There are numerous benefits to using Visual Schedules (VS) with individuals with Autism and there is also significant research supporting their use for individuals on the Autism Spectrum (AS). A Visual Schedule can be the key to increasing independence and managing anxiety for students with Autism. This can make a huge difference to the child and in turn diminish meltdowns, anxious behavior and foster positive growth. 

BILLINGS - State Legislative candidates gather at MSU Billings City College to hear about the issues surrounding citizens with disabilities.

Jason DeShaw, Montana's own country singer, has been selected to receive NAMI's (National Association of Mental Illness) Lionel Aldridge Champions Award for 2014. The Lionel Aldridge Champions Award recognizes an individual living with a mental illness who has exhibited courage, leadership and service on behalf of all people living with mental illness. In selecting Jason for this award, the NAMI Board recognizes him for his efforts to be a voice for those who struggle with mental illness.

I believe it is not ranting or venting to make others aware of challenges that parents and caregivers face when supporting children and adults with diverse abilities. It is crucial that these stories are told to those who can help to bring back the spirit of inclusion, respect, acceptance, friendship, and unity that we so clearly saw during the games.

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.

Parents of children with special needs may have so many doctors’ appointments that it can be easy to forget about preventive and wellness care.  It can be especially difficult to focus on dental care.  However, oral health is as important as physical health and, if untreated, oral health problems can result in serious complications. 

People with type 1 diabetes who used a bionic pancreas instead of manually monitoring glucose using fingerstick tests and delivering insulin using a pump were more likely to have blood glucose levels consistently within the normal range, with fewer dangerous lows or highs. The full report of the findings, funded by the National Institutes of Health, can be found online June 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine .

Sentinel High School graduate Marcus Bartlett never dreamed that his fascination with Hoover vacuum cleaners would evolve to the point where Hoover engineers designed his very own custom-made model.

An effort by the Obama administration to overhaul the troubled federal agency that is responsible for the education of tens of thousands of American Indian children is getting major pushback from some tribal leaders and educators, who see the plan as an infringement on their sovereignty and a one-size-fits-all approach that will fail to improve student achievement in Indian Country. As Barack Obama makes his first visit to Indian Country as president this week, the federal Bureau of Indian Education—which directly operates 57 schools for Native Americans and oversees 126 others run by tribes under contract with the agency—is moving ahead with plans to remake itself into an entity akin to a state department of education that would focus on improving services for tribally operated schools. A revamped BIE, as envisioned in the proposal, would eventually give up direct operations of schools and push for a menu of education reforms that is strikingly similar to some championed in initiatives such as Race to the Top, including competitive-grant funding to entice tribal schools to adopt teacher-evaluation systems that are linked to student performance. The proposed reorganization of the BIE comes after years of scathing reports from watchdog groups, including the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and chronic complaints from tribal educators about the agency’s financial and academic mismanagement and failure to advocate more effectively for the needs of schools that serve Native American students. It also comes a year after U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell called the federally funded Indian education system “an embarrassment.” The BIE is overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is housed within the U.S. Interior Department. Pushback From Tribes The proposal, released in April, was drafted by a seven-person “study group” appointed jointly by Ms. Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Five of the panel’s members currently serve in the Obama administration. Some of the nation’s largest tribes, however, are staunchly opposed to the proposal, including the 16 tribes that make up the Great Plains Tribal Chairmans Association, which represents tribal leaders in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska. “It’s time for us to decide what our children will learn and how they will learn it because [BIE] has been a failure so far,” Bryan V. Brewer, the chairman of the 40,000-member Oglala Sioux tribe in Pine Ridge, S.D., said last month in a congressional hearing on the BIE. In the same hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Charles M. Roessel, the director of the BIE and a member of the panel that drafted the plan, said the agency’s reorganization “would allow the BIE to achieve improved results in the form of higher student scores, improved school operations, and increased tribal control over schools.” (Despite multiple requests from Education Week, the BIE did not make Mr. Roessel or any other agency official available for an interview.)

The FCC has launched a video consumer support service, the ASL Consumer Support Line, specifically designed to enable consumers who are deaf and hard of hearing to engage in a direct video call with a consumer specialist at the FCC. The service will allow deaf and hard of hearing consumers to communicate in their primary language, American Sign Language (ASL). Until now deaf and hard of hearing consumers only had the option to communicate using relay services or by filing a complaint form online.

When I first learned that my child had some challenges, I felt like a pinball stuck in a machine, bouncing around frenetically from one expert to another, searching for someone, anyone who could lead me to a solution. Eventually we received a diagnosis, which served only to intensify my anxiety and confusion.   If only I could have known then what has taken me years to understand! But it's not too late for others who are just starting out along this difficult and wonderful road to benefit from the lessons I learned the hard way. So, in case it might help someone else, here are some things I would say to my younger-mom self:

Children with disabilities require and need recreation the same as other children.  Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“A.D.A.”), your child is entitled to attend any camp or activity that non-disabled children attend, with modifications, and with a few exceptions. It is highly critical that you discuss any needed modifications way before the first day of camp, so the entity has time to make the necessary preparations.  Enter into discussions taking a team approach, as you will be entrusting your child to this program all summer.  Be reasonable in your requests, and remember, just because your friend’s child is doing it, the program may not be a good fit for your child, even with modifications. This article will illustrate for you who is protected by the A.D.A, the modifications required under the law, and how to prevent discrimination.  

Established as a four season based company, we strive to supply athletes with unique needs with    the appropriate specialized equipment for a wide range of athletic disciplines. Whether you're drawn      to sports for their theraputic abilities, recreational enjoyment or the excitement of competition,     AdaptiveSportsEquipment.com has the right products for you. We understand the personalized nature      of many of the products we offer, that's why on each of our product pages you will find detailed      descriptions, video demonstrations and where applicable, sizing information to make sure we match     you with the perfect item.

More than 90% of children with chronic illness now survive into adulthood, which presents a range of challenges for individuals and for the system of care. This Issue Brief describes key unmet needs regarding a) developing chronic disease self-management skills; b) enhancing the capacity of the adult health care system to care for young adults with special health care needs; and c) reducing lapses in care during the transition period. The authors, fellows at the Stanford University Clinical Excellence Research Center, offer recommendations for improving the transition.

Gone are the days of teaching students to simply memorize math facts. Brain research has shown that it’s important that students first develop “number sense,” because after gaining a firm grasp of math concepts (like multiplication), young minds are better prepared to put math facts into long term storage. Also gone are the days when teaching meant showing students a single procedure for solving a math problem.

Last fall when we heard that Temple Grandin could possibly be in Montana for spring 2014, we jumped at the chance to have her present northern Montana.  With all the discussions in the meat industry right now about humane treatment of food animals we thought this would be a perfect opportunity for Marias River Livestock Association (MRLA) to provide important education to not just our members but the general public through the Gentle Hand Livestock Conference, June 27 & 28, 2014, Shelby, Montana.   

For the "Dare To Dream" special ed program, that Monroe Twp High School attends every year, we normaly perform have fun activities set up every year. But this year was different. This year was my firs year going, so the Monroe team put me to work into creating a spectacular video. Featuring the High School's seniors sitting down for this interview and showing how life is living as a child with a disablitly. This video is so moving and incredible. Please Share this video to everyone you know, because it's one thing to know about disabled children, whats it like to hear from one. We need this to be seen by everyone to not only teach others what it's like for us, but to show people and especially kids like us that it's okay to be us.

MISSOULA - A a Sentinel High School student with autism received a once in a lifetime gift on Thursday.

The most artfully devised curriculum means little to a student whose mind is fixed on last night’s shooting outside or the scary, violent fight between parents that broke out in the kitchen. Brilliant teaching often can’t compete with the sudden loss of a parent or friend. Yet incidents like these reverberate in schools and pose deep challenges to educators.

The past decade has seen impressive growth in and commitment to helping more students graduate, fueled in part by a growing body of research on barriers. What has been missing from the current research, however, is a vibrant portrait of young people’s experiences gathered and reported in a way that deepens the national conversation about why some young people are still failing to graduate despite historic advances in graduation rates.