so you can make more informed choices about which to try for your particular situation. Learning Objectives: Gain an understanding of current accessible technologies avialable for people using an iPad or iTouch Learn the features of several low- and mid-priced communication apps Understand different considerations to make informed purchasing decisions When: Monday, October 17, 2011 12:30pm - 1:30pm Mountain Audience: K-12 Teachers, Therapists, AT Specialists and Anyone working with individuals using alternative forms of communication.

The use of optical character recognition (OCR) systems combined with speech synthesis (computer-generated speech) has become increasingly accepted as a means of compensating for reading disabilities. These OCR systems, or reading machines, convert printed text to spoken language so the user can hear and see written words. These technologies are now marketed internationally (for example, WYNN®, Kurzweil 3000®), commonly found in assistive technology centers serving individuals with learning disabilities, frequently exhibited at LD conferences, generally considered in assistive technology evaluations for students with LD, and regularly discussed in publications on LD and assistive technology.

When IDEA was reauthorized in 2004 some new buzz words emerged. One term is Response to Intervention (RTI).  Although response to intervention is not actually new, it is very new to IDEA, parents, and to many school districts.

High rates of premature birth are the main reason the United States has higher infant mortality than do many other rich countries, government researchers reported Tuesday in their first detailed analysis of a longstanding problem.

Access your free digital copy by clicking on the cover image

Read it page by page, click on links to advertisers, search by key words, download a PDF (note: 14 MB file). It's our way of saying "Thank You" for the support and encouragement we've received from members of the autism community over the last 10 years.

ANACONDA — As they do in words, apostrophes can become wedged in people’s lives. Can’t. Don’t. Shouldn’t. Couldn’t. A simple apostrophe marks the end of what can, should and could be done. The Anaconda Work and Residential Enterprises, or AWARE, recently launched a quarterly magazine dedicated to deleting these apostrophes, targeted especially to those with developmental disabilities.

What: Do you need to know more about how to promote successful outcomes for your students in the area of math skills? Come to the MASP Summer Institute to discover how to apply recent research findings in your classroom. Learn the essentials of math preparation that we now know underlie proficiency in mathematics, including the importance of effective instruction. Find out the implications for identifying mathematics disabilities and for planning intervention. This is an important conference because there is a great deal of new evidence about how to foster the acquisition of good math skills, information that is not widely known yet. This will be one of the first opportunities that most people in our audience will have to learn about current knowledge on how children learn mathematics and how that learning can go wrong. Presenter One of the world's leading authorities on how children develop understanding of mathematics, Michèle M.M. Mazzocco is a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is the principal investigator for the Math Skills Development Project at the Kennedy Krieger School. With Daniel B. Berch, she is the co-editor of Why Is Math So Hard for Some Children?: The Nature and Origins of Mathematical Learning Difficulties and Disabilities, a respected book that provides, in the words of one fan, "an exceptional review of literature on LD in maths." Dr. Mazzocco initiated the Math Skills Development Project in 1997, through which she has followed a group of students from kindergarten through 9th grade (so far!). This project involves an extensive study of normally developing children, children who have learning disability not associated with a genetic condition, and children who have genetic conditions that are known to contribute to math disability. The focus of the research is to seek an understanding of how cognitive, behavioral, and genetic factors contribute toward successful mathematics achievement. Dates and Times: June 12, 13, and 14, 2011 Registration opens at 5 o'clock on Sunday evening, June 12, 2011. The conference begins at 6:30 on Sunday evening and concludes for the evening at 9:30. On the following days, June 13 and 14, the conference continues from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The doors open at 8 o'clock each morning. Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Billings Treasure State Salon A & B 2465 Grant Road, Billings, Montana, USA 59102 (near Costco and Best Buy) Tel: 406-655-8800 Fax: 406-655-8802

Bookshare is happy to announce that Read2Go, the accessible e-reader app for the Apple iOS, is now available for purchase for $19.99 on the Apple App Store! Now your child can enjoy all their favorite Bookshare books on cool Apple devices like the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch (4th generation versions). Read2Go allows readers to easily find, download and read Bookshare books all in one place with great features: listen to books with high quality text-to-speech voices see and hear words read as they are highlighted adjust reading speed, font size, and colors for highlights and background contrast connect and read with Braille displays via bluetooth and more! Go to the Apple App Store to purchase Read2Go today! Are we having fun yet? We hope your families are having a great summer. One group that surely is are the participants in the "Bookshare Everywhere" Summer Contest. Over 350 students are reading an incredible amount of books this summer, improving reading skills, and may be on their way to winning awesome prizes like an iPad 2! There's still plenty of time to play, so have your child join today!

My twin boys, Alex and Blake, were about 7 weeks premature. Alex cried all the time. When Blake began to talk, he pronounced the letter "r" like the letter "w." Little did I know I would soon begin the journey of my life. I would cry oceans of tears for my children before I began a path of discovery that would forever change my life.

Susan contacted Wrightslaw in 2006. In an email she ranted (her words) about her children's school system. When she received our auto-response, she replied with "thanks for another door slammed in the face of my child." Then Susan received a personal reply from Pam Wright. Pam suggested that she stop playing the victim and do what was necessary to be an effective advocate for her children. And that's exactly what she did!

A nook full of signs…Words, pictures, and stories come to life with the magic of American Sign Language (ASL). Within our cozy nook, you will learn many new signs such as the alphabet, colors, emotions, animals, and beyond.