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Common forms of financial aid include grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. Some are available specifically to students with disabilities. Many students use a combination of these financial aid resources. It is important to remember that financial aid results in a partnership of the student, parents, postsecondary educational institutions, state and federal governments, and/or private organizations. Such a partnership requires cooperation, communication, and an understanding by each of their responsibilities within the financial aid process.

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) has posted the revised “Strategic Plan“. This is the document which is supposed to guide US Government funded autism research. The Strategic Plan is written from a parent’s perspective. It is divided into 7 questions to be answered. Below I list the parts I think are the “meat” of the Plan—the proposed projects with estimated budgets.

Friends and colleagues of a former Montana State University Billings educator who was killed in a traffic wreck  in February have established a scholarship endowment in her honor. The Montana Center on Disabilities at MSU Billings has established the Merry Jane Trewhella Memorial Scholarship Endowment.  Organizers and friends are working on building the endowment fund and plan to award a $250 scholarship to an education major for Fall Semester 2010.

The U.S. Secretary of Education testified about the President’s FY 2011 budget request and ESEA reauthorization to the House Education and Labor Committee. Duncan was grilled by both Republicans and Democrats about the lack of funding increases for IDEA.

What We'd Like You to Know and Share! Registration is open! Go to http://www.pathfinder-nd.org to view the registration form or call  1.800.245.5840 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1.800.245.5840      end_of_the_skype_highlighting  1.800.245.5840 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1.800.245.5840      end_of_the_skype_highlighting to register. Stipends are available! Ask us about a stipend for parents to cover the registration fee. We  also cover hotel costs for parents traveling more than 60 miles each way. (Funding for the stipends is provided from the ND State Council on Developmental Disabilities) Our Agenda is Exciting! Take a look at the agenda at our website. Dan Habib, Janice Fialka, Dave Anderson (Famous Dave’s Barbeque Sauce) & more. (Read about Including Samuel at http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2009/09/kids_with_disab.html )

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced grants to 41 health programs operated by the Indian Health Service; tribes and tribal organizations; and urban Indian organizations. The grants will help improve outreach and enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) uninsured children eligible for, but not enrolled in, their state’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP).

Blackfeet Tribe, Po'Ka ProjectMontana$300,000Indian Health Board of Billings, Inc.Montana$300,000

HELENA - Former Montana Supreme Court Justice John Warner, now overseeing a $9.5 million mental health trust fund, announced Monday he has assembled the seven-member committee to help decide how the state spends the money.

Visitor Information Available Through TDD People who are hearing impaired may obtain visitor information through TDD 307-344-2386. Accessibility Coordinator Facilities in Yellowstone are being made physically accessible as quickly as possible within funding limitations. Most facilities described in this guide have been judged to be negotiable by wheelchair users without assistance. Those facilities that require assistance for wheelchair users are indicated. Facilities described as accessible do not necessarily comply fully with federal standards.

The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is a group of programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine the number of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the United States. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities characterized by atypical development in socialization, communication, and behavior. In 2006, on average, approximately 1% or one child in every 110 in the 11 ADDM sites was classified as having an ASD. These results indicate an increased prevalence of identified ASDs among U.S. children aged 8 years and underscore the need to regard ASDs as an urgent public health concern. This presentation will review the most recent published ADDM data.

Yellowstone County voters will find many candidates for office on the June 8 primary election ballots, but only one ballot issue: a proposed 3.2 mill countywide levy to help sustain mental-health services. The three county commissioners, Bill Kennedy, John Ostlund and Jim Reno were unanimous in their decision to put the question to voters. The commissioners are asking voters to consider funding a portion of some local crisis mental-health services that help local law enforcement agencies do their job of protecting public safety.

Internet Archive today launched a new service that will provide more than a million books in a specially designed format that can be read by visually impaired readers. The new service is part of the the non-profit’s Open Library project, which has been scanning and digitizing hundreds of thousands of books for the past several years and now has more than a million in its index. Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle, who funds some of the Archive’s costs through his charitable foundation, said the new service more than doubles the number of books previously available to visually impaired readers.

From Disability.gov, this fact sheet provides an overview of the major federal student aid grant programs. The federal government provides grant funds for students attending colleges, including career colleges and universities. Grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. To access the fact sheet in English go to http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/Grant_Programs_Fact_Sheet_04_2009.pdf A Spanish version is available at: http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/spanish/Grant_Programs_Fact_Sheet_04_2009%28es%29.pdf

On Wednesday, December 22, President Obama signed the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2010 (H.R. 1246/S. 3199) into law. The bill, which was passed earlier this month by the Senate, was passed by the House on December 15.

The legislation reauthorizes and expands EHDI legislation passed nearly 10 years ago, increasing state funding for follow-up services to ensure that babies initially identified with a potential hearing loss receieve full diagnostic evaluations and, if necessary, are enrolled in early intervention programs. The act also promotes culturally sensitive family support services.

Autism Speaks Announces Second Annual Baker Summer Camp Scholarship Program New York, N.Y. (January 20, 2011) – Autism Speaks, North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced its second annual Autism Speaks Baker Summer Camp Program, which will offer up to $3000 in funds to eligible camps to go towards scholarships for financially disadvantaged children with autism.

the 2011 Plan has been updated by the IACC to reflect important new scientific advances in the field over the past year, emerging areas of opportunity, and areas where more research is necessary. Input from the ASD community, advocacy groups, research funding organizations, and the scientific community has continued to be a critical aspect of the updating process.

Groundbreaking Transition Legislation for Youth with Significant Disabilities Introduced in House A trio of federal bills, called the Transitioning towards Excellence in Achievement and Mobility (TEAM) legislation , designed to improve transition outcomes of youth with significant disabilities was introduced in Congress in mid-February.  The TEAM legislation--which consists of the TEAM-Education Act (H.R. 602), the TEAM-Empowerment Act (H.R. 603), and the TEAM-Employment Act (H.R. 604)--focus on realigning  and strengthening federally funded programs to more successfully move youth with significant disabilities toward further education, integrated employment, and community living.

What: Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance through Dear Colleague Letters to elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education along with a Frequently Asked Questions document on the legal obligation to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits of technology. This guidance is a critical step in the Department’s ongoing efforts to ensure that students with disabilities receive equal access to the educational benefits and services provided by their schools, colleges and universities. All students, including those with disabilities, must have the tools needed to obtain a world-class education that prepares them for success in college and careers. Today’s guidance provides information to schools about their responsibilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The guidance supplements a June 2010 letter issued jointly by OCR and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The June letter explains that technological devices must be accessible to students with disabilities, including students who are blind or have low vision, unless the benefits of the technology are provided equally through other means. Today’s guidance highlights what educational institutions need to know and take into consideration in order to ensure that students with disabilities enjoy equal access when information and resources are provided through technology. “Technology can be a critical investment in enhancing educational opportunities for all students,” said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights. “The Department is firmly committed to ensuring that schools provide students with disabilities equal access to the benefits of technological advances.” Today’s guidance is part of a larger effort by the Department and Obama administration to better serve the needs of people with disabilities. Last month, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Kareem Dale, associate director for the White House Office of Public Engagement and special assistant to the President for disability policy, for a conference call with stakeholders to talk about some of the Department’s efforts. During the call, Duncan discussed the Department’s commitment to maintaining accountability in No Child Left Behind for all subgroups, including students with disabilities, and highlighted the Department’s proposal to increase funding for students with disabilities in the fiscal year 2012 budget. Ali will also join Dale for a stakeholder conference call where she will discuss today’s guidance and address the Department’s work to ensure that all schools are fulfilling their responsibilities under the federal disability laws that OCR enforces.

RCT Demonstrates the Efficacy of the LEAP Model of Early Intervention for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the development of interventions for children with autism have expanded greatly in recent years, though most comprehensive interventions have not received systematic, scientific evaluation. One of the few exceptions is LEAP (Learning Experiences�An Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Parents), a comprehensive intervention for preschool children with autism, developed by Phillip Strain in 1981, that uses a variety of science-based learning techniques. Although LEAP had been shown to improve child outcomes in a prior evaluation, the developers recently implemented a new experimental evaluation comparing full LEAP implementation to a reduced model based only on access to materials. With funding from the National Center for Special Education Research, principal investigator Phillip Strain and his research team conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing classroom implementation of LEAP with training and mentoring by LEAP staff to classrooms in which teachers were only provided with the usual LEAP training manuals and materials. They found that providing preschool teachers with LEAP training and mentoring resulted in greater fidelity of implementation and more positive child outcomes when compared to teachers who were only given the training manuals and materials.