September 2009 Archives

A video made for an event designed to mobilize worldwide activism and help raise money for autism research, services, and awareness has ended up sparking controversy within the autism community.

"I Am Autism," a powerful video by Academy Award-nominated director Alfonso Cuarón and Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer Billy Mann, both fathers of children with autism, was screened on Sept. 22 at Autism Speaks' Second Annual United Nations World Focus on Autism.

It starts out with a horror-movie-style soundtrack. Then the narrator speaks as the voice of "autism." Here are a few lines spoken by the autism voice:

-"I am visible in your children, but if I can help it, I am invisible to you until it's too late."

-"I know where you live, and guess what? I live there too."

-"And if you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails."

-"I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend the Temple, a birthday party, a public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain."

-"Your money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you for my own self gain."

-"I don't sleep, so I make sure you don't either."

-"I will fight to take away your hope."

The second half of the video shows families standing up to autism and fighting back. "You think that because my child lives behind a wall, I am afraid to knock it down with my bare hands?" says one parent. "We are a community of warriors," says another parent. "When you came for my child, you forgot, you came for me," say the parent voices.

The video was inspired by a poem by Mr. Mann. The home movie footage seen in the video was sent in by other parents of children with autism. But not everyone in the autism community agrees with the portrayal of autism, or whether the video would be good for raising awareness.

"This is the latest in a series of unethical fundraising strategies adopted by Autism Speaks," said Ari Ne'eman, an adult on the autism spectrum and president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. "This type of fear mongering hurts autistic people, by raising fear and not contributing in the slightest to accurate understanding of the needs of autistic adults and children."

Marc Sirkin, chief community officer for Autism Speaks, said the video was received well at the event. But controversy came later when it was posted on the Web. It won't be used as a PSA, in an ad campaign or for fundraising, he said. The video has been pulled from the Autism Speaks Web site, but remains on Youtube.

"It is an artifact," he said. "It exists."

He said it was an intensely personal poem from one father's perspective, and not intended to offend anyone. Autism is a disorder arrayed along a spectrum, and everyone's experience is different, he said, which might explain the variety of reactions to the video.

"We've gotten letters," Mr. Sirkin said. "We've gotten really positive feedback and really negative feedback."

It is certainly a stirring video bound to spark strong reactions. Please share your thoughts about the video in the comments.

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The Council for Exceptional Children, a professional association for special educators, has announced a policy on the use of physical restraint and seclusion in school settings. The group hopes to establish as a professional standard that such procedures should only be used as a last resort when a child or others are in immediate danger, the policy says.

The group is also pushing for new laws that would require data on restraint and seclusion be reported to outside agencies, such as state or provincial departments of education.

"This policy indicates the high professional ethics and standards the special education community holds itself to," CEC President Kathleen Pucket said in a statement. "There are numerous evidence-based practices that do not involve physical restraints or seclusion that teachers and school personnel may use to manage challenging behaviors. Restraint and seclusion procedures, if used at all, must be implemented properly. One child harmed is one too many."

The policy said neither restraint nor seclusion should be used as a punishment to force compliance. Interventions for children with behavior problems should focus on prevention and positive behavioral supports. School staff should be required to have training on how to avoid and defuse crisis and conflicts. There must be an adult supervising any child in seclusion. If a school uses physical restraint or seclusion procedures, there should be a written positive behavior-support plan and pre-established emergency procedures, the policy says.

Readers can view CEC's full policy on physical restraint and seclusion here.

Posted by at 10:01 AM | Permalink | 4 Comments | Recommend

The National Center for Learning Disabilities has revamped its Web site LD.org in the hopes of making it a one-stop shop for parents seeking a variety of information.

It offers several new sections with lots of user-friendly resources. The "LD Basics" section discusses various types of learning disabilities and helps to make sense of the latest research. "In the Home" is a section that offers tips that would help parents with daily challenges and expectations of having children with learning disabilities. "At School" includes information that would assist parents with advocating for their children in the school system.

For parents of older children, the "College and Work" section offers strategies and tools for helping children transitioning from high school to work or college environments. The "On Capitol Hill" section features education and civil rights legislation that affects students with learning disabilities

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I wanted to alert readers to a very interesting blog they may also want to follow.

The 2009 National Teacher of the Year, Anthony J. Mullen, a special education teacher from Greenwich, Conn., will spend the year traveling around the country speaking to educators and reformers. He will be blogging about his experiences and sharing insights here for Teacher Magazine.

Mr. Mullen, a former New York City police officer who earned a master's degree in elementary education and special education from Mercy College in New York in 2001, teaches at the Arch School, an alternative branch of Greenwich High School. To learn more about him, read this article by the Council of Chief State School Officers.

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Dear Readers,

On Special Education and the other blogs here at Education Week will be closed on Saturday Sept. 19 for technical upgrades. We should be back on Sunday Sept. 20. Have a nice weekend.

Thanks, Lisa

Posted by at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

A documentary that explores the social and educational benefits and challenges of including children with disabilities in the regular classroom will be shown on PBS World on Oct. 9.

The filmmaker Dan Habib tells the story of his family’s quest to have his youngest son, Samuel, who has cerebral palsy, included at school and in daily life. The movie, Including Samuel, also features the stories of other families, educators, young people, parents, and disability rights experts. The film focuses on their experiences, hopes, struggles, fears, and triumphs with inclusive classrooms.

The movie may sound familiar. For the last few years, it has been shown at national conferences, public television stations, and independent theaters across the country. In October, the movie will be re-released on DVD with audio description, extra features, and translations into 17 languages. It has been featured in this column here and here.

Including Samuel was screened for about 230 educators yesterday at a national symposium on universal design for learning and inclusive practices hosted by the National Education Association and the Including Samuel Project at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire.

“I think sometimes people think we are farther ahead than we are with inclusion,” said Mr. Habib. “It varies from town to town, and classroom to classroom. I can’t say I am surprised by that. I think it’s a challenge. It’s mostly about attitude. Technology supports inclusion but what makes or breaks it is people believing all kids can learn.”

Photo: Dan Habib/includingsamuel.com

Posted by at 2:22 PM | Permalink | 6 Comments | Recommend

Mandatory full funding for special education could be closer to becoming a reality now that Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, was named chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Just this week, Sens. Harkin and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., reintroduced legislation to fully fund special education. Similar bills have been introduced in years past. Harkin has long been a champion for full funding, and will be in a powerful position as Congress prepares to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

"Full funding" of the act is often referred to as providing states with per-pupil federal aid for students with disabilities that is equivalent to 40 percent of the average per-student cost, which is what many advocates for such students believe was a promise made by Congress when it first passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975.

"We tell our children all the time to keep their promises, to live up to their commitments, to do as they say they are going to do," Harkin said in a statement. "It is time for the federal government to make good on its promise to students with disabilities in this country."

Thanks to the economic-stimulus bill, funding for IDEA grants to states was increased to 34 percent of the average per-student cost. But that was a one-time investment, without which IDEA grants are funded at around 17 percent of the cost of special education programs. Federal funding has never exceeded 18 percent.

“Congress made a promise to our schools and our children to share the cost of special education,” Roberts said. “It’s time that Congress relieve our state and local governments of the financial burden they have been forced to shoulder, especially in these tough economic times.”

Bruce Hunter, the associate executive director of public policy for the American Association of School Administrators, said he was optimistic about full funding.

“This is the best opportunity for getting 40 percent we have ever had," Hunter said. “The new funding is especially important to continue the improvement of services for students with disabilities [and] take up the slack for shortfalls in state and local funding that are sure to happen over the next two to three years. I expect that Senator Harkin can put IDEA funding on the glide path to 40 percent in this Congress, maybe not this year, but surely in the coming year.”

Updated: The issue also gained momentum on the House side, with representatives Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Todd Russell Platts, R-Pa., and Tim Walz, D-Minn., introducing a bill on Sept. 15. calling for full funding. The bill would require regular increases in IDEA spending to reach full funding by FY 2015.

Reform of the IDEA funding process is long overdue, Platts said in a statement. If the federal government paid its fair share of the costs of the special education mandate to benefit special needs students, it would free up additional resources and allow school districts to address local educational needs without raising taxes, the statement said.

Posted by at 10:43 AM | Permalink | 36 Comments | Recommend

The U.S. Department of Education has offered some legal guidance to schools about their requirements to educate special education students in times of a swine flu outbreak.

Some schools closed their doors after cases of swine flu first appeared last spring. Not much was known about how schools would handle educating students with disabilities if there were ever long school closures or long absences by students because of the H1N1 virus. With a new school year under way, the U.S. Department of Education released legal guidelines Sept. 1.

Federal laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act do not specifically address what schools should do if they are closed for extended periods of time for special circumstances like the swine flu, the guidance says, but schools must be sure not to discriminate against students with disabilities in providing services.

When educational opportunities are provided to the general student population, students with disabilities must have equal access. To “the greatest extent possible,” the students should receive the services in their Individualized Education Plans and Section 504 plans, the guidelines said.

If schools are closed and do not provide any educational services to the general student population, then they would not be required to provide services to special education students either. But once school resumes, the schools need to determine whether a student with a disability needs compensatory education to make up for any skills that may have been lost, the Education Department said.

Technology will be helpful in times of a swine flu outbreak, the guidelines said. The department suggests that school officials consider ways of providing educational materials in accessible formats or through the use of auxiliary aids and services in order for a student with a disability to participate in a distance-learning program.

If a school continues to teach the general school population during an H1N1 outbreak, but is not able to provide services to a student with a disability based on that student's existing IEP, the student’s IEP team determines which services can be provided to best meet the child’s needs.

The team may meet by teleconference or other means to determine if some, or all, of the identified services can be provided through alternate or additional methods such as through tutoring by phone, the Internet, or closed-circuit programming. Schools should use this same plan for students who have a Section 504 plan. Then when school resumes, the teams can assess what makeup services would be needed, the guidelines said.

IEP teams would not be required to meet in person if a school closes. IEP teams,
however, must continue working with parents and students with disabilities, including conducting informal assessments or formal assessments of the student, including parent surveys and standardized reports, and offer advice, as needed. If an evaluation of a student with a disability requires a face-to-face meeting or observation, the evaluation would need to be delayed until school reopens. Evaluations and reevaluations that do not require face-to-face assessments or observations may take place while schools are closed, if the parent consents, according to the guidelines.

For special education students who have lost skills because of prolonged absences from school, the IEP team should determine to what extent compensatory services are needed. These services can be delivered by providing extended school-year services, extending the school day, providing tutoring before and after school, or providing additional services during regular school hours, the guidelines said.

Here is a link to the full text of the guidelines. Please comment about whether you think schools are prepared to meet this special challenge. If you are a parent, are you concerned about this issue?

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When the parents of a special needs student decide to create their own education plan involving expensive private tutors, who should pay? That was the subject of a moving story that ran in Sunday’s Washington Post.

Jacqueline and Carl Simchick have been embroiled in a lengthy and costly legal battle with the Fairfax County, Va., school district seeking reimbursement for tutoring services for their son, Matthew. He was diagnosed with mental retardation, autism, and speech and language impairment, the article said.

Dissatisfied with Matthew’s progress at Fairfax public schools, the Simchicks pushed for more one-on-one instruction. When the school system would not provide it, they sent their son to a private tutoring center. And they sent the bill to Fairfax County. Fairfax officials argued that the tutoring center was not accredited and that the family was defying compulsory attendance laws, the Post reported.

The Simchicks told the Post they spent more than $700,000 in legal fees and school costs, raising the money by maxing out their credit cards, cashing in their older son's college savings, borrowing against their 401(k)s and refinancing their five-bedroom home four times.

After years of court decisions and appeals, a judge's ruling this month provided about a third of what the Simchicks sought, the Post said. They are considering whether to appeal.

Disputes over who pays for private school costs are among the most contentious in special education, with a growing number ending up in court, the Post said.

Posted by at 3:29 PM | Permalink | 6 Comments | Recommend

The beginning of the school year is always a time to reconnect with old friends, and get to know new people. Allow me to do that here. My name is Lisa Fine, and I'll be writing about special education and gifted education for this blog while Christina Samuels spends this academic year as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at University of Michigan. I'll also be writing stories about these topics for Education Week.

This is a return to the subject for me. I covered special education and gifted education for Education Week from 2000 to 2004. I've missed our readers and my colleagues at Education Week, and it's exciting to be back. In many ways, I feel like a brand-new student on the first day of school.

I look forward to reacquainting myself with the complexities of delivering quality education to learners with special needs, and with discovering new areas that are of concern to our readers. My hope is to stay on top of the trends, innovations, creativity, triumphs, and challenges of special education and gifted education.

I would love to hear your suggestions from the front lines. Please contact me with story ideas and issues that you are talking about in your schools, as well as comments on these fascinating subjects. My e-mail address is LFine@epe.org.

Posted by at 2:09 PM | Permalink | 4 Comments | Recommend