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| IN THIS ISSUE |
| This Month from the National Dissemination Center |
| It All Starts...in Families...and Communities |
| The Little Ones: Early Intervention/Early Childhood |
| Schools, K-12 |
| State & System Tools |
| Special Focus: Self-Awareness | |
Greetings!
October is upon us, and NICHCY is pleased to send this month's enewsletter your way. May it bring you just the info you've been needing.
 There's lots of news and resources to pass along from OSEP's TA&D Network, and we do, marking each with the TA&D logo you see to the left. And, as always, we're pleased to share many excellent resources from beyond the TA&D network. We hope you find this information useful. As always, we welcome your feedback. Please feel free to contact us at nichcy@aed.org.
As you may know, October has been designated by Congress as Disability Employment Awareness Month. To mark this, NICHCY has posted a shiny new version of our Transition Suite (see its description below) and has made self-awareness our Special Topic this month, identifying resources meant just for young people with disabilities, to help them explore the world around them and the priceless, powerful one within. Each person's journey is an individual challenge and adventure that always starts with the self.
Best wishes for October!
Your friends at the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
p.s. Note our new address! Please correct us in your databases and other systems, as need be, because our mailing address is now:
NICHCY
1825 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 700 Washington, DC 20009
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THIS MONTH FROM THE NATIONAL DISSEMINATION CENTER
NICHCY is extremely pleased to share several new resources with you, available for free on our website.
For trainers on IDEA 2004 who work with Spanish-speaking audiences:
Eight modules have been translated into Spanish in the Building the Legacy training curriculum on IDEA 2004 and all the participant handouts for all the modules. Here's a quick list:
For those interested in transition planning for youth with disabilities:
Many folks used our Rate This Page gizmo to let us know our transition suite needed updating. Thanks----how right you were! So here's a new transition suite for those who asked and those who didn't, differently organized and quite expanded:
We shudder to think what the update task on these pages will very soon be, but for now, we hope you enjoy all the clean windows in our transition house. Let us know if you find them useful and relevant to your needs.
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IT ALL STARTS IN FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
101 hints to "Help-with-Ease" for patients with neuromuscular disease.
Two owner's guides from the Muscular Dystrophy Association:
Are you (or is someone you love) dealing with chronic pain and illness?
Visit the Invisible Disabilities Advocate, which strives to help friends and family better understand chronic illness and pain, as well as learn how to be a source of encouragement and support.
Looking for a disability-related social network?
Connect with a support group.
Sometimes finding a support group is one of the best things you can do for yourself or those you care for. This web page from the Mayo Clinic spotlights support groups associated with cancer, heart conditions, neurological diseases, transplants, and bereavement.
What's sensory integration therapy?
An occupational therapist explains in this fun and informative 8- minute video and shows how she uses it with children who have autism, cerebral palsy, or Down Syndrome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtszqdr4GW4
MyChildWithoutLimits.org.
MyChildWithoutLimits.org is an authoritative early intervention resource with a social networking element for families of young children ages 0-5 with developmental delays or disabilities, and professionals looking for a trusted source of information that relates to their needs and interests.
The Parent Portal at CDC.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a very nice Parent Portal where you can find a wealth of information from across all of CDC, covering everything from safety at home and the community to immunization schedules and developmental milestones. Let the CDC Parent Portal help you keep your child healthy and safe!
Gifted children with disabilities.
Check out Wrightslaw's newletter and new resource page on twice exceptional children.
For those concerned with health care provision.
All health care providers should be aware of new HIPAA interim regulations, effective September 23, 2009, that address situations in which personally identifiable health information is inadvertently disclosed to or obtained by third parties. The new rule is intended to address situations where client information is lost, stolen, security is breach, laptops with client data are taken, and similar situations.
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THE LITTLE ONES: EARLY INTERVENTION/EARLY CHILDHOOD
Two videos on early intervention at YouTube.
Helpful when you're introducing EI to families and others.
Keeping the H1N1 virus away in your early childhood doors.
Looking for guidance to help decrease the spread of flu in early childhood settings? This one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests actions to take now, strategies to consider if the flu becomes more severe, and a checklist for decision-making at the local level.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/childcare/guidance.htm
Early learning and emergent literacy instruction: What works?
Here's an introductory guide describing ways in which teachers can use research effectively for early language and emergent literacy instruction. The guide is based on last year's synthesis of the National Early Literacy Panel.
Reporting on Let's Begin with the Letter People.
The What Works Clearinghouse at the Institute of Education Sciences has released a new early childhood education report on Let's Begin with the Letter People, an early education curriculum that uses 26 thematic units to develop children's language and early literacy skills.
Vietnamese language version of the On-the-Go parent-child activities.
These materials are specifically designed to address the three key skills of language development, sounds and rhythms, and general book and print awareness. To download "Infant-Toddler Language and Early Literacy Activities" in Vietnamese, use the link below. Once you're on the home page, click on the button that says "Download Free Parent Tools." Then click on "On-The-Go." Find "Vietnamese On The Go" on the list of Available Downloads.
http://www.walearning.com
Spanish materials for parents.
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) now offers parent training modules in Spanish. These modules provide information for families on how to promote children's social and emotional skills, understand their problem behavior, and use positive approaches to help them learn appropriate behavior. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/parent.html
OSEP's Part C policy letters online.
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recently published its first quarter 2009 and fourth quarter 2008 policy letters online. NECTAC generously provides those that specifically address Part C and Section 619 of IDEA on its site.
What about using Title 1 funds?
New Beginnings: Using Federal Title I Funds to Support Local Pre-K Efforts summarizes the benefits of using Title I dollars to support pre-k programs, discusses existing guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on this topic, provides examples of districts that are doing it successfully, and suggests ways to coordinate local initiatives with state pre-k programs.
And now...creative state financing structures for infant-toddler services.
Upcoming webinar: October 7, 2009, at 2 p.m.
Host: ZERO TO THREE Policy Center and the Ounce of Prevention Fund
Four states' (Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) with innovative models of investing in services for at-risk infants and toddlers will be highlighted. To learn more, go to:
Be a presenter at the Third Conference of the International Society on Early Intervention----or simply attend.
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Need info on appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities?
Visit the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) and check out its:
Need info on assistive technology?
Why aren't children who are blind learning to read Braille?
The National Federation of the Blind is deeply concerned and writes that there are three main reasons why those who need to know Braille aren't learning it: (1) There are not enough Braille teachers; (2) Some teachers of blind children have not received enough training; and (3) Many educators do not think Braille instruction is even necessary. Find out what you can do to put Braille back in our schools, so that blind students learn how to read just as surely as sighted students do.
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Braille_Initiative.asp
How are states doing in implementing NIMAS?
Through NIMAS, students with print disabilities have access to textbooks and core instructional materials in alternate formats. But the system is still under development, having been authorized as part of the IDEA 2004. This brief from Project Forum provides survey findings from 49 state NIMAS coordinators as to the status of implementation.
Do you teach students with severe developmental disabilities?
If so, you may wish to join your colleagues in conversation and exchange at the social networking site Educators of Students with Severe Developmental Disabilities.
http://sddeducators.ning.com/
The Teaching Diverse Students Initiative.
Teaching Tolerance has just launched a new online initiative to help you improve the quality of instruction that racially and ethnically diverse students receive.
http://www.tolerance.org/tdsi/
Involve your students in service learning.
The Complete Guide to Service Learning will help you involve students in K-12 service learning projects. The guide includes curricula for subjects such as the environment, hunger, homelessness, safety, literacy, and social justice.
For teens: Play a part in ending bullying.
TeensAgainstBullying.org was launched by the PACER Center's National
Center for Bullying Prevention to serve as a bullying prevention resource
where teens can become a powerful part of the movement to end bullying.
Through the use of videos, blogs, and social networking, the site's
resounding message is "the end of bullying begins with you."
http://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/
Online tools for principals, school leaders, and educators.
Have you visited NIUSI-LeadScape? This OSEP-funded project directly helps 400+ principals across the country develop inclusive schools to ensure their students with and without disabilities meet or exceed academic standards set by their states.
http://www.niusileadscape.org/
Free applications you should know about.
Do you teach ELLS?
Then you may be interested in Language and Reading Interventions for English Language Learners and English Language Learners with Disabilities. Find out about assessment, instructional interventions, and professional development with a particular focus on ELL students who have been identified with a language and/or learning disability or who are at risk for reading difficulties.
Professional development: Adolescent literacy.
AdLit.org has launched a new professional development webcast series. Each webcast features a 60-minute video program and includes recommended readings and suggested discussion questions. For example:
- Making Room for Adolescent Literacy
This four-part webcast examines what research says about good practice and how building-level leaders and classroom teachers can support struggling readers/writers while dealing with budget, scheduling, accountability, training, and staffing issues.
http://www.adlit.org/webcasts/makingroom
- English Language Learners
This four-part webcast examines trends in the ELL population, ways to build trust with ELL families, techniques for improving instruction, and advice to increase college readiness for ELL students.
http://www.adlit.org/webcasts/ells
Nominate your tech-savvy superintendent (if you have one).
Does your superintendent "get it" when it comes to technology? Cos the call is out for nominations for the 2010 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards. Hurry, though, because nominations will only be accepted online through October 30. To learn more:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/tssa/submittssa/
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STATE & SYSTEM TOOLS
Identifying professional development needs: Math.
This planning tool for grades 3-7 will help you identify professional development needs specific to mathematics. It includes a series of guiding questions that help SEAs evaluate their existing programs and identify professional development activities that meet their needs.
Disproportionality: How's the country, your state, or your city doing?
Preventing child maltreatment.
CLASP's DataFinder.
This easy-to-use tool allows policymakers, advocates, and others to download and synthesize information about various programs and trends that affect low-income people and families, including child care assistance spending and participation; Head State and Early Start participation; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) expenditures; young child demographics; and poverty. To create custom tables and explore this tool, go to:
What do students themselves have to tell us about solving the nation's dropout crisis?
Find out in this report by the Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE), which used participatory action research and student site visits to successful schools to engage youth in examining the dropout issue and recommending changes in policy and practice that improve the quality of education for all students.
Find professional learning materials at the Learning Carousel.
Lots to find, too! The Learning Carousel is subtitled Your Source for Cutting Edge Research-Based Practice.
Public comments solicited: NPRM from the EEOC.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) revising its regulations to provide that an individual seeking protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) establish that he or she has a disability consistent with the original, expansive intent of Congress when it enacted the ADA in 1990. The NPRM provides a 60-day period for public comments. Accordingly, public comments must be submitted no later than Nov. 23, 2009.
Videos on research methodology.
The Institute of Education Sciences has made a series of research methodology videos available:
- The Problem of False Discoveries: How to Balance Objectives
- Problems with the Design and Implementation of Randomized Experiments
- Reversion to the Mean, or Does Dosage Matter?
- Assessing Intervention Fidelity: Models, Methods, and Modes of Analysis
- Why the Research Community Should Take Notice of State Longitudinal Data Systems
The videos are available for viewing at:
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SPECIAL FOCUS: Self-Awareness
This Special Topic is directed at young people with disabilities. You don't have to be near to leaving high school to start planning for the future. In fact, the earlier the better, because your own sense of self will help carry you forward and give you balance and direction.
Explore the resources below, choosing the ones that suit your fancy or your interests. They've been developed just for you and will help you find out more about important topics, yourself, options for living and working, your disability, and how to speak out well on your own behalf. Many of the links will connect you with your peers with and without disabilities, who can be a great source of fun, information, support, and insight. Enjoy! It's your life. What a treasure.
Relish is for more than hotdogs: A guide to making your own sweet success.
Check out NICHCY's guide for students about how to find your own way to success you'll enjoy. It comes with an audio program filled with the voices of young people like yourself who've done just that. (Contact NICHCY if you'd like a copy of the audio program. You'll enjoy it...)
Can do!
The Can Do! Kids page has fun online activities for you to try out, and interesting can-do stories and resources that will help you realize and appreciate your abilities as you try to accomplish your goals and reach your dreams.
http://www.ucando.org/kids.html
Self-advocacy.
Kids As Self Advocates (KASA) is a network of youth with disabilities and their friends that speak out and educate others about issues relevant to youth with special health care needs.
http://www.fvkasa.org/index.php
Moving from pediatric health care to adult care.
This site for teenagers teaches you how to take responsibility for your own health care.
This free electronic newsletter (published two to four times a month) offers tips and tools for succeeding with a disability.
Do-It Pals.
Are you interested in a career in science, engineering, mathematics, or technology? Get tips from college students and adults with disabilities. Find a mentor to help you pursue your dreams. (Sponsored by the University of Washington.)
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Programs/pals.html
For those with intellectual disabilities.
e-Buddies is an e-mail pen pal program that pairs persons with an intellectual disability in a one-to-one e-mail friendship with a peer volunteer who does not have an intellectual disability.
http://www.ebuddies.org/
International penpals, anyone?
Kids' Space Connection is an international meeting place for children and schoolteachers. Find penpals from around the world! Check out interesting projects you can contribute to and clubs you can join.
http://www.ks-connection.org/
Teen peers, poetry, the 411 on drugs.
Get the facts about drugs, listen to teen peers share their stories, read about ways to help friends and family who might need help. There's also a poetry-slam section where you can make your own poems.
BAM! Body and Mind.
Body and Mind is an online destination for kids created by the Centers for Disease Control to give you the information you need to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Kids Health.
Learn all about your body, how to deal with feelings, and about different conditions like spina bifida, autism, and sickle cell anemia. If you're a teen, try the "For Teens" tab at the top.
Youthhood.org.
Here's a great website that can help you plan for the future. It includes an online journal, a goal planner and other useful tools for preparing for life after high school.
That's the title of the resource page just for you in NICHCY's Transition Suite. Lots of great resources to check out there to help you take charge of your own life and choices.
Want to be a leader?
The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) is dedicated to advancing the next generation of disability leaders.
Want to connect with your peers who have the same disability as you?
Here's a short list of opportunities, organized alphabetically by disability.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg as to online resources where you can meet and share with others. We won't even mention checking out what might be available on networking sites such as Facebook for connecting with others who share your interests, talents, concerns, or disability...
From all of us at NICHCY, though, we wish you the best of luck and enjoyment in finding your voice, yourself, and your path into the future.
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Publication of this eNewsletter is made possible through Cooperative Agreement #H326N080003 between AED and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the U.S. Department of Education. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.
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Comments on our newsletter? Too long? Too short? Off-target? Right on? Suggestions for future topics? Please feel free to contact us at nichcy@aed.org. We're here to help you help children with disabilities.
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