April 26, 2017
By: Aimee Blanchette
Source: Disability Scoop When Mikayla Holmgren applied for the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she submitted a lengthy résumé that highlighted her past pageant experience, her status as a triple-threat athlete and her work as a mentor for other young women like her. The 22-year-old has Down syndrome, something that pageant directors had […]
April 26, 2017
By: Brenda Iasevoli
Source: Education Week If you think raising teacher salaries is the way to attract talented young people into the profession, well, that sort of easy-fix, across-the-board solution to the teacher shortage problem will just not do, according to a new report. Such solutions, say the authors, don’t take into account that shortages […]
April 26, 2017
By: Carolyn Thompson
Source: Daily Tribune Lisa Connor felt her disabled daughter should have been making more progress in school, yet annual meetings with the district to set services and goals sometimes felt like a tug of war. A stroke had left Polina with a limp and vision problems, but there was always debate about […]
April 24, 2017
By: Valerie Strauss
Source: The Washington Post A task force of interdisciplinary scientists reviewed the evidence on the impact of state-funded prekindergarten programs and issued a report on its findings, which is the subject of this post by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham. The members of the task force were: Deborah A. Phillips of Georgetown University, […]
April 24, 2017
By: Shaun Heasley
Source: Disability Scoop A reality television show about a group of young adults with Down syndrome is set to return with a new season that will also explore the experiences of children with the chromosomal disorder. A&E Network said a third season of “Born This Way” will start in May. The hour-long […]
April 24, 2017
By: Valerie Strauss
Source: The Washington Post New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that his administration will soon launch an effort to provide free, full-day prekindergarten programs for all 3-year-olds in the city by 2021. The plan, which starts in the fall, calls for expanding Pre-K for All, a de Blasio program […]
April 23, 2017
By: Sophia Alvarez Boyd
Source: NPR One day Ronnie Sidney, from Tappahannock, Va., was goofing off with his classmates in math when one of them threw a paper football at the board — and it landed a little too close to the teacher. Sidney says the eighth-grade teacher, visibly frustrated, turned around and said, “None […]
April 20, 2017
By: Shaun Heasley
Source: Disability Scoop Many kids with developmental disabilities have a tendency to wander away from safe places — with potentially tragic consequences — but a new study suggests that it’s possible to mitigate such behavior. By utilizing various behavioral interventions, researchers say elopement can be dramatically reduced and possibly eliminated. The findings […]
April 19, 2017
By: Jackie Moe
Source: Disability Scoop Orange County will shed light on autism in a major way this weekend — the inaugural film festival AutFest “From Spectrum to Screen” will celebrate and bring awareness through films, panel discussions and some heavy star power. Presented at the AMC Orange 30 on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, […]
April 19, 2017
By: Tara Garcia Mathewson
Source: The Atlantic You saw the pictures in science class—a profile view of the human brain, sectioned by function. The piece at the very front, right behind where a forehead would be if the brain were actually in someone’s head, is the pre-frontal cortex. It handles problem-solving, goal-setting, and task execution. […]