Gender may mask symptoms in girls with undiagnosed autism

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FW: January 25, 2008 - Gender may mask symptoms in girls with undiagnosed autism

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January 25, 2008

News for special education professionals

Curriculum & Instruction

§ Gender may mask symptoms in girls with undiagnosed autismEven with two brothers with autism and her mother's hunch that something was wrong, Kaede Sakai's own autism wasn't easily diagnosed. Girls with autism are more concerned with pleasing adults, controlling their anger and interacting with peers, says Myles, who specializes in girls with autism. ABC News/Nightline (1/23)

§ Program helps children relate to others with disabilitiesStudents at the Indiana School for the Blind helped mainstream Indiana students learn more about children with special needs as part of the Everybody Counts program. Each elementary grade learns about a different disability from developmental delays to learning disabilities. The Indianapolis Star (1/25)

§ School gives dropouts a last chance to graduateAttendees of the San Diego-area's Bounce Back School have all tried to return to traditional campuses without success, but Bounce Back teachers will come calling on students personally if they don't show up for the required three hours of daily schoolwork. The school affords enrollees the structure of daily courses, but gives them the freedom to learn at their own pace. San Diego Union-Tribune (1/24)

Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students. Finally, highly effective, field-tested lesson plans for students in every elementary and middle school classroom who struggle with writing. This new book is just what K–8 educators need to advance all students' writing skills, whether they have learning disabilities or just need extra help. Click here for more and save 20%!

Educational Leadership

§ Network to aid teacher collaboration on technologyA new Microsoft online teachers network aims to help educators better incorporate technology into classwork. "From a classroom perspective, I can't tell you the number of times where an institution's biggest challenge was that the math teachers in their school weren't collaborating with one another. It's those real-world challenges that technology can help alleviate," said Cullinane, director of Microsoft's teacher-network project. eSchool News (1/23)

Technology Trends

§ Videophones allow recovering patients to sign with loved onesNew University of Michigan Hospital videophones allow people with hearing impairments or other disabilities to communicate with loved ones as they recover. "I see what a hearing patient gets by being able to pick up the phone and call their parents," said sign-language interpreter Christa Moran. "As an interpreter you want these people you develop relationships with to be able to have the same rights as everyone else, especially in situations where they're sick and scared." The Detroit News (1/25)

§ Wisconsin lawmakers compromise to keep online schools openVirtual schools would be allowed to continue operating in Wisconsin, under compromise legislation expected to be on the governor's desk by early March that would reverse a December court ruling, which found that virtual learners are essentially home-schooled and thus not entitled to $5,845-per-student in state aid. The new plan, among other things, would require online schools to offer the same number of instructional hours as traditional schools, keep truancy records and ensure that teachers take no more than a day to respond to queries from both students and their parents. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/24)

Policy News

§ N.Y. budget cuts $9 million from Long Island special educationLong Island school districts may need to pay for more special-education services from local funds after the governor proposed a budget that cuts state-funded transportation, home care and other services. State Sen. Flanagan said the budget would shut down programs in some districts if passed. NBC4/NewsChannel 4 (New York) (1/25)

§ Few major education cases before U.S. Supreme Court this yearThe U.S. Supreme Court is expected to be less active this term in the education realm -- a stark change from the 2006-07 session, in which the High Court issued landmark rulings on race, free speech, teachers unions and special education. "Last summer's rulings were enough to give school districts lots to think about," said Francisco M. Negrón Jr., the National School Boards Association's general counsel. Education Week (1/24)

§ land lawmaker proposes new disciplinary measures for bulliesA land bill would set investigation and disciplinary standards for schools in dealing with students caught bullying either in-person or online; the proposal builds on a 2005 law requiring public schools to report bullying incidents to the state. "The problem is expanding exponentially," said Delegate Craig L. Rice, a Democrat from Montgomery County, who introduced the bill. "What used to be a bullying incident amongst six people in a high school hallway has now evolved into a national broadcast, a global broadcast, on the Internet." The Washington Post (1/25)

Eye on Exceptionalities

§ Study: Immune genes more active when autism develops laterUniversity of California- researchers have identified 11 genes regulating immune responses that are more active in children with autism in a small study published in the January edition of Genomics. Children with early-onset autism had far fewer active immune genes than those who developed symptoms later on, suggesting they two groups may stem from different causes, according to researcher Dr. Gregg, the UC Medical Center director of molecular diagnostics. The Sacramento Bee (Calif.) (free registration) (1/25)

§ Genetic research into autism may help scientists unravel disorder: Promising new studies into the genetics of autism may offer new hope, scientists say. "The general approach ... has probably taken one of those exponential -- it's probably hyper- -- exponential leaps," says geneticist Wigler. Scientific American (1/23)

§ CDC urges more prevention, counseling for birth defect virusThe CDC says health care providers should inform women about steps they can take to avoid infection with cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which causes thousands of birth defects and developmental disabilities annually. Infection can result from contact with the urine or saliva of preschool-age children. Reuters (1/24)

CEC Spotlight

§ Set up a mentoring program that works In "Anatomy of a Mentoring Program for New Special Education Teachers," you'll find out what it takes to develop an effective mentoring program for beginning special education teachers, including information on program development and tips for administrators, mentor coordinators, mentors and the new teachers themselves. Find out more

§ Effective co-teaching "A Guide to Co-Teaching: Practical Tips for Facilitating Student Learning" shares the benefits and challenges of co-teaching, and imparts the secrets to successful collaborations. You'll learn about different approaches to co-teaching: supportive, parallel, complementary and team teaching. Find out more

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