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GREENWICH, Conn. — Doctors called him spastic. Teachers said he was mentally retarded. Some of his nastier classmates called him dummy.

Today, Dannel P. Malloy is called something else: governor of Connecticut.

On behalf of the Autism Subcommittee of the Council on Children with Disabilities, please note the current AAP autism resources for health care professionals and parents. Find more information about these items as well as additional resources at: http://medicalhomeinfo.org/about/cocwd/autism.aspx. Be sure to check out the sneak preview of the autism toolkit contents - only for AAP members (see below). Sound Advice on Autism - The AAP has developed a series of audio interviews with medical experts and parents of children with autism who answer parents' frequently asked questions. Conversations include: screening, diagnosis, treatment, alternative therapies, prevalence and causes of autism. AUTISM: Caring for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Toolkit for Clinicians - A clinical resource (on CD-ROM) to assist in the recognition, evaluation, and ongoing management of ASDs. SNEAK PREVIEW for AAP Members - including samples and additional content information!! Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) - This booklet provides critical information about ASDs and answers parents' most common questions. This booklet will help to identify ASD symptoms so that an intervention program can be started as soon as possible.   Is Your One-Year Old Communicating with You? - This brochure encourages parents to share any concerns about their baby's language development with their pediatrician as early as possible. It also provides early language and social milestones checklists. 

What: The Rockin' Moms in Missoula is a group of moms who have children with all sorts of disabilties. We meet approximately monthly. It is a potluck at a member's home with $10 chair massages for everyone. Next Event: Wednesday, April 27th, at 7 p.m Where: To be Determined (Contact for more information) Contact: Interested moms can look for the yahoo group "Rockinmomsupport" or can email me at lisa.wilson@pluk.org or Jen Edgell at jedgell@bresnan.net

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/342410670 What: This session builds on the previous webinar (April 19th) to explain and illustrate how Social Security work incentives can be used to support transition from school to work for youth with disabilities.  Some youth can access work incentives while they are still in school.  They have been able to purchase services that augment what the school provides for employment preparation or save for future costs of supports needed to work.  Other youth access work incentives as they exit school and can use these incentives to pay for supports lasting beyond the initial Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) investment.  For youth who are in need of extended employment supports in order to work, Social Security work incentives have been used to leverage VR funds when no other funding was available to pay for the needed extended employment services. When: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM MDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar

Autism is an environmental illness -- at least in some cases. Just as lead paint chips can cause learning disabilities and radon in the basement can cause lung cancer, certain chemicals and other outside influences seem to help set autism in motion. But autism is also a genetic disease. It definitely runs in families, and scientists have identified several specific genes that put kids at risk.

People who have it sometimes like to call it their superpower, but in reality, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a learning disability. Still, it's surprisingly common among high-achieving business founders, and entrepreneurs afflicted with it are in good company, with Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea and JetBlue founder David Neeleman among the many who talk openly about their having attention-deficit issues. It stands to reason that ADHD would thrive among those calling the shots. While they are often labeled as misfits inside big organizations, their restless creativity dovetails with the high-drama problem-solving associated with running a start-up.

Chris Cragwick isn't that different from any other student. He likes listening to music and watching old "Walker, Texas Ranger" episodes on YouTube. "No show has had fight scenes with surround sound," he says. "But that show does." The thing that makes Cragwick just the slightest bit different from other students is the fact that he has autism. It's only noticeable when he takes long pauses, combing his fingers through his beard while he thinks of what to say. He doesn't make eye contact too often, but when he does, it's easy to see his bright blue eyes. Despite his condition, Cragwick doesn't consider himself disabled. He's held jobs before and is getting his bachelor's degree in English. He's even written several book-length stories. "It's hard to think of things I can't do," he says.

Click here to register for this webinar What: Going to college is both an exciting and scary step for everyone. If you are a young adult who happens to have a disability or chronic health condition, that transition can add a whole other list of things to think about- but it doesn’t mean that you can't have a great experience!  Tune into this episode of Got Transition Radio as hosts Mallory Cyr and Eileen Forlenza offer their insight about what high school students- with and without special health needs- might think about as they begin the college transition process. During the show, they will be asking their listeners to share personal lessons learned as well as taking their comments and questions. Don't miss this chance to hear and share your own adventures with college transition. When: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 1:00 - 1:30pm Mountain

Click Here to Register for this Webinar What: How do we plan meaningful work experiences for students with disabilities in rural areas? This webinar will address how to gain the most information out of each work experience: how to identify skills, abilities, and support needs that we can assess on each site and new skills and strategies to teach the student. Creative strategies to identify opportunities through networking, tapping into social capital and exploring self-employment will all be shared. When: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 1:00pm - 2:30pm Mountain

Click here to register for this webinar What: The rapid growth in adoption of "Response to Intervention" across the nation's public schools, sparked in large measure by changes to IDEA's identification procedures for specific learning disabilities, is raising issues of compliance with IDEA's Child Find mandate.   Specifically, under IDEA (2004), school districts are no longer required to use a discrepancy model when determining eligibility, but instead, may use alternative means (e.g., response-to-intervention (RTI) or processing deficit approaches) to identify students. Consequently, significant variability among states in the SLD identification criteria now exists. The implementation of new criteria - particularly RTI - may result in delay or failure to properly identify students as eligible for IDEA services.   This Webinar will present the latest information on RTI adoption across states and the use of RTI for SLD identification. It will review recent challenges, including litigation, and provide guidance on an array of practical advocacy options that can be used to capitalize on the RTI process-to help struggling students regardless of whether they are suspected of having SLD-and deal with the delay or denial of access to special education potentially posed by RTI.  Time will be provided for questions from participants. When: Wednesday, November 2, 2011  12:00pm - 1:30pm Mountain

When students have behavior problems at one school in Maine, staff take a hands-off approach, forgoing restraint and seclusion in nearly all cases, and they say it works.

There are many signs or clues to dyslexia which are discussed in depth on this website; however it is also important to be aware of the misconceptions and myths surrounding the disorder. There are several myths regarding dyslexia. We have highlighted some of the more common ones.

Traveling with disabilities is not only possible, it can also be a wonderful, life-changing experience. Whether you are visiting relatives or going on vacation, traveling can bring out many different reactions and emotions. However before you get to your final destination there is much planning that must be done. Traveling with a child that has special needs is not easy task. There are many details that should not be overlooked. To help you get to your destination as easily as possible we have created the Special Needs Travel Guide

Autism NOW: The National Autism Resource and Information Center will be a dynamic and interactive, highly visible and effective central point of quality resources and information for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, their families, and other targeted key stakeholders.

Get organized. Create an organized medical file and save every piece of paper pertaining to a child’s disabilities, services, needs and more. Make copies monthly and scan new documents into the computer. Get educated. Research your rights, therapies, and more. Be willing to learn, ask questions, and keep asking questions until you understand. Educate others. Respond patiently with the appropriate information when people say hurtful things or respond in ignorance. Be persistent. Don’t give up when you can’t get an appointment. Instead of getting angry, keep restating your need in a nice way. Look for solutions. Instead of talking poorly about a doctor or the insurance company, focus on finding solutions. Take care of yourself. Take some time to care for yourself; otherwise you’ll quickly burn out and be unable to care for your child. Find time each day, even if it’s only 5 minutes, to focus on your own needs.

We are pleased to announce the release of a new FREE online training curriculum, Montana Integrated Vocational Employment Specialist Training (MT INVEST).  MT INVEST is a joint project of the Developmental Disabilities Program and Vocational Rehabilitation, and is available to our employment partners and the public throughout the State of Montana! 

Hopefully this web site will  help you  to quickly grasp the basics of the law, explain my understanding of the philosophy driving that law, and help you attain basic skills that will enable you to be an equal member of the team directing your child's education. From my experience as a parent of children with disabilities, from many years of working with educators, and from experience as a volunteer parent advocate, I have  a fair amount of insight into the education process, and the advocacy tools that work. 

3 year old boy born with a disabled hand gets a gift from his grandmother that makes him feel like a super hero.

The vast majority of American children may not be receiving recommended screenings for developmental delay, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. In a government survey, parents of 79 percent of young children reported that they had not been asked to participate in screening efforts in the previous year. This, despite recommendations that children are routinely checked at pediatrician visits for signs of developmental issues.

The main body of this report documents gross disparities in the use of out-of-school suspension experienced by students with disabilities and those from historically disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups. The egregious disparities revealed in the pages that follow transform concerns about educational policy that allows frequent disciplinary removal into a profound matter of civil rights and social justice. This implicates the potentially unlawful denial of educational opportunity and resultant disparate impact on students in numerous districts across the country.