Group items tagged

Not long ago, most blind and visually impaired people grew up without ever playing sports; they sat on the sidelines, and kept score during gym-protected rather than included. In the 1980s, few people had ever heard of the Paralympic Games or accessible recreation. Today, promising blind athletes can receive residency at the US Olympic Training Center; runners compete for prize money and national championships, and most ski resorts offer adaptive programs throughout the year where blind people can ski, cycle, and kayak-often for free. The Paralympic movement, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and ever-increasing expectation for inclusion among the disabled have inspired an explosion of accessible sports, fitness, and recreation programs that accommodate the blind. The Encyclopedia of Sports & Recreation for People with Visual Impairments is the first consumer- focused, action-oriented guide to this new world of accessible activity, profiling the people, programs, and products that are helping move blind and visually impaired people from the sidelines into the game. This groundbreaking guide profiles every accessible blind sport and recreation activity with entries that outline how athletes (both novice and elite) got involved in the sport and how participation has shaped their life. The book also profiles major blind sports organizations and includes chapter and resource listings on camps and accessible recreation providers. Through this book, blind people will be inspired to embrace sports as the rest of society does-as a vital component of personal expression and human interaction that opens paths to adventure, confidence, and lifelong health and fitness

Wouldn’t it be nice if our children had super teachers every year that completely meshed with both their needs as well as our own? Sadly, no matter what school, what State of the Union, type of child or how calm the parent, your child may end up with a teacher that does not fit their style or your own. It is a basic fact of life. While it can be hard to deal with a bad fit, there are some important strategies you can use to get through the year.

Mooney, who has written two books about the world of so-called “special education” students, told the audience of more than 100 parents, students and educators who had gathered at the Cowlitz PUD building in Longview that the education system broke him down. He simply couldn’t fit in. And before long he was convinced he was “stupid, crazy and lazy.”

Click here to register for this free webinar What: A growing number of educators around the country are turning to technology and different teaching and learning approaches to give students personalized learning experiences that mirror the customized experiences they take for granted outside of school. To meet students’ individual needs, they are putting in place 1-to-1 computing programs and using online courses and curricula, digital assessments, data tools, and Web-based games for education. Our guests will talk about how to use these tools and approaches to customize education based on students’ strengths and weaknesses. When: Wednesday, April 28, 2011 12:00-1:00pm Mountain (Also available "on demand" anytime 24 hours after the event) Guests: Christina A. Clayton, director virtual learning, Georgia Virtual School. Christopher Rush, co-founder and chief product officer, School of One, New York City. This webinar will be moderated by Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions.

There is no one-size-fits all strategy for determining which communication app will work the best. This webinar will provide ideas on how to determine the optimal fit. Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm Mountain Read More and Register

Camden, Maine (CNN) -- The young man tucks his violin under his chin and begins to play. A hush falls over the few spectators in the largely empty opera house, who turn toward the bare stage. As his lilting notes float through the room, other people trickle in from the lobby to listen. The young man sometimes closes his eyes as he plays, as if lost in the music. If his audience closed their eyes, too, they would never know the violinist standing before them has no right hand, only a stunted appendage with tiny stubs instead of fingers. Which is fitting, because Adrian Anantawan prefers to be judged for what people hear, not what they see. At 28, Anantawan is one of the world's most accomplished young violinists. He has performed at the White House, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, for Pope John Paul II, for Christopher Reeve and most recently for the Dalai Lama during an event at MIT. Anantawan played a piece by Bach, and when he finished, the Tibetan Buddhist leader approached him.

The National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) is positioned to effect change in health promotion/obesity management among people with disabilities through its existing 13-year history of providing advocacy, services and programs to numerous organizations and people throughout the country. The primary focus of the Center’s approach is to collaborate with the nation’s leading health advocacy and disability organizations in linking them to the hundreds of program initiatives ongoing across the nation, and using this framework to build inclusion and integration into these existing programs.

Contrary to popular assumption, people diagnosed with so-called mild forms of autism don’t fare any better in life than those with severe forms of the disorder. That’s the conclusion of a new study that suggests that even individuals with normal intelligence and language abilities struggle to fit into society because of their social and communication problems.

Finding sports opportunities for kids with disabilities is not always as simple as going down to the local soccer club during the first week of March for sign-ups.  Many families are not located near an existing adaptive sports team. However, this certainly doesn’t make our kids less interested in sports – or less in need of physical fitness opportunities! Hopefully including children with disabilities in sports will soon get even easier, thanks to new guidance from the U.S. Department of Education that clarifies that school districts are legally obligated to provide equal access to extracurricular athletic activities to students with disabilities.

Everyone agrees that physical education and athletics are an important educational component for every child.  Participation in sports and extracurricular activities provide important health and social benefits to all students, even more importantly to students with disabilities.   The benefits include heightened self-esteem, understanding the importance of teamwork, sensory relief, fitness, and mental and physical health.

Has anyone ever given you a serious look that says unequivocally, “You have absolutely lost your mind?” I have.  Several times.  Yes, recently. I guess I’ve earned it with my hair styled by a 6 year old, dark under-eye circles and wrinkled clothes that never seem to fit quite right.  And then there’s my questionable behavior in public – as the parent of a child with special needs, I often find myself breaking social norms. These are some of the circumstances in which I’ve been on the receiving end of “that look.”

Each year the Annie E. Casey Foundation funds a national survey of child well-being. The new report was recently released. Montana is again ranked 28th, same as last year.The data is analyzed in four different categories: education, economic well-being, family and community and health.Montana was above average in three of the four categories, but finished 50th in child health.The report shows that Montana improved in economic well-being, up to 15th from 20th last year. We held steady on education at 13th. We declined a bit on family and community, down to 14th from 13th.But it’s the child health numbers that seem to be the greatest cause for concern.If you dig into the health numbers, Montana did improve over last year’s report in having fewer uninsured kids — down to 12 percent — and fewer teens abusing alcohol and drugs — down to 10 percent. However, we have increased our percentage of children with low birth weights — 7.5 percent — and increased the number of child and teen deaths per 100,000 — 45.How do we make sense of this data? It’s hard because for many of us these kinds of statistics don’t mean a lot when you pull them apart. As a state, Montana’s 28th place ranking is the lowest in the region. North Dakota ranks sixth, Wyoming ranks 15th, South Dakota ranks 18th, and Idaho ranks 20th.What the report tells us about child health is we have more work to do. It may seem like 88 percent of children being covered by health insurance is pretty good, but we’re average for the region. Similar to Idaho and Wyoming, but lower than both Dakotas.For teen death rates, we’re highest in the region at 45 per 100,000. Idaho is at 28, Wyoming at 32, North Dakota at 34 and South Dakota 39.In general what this means is in Montana we can do a better job, in this areas, of improving the health of our kids. The good news is that health continues to be a priority of the Gov. Steve Bullock’s administration, which launched an initiative last week called “A Healthier Montana: A Plan to Improve the Health of Montanans.”Bullock’s plan focuses on six areas: Preventing, identifying and managing chronic diseases; promoting the health of mothers, infants and children; preventing, identifying and controlling communicable disease, preventing injuries and reducing exposure to environmental health hazards; improving mental health and reducing substance abuse; and, strengthening Montana’s public health and health care system.Reports like Kids Count, are one of many analyzing different aspects of health in Montana and around the country, said Jon Ebelt, spokesman for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Typically, those reports only tell part of the story. And though the state takes the Kids Count report seriously, it fit into the broader look of health in Montana now outlined in Bullock’s initiative.“We’ve done a lot of work the last year to set the priorities on where we can make the most difference,” Ebelt said.At Lewis and Clark County, county health officer Melanie Reynolds is also focused on local work.The county has been working for a number of months on their community health improvement plan and is looking to unveil soon.So while the news from Kids Count was mixed, we’re pleased the state and local governments are continuing their efforts to support better health for Montanans. We anticipate these efforts will show themselves with an improved report next year.

1. The school does not want to change long-standing procedures. 2. The school does not want to make exceptions to existing policies or practices. 3. The school is afraid of setting a precedent. 4. The school does not have the staff to meet the child’s needs. 5. The staff is not trained to meet the child’s needs. 6. The school does not have a program to meet the child’s needs. 7. The school is committed to their one-size-fits all service delivery models. 8. The school believes the services your child needs are too expensive. 9. The school is overwhelmed by the complexity of your child’s needs. 10. The school does not understand the legal requirement to provide your child with an individualized program.

As a teacher, how can I advocate for a third grade student who receives resource support services, but failed to make any progress in reading or math this year? Her parents paid for a daily specialized reading program for three months. She made astounding progress.