The Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), the cornerstone legal authority for the provision of health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives, was made permanent when President Obama signed the bill on March 23, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The authorization of appropriations for the IHCIA had expired in 2000, and while various versions of the bill were considered by Congress since then, the act now has no expiration date.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Washington in Seattle, and Washington University in St. Louis, are currently conducting a multi-center study to examine brain development in infants who have an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Infants are being seen at 6, 12 and 24 months. Infants who have an older sibling with ASD are at higher risk of developing the disorder than the general population.

Book publishers have some Harry Potter-like magic in store for books that will debut on Apple’s new iPad platform. Live glossaries, audio and video notes users can create right in the text, taking live quizzes and having them scored in the book—all these details are expected to go live, according to Josh Koppel (pictured), chief creative officer and cofounder of ScrollMotion, which develops iPhone and ebook applications for book publishers.

HELENA – The reading skills of Montana students continue to exceed the national average, new findings show. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also called "The Nation's Report Card," out today, details the continued achievement of Montana fourth- and eighth-graders on the tests, administered by the U.S. Department of Education earlier this year. 

Experience is a great teacher, but sometimes it's not the best way to learn, especially when it comes to your medical needs. Smart people learn from their mistakes, but wise people learn from other people's mistakes. In my ten years with diabetes, I have found that to eliminate problems, you need to anticipate your needs. A few moments of preparation can ensure a great afternoon of fun with your friends, a better grade on a test, or participation in a sporting competition without any complications.

Forget driving to the office and milling about in the waiting room. Increasingly psychiatrists are ready to meet you face-to-face — no matter where you are — using computers and the power of the internet to make mental health care far more accessible than ever before. So-called telepsychiatry is on the rise and it couldn’t come soon enough. It’s estimated that more than 7 million kids have a need for mental health services due to a mental disorder, behavioral issue or developmental disability. Many of these children go without mental health services, according to a recent government survey.

The nation’s top psychiatrist is calling on others in the profession to “transform what has become a culture of influence” surrounding financial relationships between physicians and drug companies. In a commentary in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, the head of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel, tackles head-on the perception that psychiatrists are tainted by their relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Behind Cornell University’s successful run to the Sweet 16 this week is the inspiration of a couple of young people with autism. And the team’s coach would have it no other way. As the Cornell basketball team tore through Temple and Wisconsin and gets ready to face Kentucky, coach Steve Donahue has been getting coaching advice from an unexpected source — Jason McElwain, or J-Mac, who became a national sensation four years back when he scored 20 points during the last four minutes of his high school basketball game.

The concepts are simple: Don't bully, help those who are being bullied and tell an adult what's going on. Pearre tries to reinforce the idea that the bully doesn't act alone. The community can take away the bully's power by refusing to cheer him on, by telling an adult, or perhaps the ultimate step: stepping in to help the victim.

Parents of a child with learning disabilities can sue a school district for ignoring the problems and failing to arrange tutoring or other educational help, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

The decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in a case from Compton (Los Angeles County) is one of the first in the nation on a parent's ability to enforce a federal law that requires schools to identify all children with disabilities and provide them with an appropriate education.

Safe Kids and the MetLife Foundation have partnered to bring you a series of safety videos highlighting how you can take precautions in the home to help prevent injuries to children with physical, developmental or cognitive disabilities.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced Tuesday that his administration won’t cut $605,000 worth of state services for the disabled — but said he’s not yet decided on $40 million in other proposed state budget cuts. Schweitzer said he’ll announce his decision on the other budget proposals in the next few weeks, as he monitors the status of government revenue.

The head of Montana’s Office of Public Instruction traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to stand up for rural schools, especially schools on reservations. Rural districts face challenges in complying with the methods set for improving results in their lowest-performing schools – action required as a condition for receiving billions of dollars in federal aid, Education Week’s Lesli Maxwell writes here.

But rural means something very different on the East Coast than it does in the far-flung reaches of the West, Juneau told the annual legislative conference of the Council of Chief State School Officers. “The frontier is really where we are,” she says. “We are more rural than rural.”

GLASGOW — The Assiniboine Tribe's rich and complex history is being told in a striking documentary, titled "In the Land of the Assiniboine."

Produced by the Valley County Historical Society and award-winning cinematographers with Camera One Productions, the film is earning high praise and even a place in national museums.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction plans to distribute copies of the documentary to schools statewide and the Smithsonian Institution is selling it at its museums in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

The purpose of this guide is to provide teachers with information on how to evaluate children’s literature that include people with disabilities. It is specifically targeted for general and special education teachers of preschool aged children (3 through 5 years of age).

Welcome to the National Arts and Disability Center (NADC). Our mission is to promote the full inclusion of audiences and artists with disabilities into all facets of the arts community. The NADC is a leading consultant in the arts and disability community, and the only center of its kind. Our information is aimed at artists with disabilities, arts organizations, museums, arts administrators, disability organizations and agencies, performing arts organizations, art centers, universities, arts educators, and students. The NADC is a project of the University of California, at Los Angeles, Tarjan Center.

VSA recognizes the positive influence of the arts to advance teaching and learning in the classroom. Because a skilled teaching artist can foster creative engagement and help build an inclusive environment, VSA is seeking outstanding teaching artists with disabilities for the Teaching Artist Fellows program. The VSA Teaching Artist Fellowship program seeks to identify, engage, and support teaching artists with disabilities in the visual and performing arts. VSA recognizes the value of teaching artists in integrating the arts into education. Teaching artists with disabilities also serve as role models of diversity, expression, and inclusive learning in the classroom.

Shonda Schilling, the wife of retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, shares the painful and joyous story of her son Grant's struggle with Asperger's syndrome, and how it changed her life and her family. In this excerpt from her book, "The Best Kind of Different," she recounts her breaking point as a mother who didn't understand what was wrong with her son.

Sponsored by Onkyo Corporation and The Braille Mainichi The submission deadline for this contest is April 30, 2010.  The Onkyo Braille essay contest is being administered by the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of the North America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. Essays must be written by contest participants, in English or their native language, in Braille, and must be completely original in nature. Entries should be no fewer than 800 words and no more than 1,000 words in length. There will be two groups of competitors—one Junior group, aged 25 and under; and one Senior group, aged 26 and up and prizes range from $500-$2,000.