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Funding for special education, autism research and other programs aimed at Americans with disabilities is nestled within the $3.8 trillion budget proposed Monday by President Barack Obama.

These Bright Futures training and implementation materials funded by the Commonwealth Fund with support from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, have been developed to facilitate implementation of the Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd Edition, at the practice system level (for tools and resources to use in conjunction with health supervision visits, see the Bright Futures Tool and Resource Kit).

For more information on the Ready 2 Read early literacy initiative, visit http://ready2readmontana.org or contact Sara Groves at (406) 444-5357 or at sgroves@mt.gov. (HELENA) --- The Montana State Library (MSL) is pleased to announce that it has received $45,000 in grant funds from two separate Montana foundations. The First Interstate BancSystem Foundation, based in Billings, awarded the State Library $35,000, and the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, based in Missoula, awarded the State Library $10,000. The money will be used to expand the Montana State Library’s statewide early literacy initiative, Ready 2 Read. Launched in 2009, the Ready 2 Read program is an effort to help parents and caregivers understand the value of sharing language and literacy with their children. The program has provided collections of high-quality children’s books to libraries, early childhood training to librarians, and extensive information and training to parents and caregivers on the importance of sharing books with children from birth forward. “New research suggests that there is no greater investment than in early childhood education,” said Darlene Staffeldt, Montana State Librarian. “Montana libraries have evolved to meet the challenge of providing programs, services, and materials for our youngest library patrons – children from birth to three years old. We look forward to working with the First Interstate BancSystem and Washington Foundations to expand our offerings even further.” Funding from First Interstate BancSystem Foundation will be used to support training of librarians to further their expertise in early literacy and early childhood education.

School districts that want to reduce special education spending from one year to the next without restoring what was cut now have the blessing of the U.S. Department of Education. In the past, federal law was interpreted to mean that once a district set its special education budget, it could not be reduced permanently except for very specific reasons. One of those exceptions to the so-called maintenance-of-effort rule were limited to decreased expenses, such as when an experienced, highly paid special education teacher retired or a high-needs student left a district. Cutting the special education budget for other reasons meant a district was running the risk of losing its share of federal funds.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than 50 autism research grants, totaling more than $65 million, which will be supported with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. These grants are the result of the largest funding opportunity for research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to date

My Next Steps: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Autism

A first-time diagnosis of autism in a child can be an overwhelming and stressful time for parents and families. My Next Steps: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Autism serves as a roadmap for parents dealing with this challenging period and seeks to provide answers to the many questions that arise during the journey from autism diagnosis to treatment. The DVD is produced by the University of Washington Autism Center and funded by Washington State legislature. Through interviews with experts and treatment providers, My Next Steps familiarizes parents with topics that are crucial in providing the best support for their child.

A first-time diagnosis of autism in a child can be an overwhelming and stressful time for parents and families. My Next Steps: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Autism serves as a roadmap for parents dealing with this challenging period and seeks to provide answers to the many questions that arise during the journey from autism diagnosis to treatment. The DVD is produced by the University of Washington Autism Center and funded by Washington State legislature. Through interviews with experts and treatment providers, My Next Steps familiarizes parents with topics that are crucial in providing the best support for their child.

Webinar - All About Apps for Education: Just the Apps and Nothing but the Apps Thursday, May 5, 2011, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mountain – Web-Based Training, register Discover the wonderful world of apps for education. This webinar will help you navigate and maximize your use of the iPod/iPad. The presenters will take you on an app adventure and share a variety of apps in such categories as early childhood, literacy, autism, communication, organization, and more. Funding for this webinar is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education. The source of Funding is from federal award, Grants to States-Special Education CFDA 84.027, P.L. 108-446 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Basic Vocabulary Organization in PRC Devices Monday, May 16, 2011, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register This free workshop is for parents and professionals to learn more about Unity vocabulary organization included in all Prentke Romich Company PRC Communication or AAC Devices.  Participants will be introduced to the vocabulary options available.  This workshop will be held in the PACER computer lab where participants can bring their own device or use computer emulation software (Vantage Lite PASS software version 5.02).  The training will include hands-on experience to become familiar with how Unity supports creation of spontaneous novel communication, and to teach basic device operations such as customizing messages, changing icons, hiding keys, and backing up the device. The presenter is PRC Regional Consultant Helen Canfield.  The workshop is limited to 20 participants. Classroom Suite Version 4 Foundations Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who are new to (or have limited experience with) Classroom Suite V.4. The goal of the Foundation Workshop for Classroom Suite V.4 is to enable educators to use Classroom Suite to teach early concepts, reading, writing, and math to students struggling because of learning difficulties or access issues. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225. Kurzweil 3000 Version 11 Foundations Thursday, May 19, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who support students with learning disabilities and are new to (or have limited experience with) Kurzweil 3000. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225.00. Putting LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) to Work: AAC Strategies to Promote Communication Friday, May 20, 2011, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) is a therapeutic approach based on neurological and motor learning principles.  The goal is to give individuals who are nonverbal or have limited verbal abilities or speech a method to independently and spontaneously express themselves.  This workshop is for parents, professionals, and SLPs and will give an overview of the LAMP treatment approach, discussion of the components of LAMP and how and why children with autism would benefit from using a voice output AAC device, and discussion of features that are beneficial for teaching language to children with autism and other disabilities.  Lunch will not be provided.  A one hour lunch break will be taken and maps to area restaurants will be provided.  This free workshop will offer 0.5 ASHA CEUs.

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

We are a nonprofit foundation created to help families acquire items beneficial to their children that insurance companies don't cover. We also provide educational items such as sensory friendly school supplies to families and emergency kits with sensory items for evacuations to schools. Each family can fill out one application per calendar year and can request up to $500 (including shipping costs) worth of materials. All items will be ordered directly from the vendor and no funds will be sent to the families. Please see our family application for guidelines.

The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) of 2011 (S. 1872/H.R. 3423) was introduced on November 15 in the 112th Congress (2011-2012 Congressional cycle). The bill is being led by a bipartisan, bicameral set of Congressional champions, including Senator Robert Casey, Jr., (D-PA), Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). The ABLE Act will give individuals with disabilities and their families the ability to save for their child's future just like every other American family, and help people with disabilities live full, productive lives in their communities without losing benefits provided through private insurances, the Medicaid program, the supplemental security income program, the beneficiary’s employment, and other sources. The account could fund a variety of essential expenses for individuals, including medical and dental care, education, community based supports, employment training, assistive technology, housing, and transportation.

At work, it's what people CAN do that matters. That's the simple message behind the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), an ODEP-funded outreach effort to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities.

People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can lose weight and keep it off through a modified lifestyle intervention program, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study reported online today in The New England Journal of Medicine. Over 80 percent of people with serious mental illnesses are overweight or obese, which contributes to them dying at three times the rate of the overall population. They succumb mostly to the same things the rest of the population experiences — cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Although antipsychotic medications increase appetite and cause weight gain in these patients, it is not the only culprit. Like the general population, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet also play a part. Lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise should work for these patients, yet they are often left out of weight loss studies.

States that run afoul of federal rules for special education funding will be punished—though not forever—under a technical, but important tweak to state maintenance of effort under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The change, which was crafted with the help of the U.S. Department of Education, was included in the giant spending bill for the rest of this fiscal year (better known in Inside the Beltway as a continuing resolution, or CR) that Congress passed this month.

Every parent wants their child to have opportunities for lifelong success – and that starts with getting kids off to a strong start. All of our nation’s students deserve a chance to compete on a level playing field, but too many children – especially those from disadvantaged communities – start kindergarten already behind. We know expanding high-quality early learning opportunities is simply one of the best investments we can make as a country, and President Obama has proposed to dramatically increase access to high-quality preschool and expand early learning and support services for infants, toddlers and families. Today, the White House released state-by-state fact sheets, outlining what states could expect to receive in federal funding to expand these early learning initiatives in their states.

Raleigh County Schools Special Education Department is receiving national attention for its work providing new teachers with resources and mentorship. Special Education Programs Director Cindy Corley-Hicks explained that recruiting and retaining special education teachers is a problem nationwide because of the challenging aspects of the job, including feelings of isolation, legal liability and copious amounts of paperwork. In an effort to remedy this constant turnover, Raleigh County has partnered with the Department of Education and the federally funded National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP) to develop the New Teacher Induction and Support Project.

Under mounting pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice, one state now plans to start moving away from sheltered workshop placements for people with developmental disabilities. Just two weeks ago the Justice Department filed a motion to intervene in a class-action lawsuit against the state of Oregon alleging that the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing supported employment services. Federal officials said they sought to join the suit after unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate with the state. Now, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is taking steps to alter the employment landscape for those with disabilities. In an executive order set to take effect this summer, Kitzhaber said the state will no longer fund new placements in sheltered workshops as of July 2015.

USTA Serves awards program grants twice a year to programs that support at-risk youth and people with disabilities through tennis and education programs designed to improve health, build character and strive for academic excellence.   To date USTA Serves has granted more than $11 million to fund 226 programs in 173 cities in 43 states, including more than $600,000 to adaptive tennis programs for people with special needs. For additional information about submitting a grant proposal, please email us at foundation@usta.com.

The success rate among the graduates of  America’s Special Education Programs has been studied and criticized for decades. In 2005, Dr. Frank Rusch of Pennsylvania State University and this writer addressed the issue related to the inability of young special education high school graduates to achieve success in employment, post-secondary education, adequate housing and community acquiescence. According to the study, Rusch and Pizzuro wrote: “Young adults with disabilities typically leave publicly funded educational institutions without a job, without being enrolled in postsecondary education, and without the security of knowing their roles in society. Fewer than 30 percent of high school leavers obtain jobs after departing mandated education and fewer than 10 percent enroll in postsecondary education. The past 25 years has witnessed continued poverty among young adults with disabilities, despite legislative reauthorizations aimed at improving educational opportunities (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004) and employment access (The Americans with Disabilities Act).”

This is a listing of camps for children and adults with specific diagnoses, and for children who have a parent or a family member with a specific diagnosis. These are not necessarily free camps, or camps for financially needy children and families. But, some of these camps offer financial aid, so contact the individual camp for details. If you're looking for programs that provide general financial aid for camping or other activities, then go to the Diagnosis-Based Assistance area of NeedyMeds and search by the specific diagnosis. The programs listed in this database include camps for children with one specific diagnosis, whole categories of diagnoses (such as all types of cancers) or broader chronic illnesses. Many of these camps are funded by either private or government organizations. Some camps take children from anywhere in the U.S., while others are limited to people in specific states. Most have some type of eligibility requirements, usually financial ones.