We need your help! We need your stories! Help us collect a thousand stories through this survey to share with your legislators, the Governor, Department of Health/Human Services staff and Local Management Entity (LME) Directors. They need to know how budget cuts for developmental disabilities, mental health and substance abuse services affect the lives of…
From Toy Box to Toolbox
A review of The Integrated Self Advocacy ISA Curriculum by Valerie Paradiz
Proposed Changes to NC Policies—Comment Period
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Exceptional Children Division, is proposing changes to the Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilites. The comment period is from November 23, 2009 through January 21, 2010, with a public hearing on Wednesday, December 16. Most of the changes seem to align NC Policies with federal law, but…
WARNING! Helicopter Moms
The pros and cons of being a hovering caregiver.
School Violence Prevention Act: Coming to Your School
Chances are good that your child with autism has been bullied at one time or another while in school. Thanks to the new state law, SB526, the schools’ reaction to these situations may be changing. A friend of mine recently experienced this change firsthand. Her teenage son came home one day, describing an incident that…
Statewide Autism Training for Teachers
Claire Greer, Consultant for Autism, Severe/Profound and Multiple Disabilities for the NC Department of Public Instruction, has developed 5 modules for training autism teams in each LEA (Local Education Agency, or school district). The LEA selects a group of professionals—often a special education teacher, a speech pathologist, and an occupational therapist—to attend these intensive sessions. …
Quantum Autism
Coverage of the Autism Town Hall Meeting.
Will they, or won’t they? Should they, or shouldn’t they?
Lots of opinions back and forth over the New York Times article on the proposed changes to the DSM-V. Ari Ne’eman, founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network thinks this could be helpful in terms of getting more services, parents of children with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome fear the loss of identity for their children. …
IEP Cheat Sheet, Quick & Dirty*
IEP tips.