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Four years ago the Helena School District received a $5.3 million grant for the Safe Schools Healthy Student Initiative. Since the grant is in its last year, Youth Connections in Helena wants to get the word out to the community about all the programs the grant has allowed them to establish.

Roughly 25 percent of people with autism speak few or no words. A generation ago, that figure was closer to 50 percent. Most researchers agree that the decline is due to the recognition of more people with milder forms of autism, as well as to the advent of early intervention programs  that have helped more children develop language than in the past.

As e-readers grow in popularity as convenient alternatives to traditional books, researchers at the Smithsonian have found that convenience may not be their only benefit. The team discovered that when e-readers are set up to display only a few words per line, some people with dyslexia can read more easily, quickly and with greater comprehension. Their findings are published in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal PLOS ONE.

In a nutshell, my son is 7 years old, going into 2nd grade next year. He is diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD, and Anxiety Separation Disorder. He has been receiving Special Education Services since age four. His strengths are in Fluency/Comprehension and Spelling. His weaknesses are in the Personal & Social Development area. His placement is in a self-contained/ small class setting for Language Arts Literacy and Mathematics and in mainstream classes with adult support for all other subjects. I want to learn to create SMART IEP goals for his areas of weakness. I am having a hard time figuring out how to make to make behavior goals SMART – specific, measurable, use action words, realistic, and time-limited. I appreciate suggestions or examples.

Ever find yourself at a loss for words when trying to explain to others what it really means when you say, “My child has LD”? What do you say to your own parents for whom the concept of learning disabilities might not be familiar? How about coaches? If you have other children without LD or related issues, how do you talk to them?

During IEP season the stakes are high.  Parents and teachers alike go into those meetings full of emotions and ideas.  Sometimes I am surprised that what is unsaid seems just as loud as what is actually said. In the past In the past, I’ve made the mistake of going into an IEP angry.  I did not get the best results for my son at that meeting.  So I’ve been trying different tactics over the years, and I’ve made a conscious effort to learn the art of diplomacy in my words and actions.

Google has added features to Drive and the Docs apps suite to make the products easier to use for people who are blind or have poor eyesight, an issue over which the company has been criticized.The improvements include smoother interaction with third-party screen readers for better text-to-speech performance and expanded keyboard navigation capabilities. The enhanced products include the Drive storage service, the Docs word processor, Slides presentation app, Sheets spreadsheet software, Drawings tool and Forms creator.

Scientists studying the anatomy of children's brains during reading discovered something rather unexpected: Remedial training for poor readers results in a growth of white matter tracts in the brain, and the increase correlates with the level of improvement in sounding out words.

Opening Doors: A Discussion of Residential Options for Adults Living with Autism & Related Disorders This report focuses on the residential concerns of adults with autism and related disorders and is designed to advance the development of residential models that offer quality, affordable housing options. The study also looks at current and projected demand for life-long living options that support individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders who are unable to live on their own. This link opens a PDF document. A fact sheet on this report can be downloaded in Word format.

If you know and love anyone with autism or on the autism spectrum, you are going to want to keep reading. In my case I have quite a few friends with children on the spectrum and I have a beautiful daughter who is too. I am blessed with three fantastic children all different and special in their own way, I love them each beyond words.

There’s no sob story in a new national push to promote hiring of people with disabilities. In fact, the advertising campaign launching this week hardly even mentions the word “disability.” Instead, the focus is on the many quirks found in the workplace — everything from the co-worker who talks too loud to the one who can’t put together a decent outfit. The idea is that disability presents just one more element to workplace diversity and that hiring people with disabilities can be cool.

Writing is difficult. Most writers could relate to the frustration expressed by this student. Writing is a complex process that draws on: our knowledge of the topic our ability to anticipate what readers will need our ability to logically organize information our skill at finding the right words our ability to evaluate our efforts the perseverance to keep working

ANACONDA - Of all the artwork and posters that decorate Fred Moodry Middle School's main hall, one blue flag hangs just a little higher than the rest. Like most flags, it is a uniting symbol to those who helped raise it. It honors progress, achievement and teamwork, with bold white words that say it all: Distinguished School. The National Title I Association recently honored Fred Moodry as one of its distinguished schools for 2009. Only two schools from Montana received the award, joining 63 nationwide.

What is it like to have bipolar disorder? To be labeled "crazy"? How do you balance the ups and downs? Here, in their own words, are the stories of nine men and women living with bipolar disorder.

The challenges faced by those with A.D.H.D. -- weighing the decision to take stimulant medication, facing those who doubt your disorder and adapting to your symptoms -- are daunting and deeply personal. Here, in their own words, are the stories of adults and children coping with A.D.H.D.

Speak It! is an application for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad which lets you enter text via the regular keyboard and then speak the words via the built-in speaker, or save them to an audio file to email to others.