Learning Remotely Is A Struggle For Students With Special Needs

Shanna Henderson says the coronavirus pandemic has triggered some of the most difficult moments of her life. She temporarily lost her job as a dental hygienist, and the statewide shift to remote learning left her scrambling to educate her six kids at home. But job security and playing teacher aren’t as difficult as managing the “profound behavioral challenges” of her 13-year-old son with severe autism and bipolar disorder, Henderson told Idaho Education News. “We now have […]

Uncertainty Is Specially Hard For Special-Needs Children During the Virus Lockdown

Weeks into France’s strict coronavirus lockdown, Mohammed, a 14-year-old with autism, took a pickax and started hitting the wall of his family’s house. His explanation: “Too long at home, too hard to wait.” The disruptions in daily life caused by the virus pandemic are a particularly trying ordeal for children with disabilities and the people who love and are caring for them confined at home while special-needs schools and support programs remain closed. Mohammed hasn’t […]

NIH-funded effort may help people with intellectual disability participate in clinical studies

What The NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery — an assessment of cognitive functioning for adults and children participating in neuroscience research —c an be adapted to people with intellectual disabilities by modifying some test components and making accommodations for the test-takers’ disabilities, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The adaptations ensure that the battery can be used to assess the cognitive ability of people with intellectual disabilities who have a mental age of […]

During the IEP Meeting The Ten Common Mistakes Parents Make

by Matt Foley, M.Ed., L.P.C. & DeAnn Hyatt-Foley, M.Ed. When our son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in 1990, we found ourselves ill-equipped for our new role as advocates for our son. Our first Individual Education Program (IEP) meeting was over-whelming. We found it very difficult to follow what the educators were talking about. We certainly did not know what our role was in the process. We had the expectation that the trained educators of our […]

Individuals with Disabilities Disaster & Emergency Preparedness

Get Informed Know what disasters could affect your area, which could call for an evacuation and when to shelter in place. Keep a NOAA Weather Radio tuned to your local emergency station and monitor TV, radio, and follow mobile alert and mobile warnings about severe weather in your area. Download the FEMA app, receive weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five different locations anywhere in the United States. Make a Plan […]