Well the story of the assistance dog gaining access to East Meadow, New York High School is far from over. Today marked the family’s fourth attempt to have their son, who is hearing impaired, come to school with his assistance dog, Simba. The dog was again turned away.
Aversives Policy in New York State Still a Problem
This posting is a followup to an earlier posting. To contact the New York Board of Regents regarding this issue click here.
Shocks From the System (New York Times Op-Ed)
By MAIA SZALAVITZ
ALTHOUGH the New York State Department of Education bans corporal punishment, each year it uses taxpayer money to send dozens of children with emotional or learning disabilities to schools that use physically and mentally abusive forms of behavior modification. These include electric shocks, seclusion and sleep and food deprivation. Because these punishments are euphemized as "aversive therapy," they have until recently stayed under the department’s radar.
Illinois Regulations at a Critical Stage on January 9, 2007
The following is an announcement from my collegue Sandy Alperstein:
As background, the JCAR (Joint Committee on Administrative Rules)
will meet on January 9, 2007 to review ISBE’s proposed special ed rules (Part 226). If they choose, they can require ISBE to make changes, or they can approve these proposed rules. Problems with these proposals include the format (confusing to parents), the elimination of caseload and class size limits, and the mandate for RTI without support, guidance or resources for general educators to apply RTI correctly (and incorrect application could result in children not receiving needed services). click here for the email for JCAR.
Illinois Home Schooling Resources
I often receive questions about requirements and resources for home schooling. These questions are a byproduct of the fact that parents sometimes withdraw their children from school instead of fighting annual battles with their local school district. I recently discovered this resource for Illinois homeschoolers, it may also be useful for others outside of Illinois as well except the statutory provisions will likely differ. This site does not deal with the limited obligations of school districts to parentally placed children under IDEA 2004.
School District Acts Shamefully in Danville, Pennsylvania
This will be the second posting this week where the school district involved the police to inappropriately address issues involving children with special needs. It appears that their New Year’s Resolution was to call the police more frequently and for matters that should be addressed inside the school building.
House to Vote on Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act January 11, 2007
Please contact Congress immediately on this important bill to override President Bush’s ban on stem cell research that is so important to the future of our children with special needs and other people with disabilities.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 3/S.5) on January 11. It is critical for you to contact your Representative now and urge him or her to vote YES on H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Take action!
Reps. Diana DeGette (CO) and Mike Castle (DE) and Sens. Tom Harkin (IA) and Arlen Specter (PA) are reintroducing the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act with the bill numbers of H.R. 3 in the House and S. 5 in the Senate. The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 810) passed with strong bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate, but President Bush used his first and only veto when the bill reached his desk in July 2006. The House was 51 votes short when they tried to override the veto.
Our goal is to secure veto-proof votes in the House and Senate. Please contact your Representative and Senators now. The best way to reach new members of Congress is by phone, and a list of the names and Washington, DC office phone numbers for new members is below, and to locate contact information for other Congresspersons and Senators click here.
Developments in GRIN/NBIC Technologies Reported
There are two reports out from the National Science Foundation on the emerging area of G.R.I.N. technologies although in these reports they are referred to with the less catchy acronym of N.B.I.C. [nano, bio, info, cogno; all endings dropped]. Both reports are in pdf and available for download.
The major themes of the these reports are as follows:
- overall potential of converging technologies;
- expanding human congnition and communication;
- improving human health and physical capabilities;
- enhancing group and societal outcomes;
- unifying science and education
Any one of these idea alone could have huge consequences for many individuals with disabilities. While the claims for these technologies are nothing less than revolutionary, and ultimately they may or may not live up to their billing, it is vital that parents and other interested parties keep abreast of these coming scientific developments. GRIN or if you prefer NBIC may have important benefits for our children in school and in life.
Assistance Dog 1 and School District 0
A young child with a hearing impairment attempted to bring his assistance dog to a High School in East Meadow, New York. Apparently, the school and the family have been at odds over this issue for some time. When the parent and her son refused to leave with the dog in tow, the school called the police.
The police to their credit informed the school that there was no law against assistance dogs in school, and in fact the law states that assistance dogs can not be barred from public buildings. The police to their credit left without slapping two sets of cuffs on Simba, the assistance dog.
Throughout this episode the dog remained calm and behaved impeccably; too bad the same can not be said about the adults involved [the mother admitted that she used vulgar language when she realized the school had called the police].
The lessons we learn from this episode are:
1. Assistance dogs are trained to have better manners than some people;
2. School people too often resort to calling police when something less drastic would seem reasonable;
3. Schools are slow to adapt to the need for assistance dogs despite the increasing popularity of these dogs for children with a variety of disabilities.
Very Low Cost Laptops Ready for Release
Treasure Chest of Freeware for Assistive Technology
It is rare these days that I come across a website related to Assistive Technology that simply knocks my socks off. I recently came across one that touts itself as a "treasure chest" of freeware for special education students. It is comprehensive, clearly laid out and useful. Check it out; it is worth bookmarking and visiting when the need arises.
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