A young man hanged himself while in “seclusion cell” at a Georgia school.  The parents were unaware this technique had been used with their son.  http://www.kansascity.com/2010/02/25/1773137/many-states-dont-regulate-seclusion.html

I once represented the family of a child in kindergarten.  He was kept in a wooden box at the back of his class, with only an eye slit for him to see out.  He bloodied his head from banging against the walls of his box.

In July of 2009, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, urged all states to review current policies and guidelines on using restraint and seclusion in schools.  “Restraint and seclusion policies should be reviewed regularly to prevent the abuse of such techniques and ensure that schools provide a safe learning environment for all of our children.”

Missouri and Kansas have no state regulations in place.   Missouri “school districts are required to have policies on restraints by July 2011.”  Kansas is “developing a collection tool for schools to report quarterly seclusion data” to augment its existing guidelines, as set forth at www.drckansas.org/publications/SRGUIDELINES.pdf

Federal legislation limiting restraint and seclusion and requiring behavior management training for educators are in a bill passed by the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee earlier this month.

For a summary of state laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines, go to: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/seclusion/seclusion-state-summary.html

You have the right to attend your child’s IEP meetings.  In fact, federal regulations require the school to hold your IEP meetings at a “mutually agreed on time and place.”  Also, you must be notified early enough to ensure that you have an opportunity to attend.

In a recent unpublished opinion from California, a federal court overturned an IEP.  The school invited the parents to participate by speaker phone.  That wasn’t good enough.  The parents had the right to attend their child’s IEP meeting in person.  Because they weren’t present at the meeting, the IEP was invalid.

Is autism diagnosed too often as a way to access services?

This film trailer from Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story describes one family’s experience with a possible mis-diagnosis of autism  For more info, visit the film’s web site:

Kate’s Law would require health insurance to cover the diagnosis and treatment of Autism spectrum disorders.  Today, the Kansas House will vote on a motion to pull Kate’s law out of the House Insurance Committee and send it to the House floor for debate.

The motion needs 70 votes to pass.  If it passes, then a second motion will move the bill “above the line” where it can be debated and passed out of the House.

Learn how you can support this important legislation by checking the web site for the Kansas Coalition for Autism Legislation.

Students with ADHD who used medication improved their scores in both math and reading, according to a study published this week in Pediatrics.   The improvements were equivalent to about 0.19 grade levels in math and 0.29 grade levels in reading.

The report indicates that medication made less of a difference for students with an IEP (Individualized Education Program).  I wonder if this means that special education works, and may make medication less necessary.

Approximately 4.4 million (7.8%) children in the United States have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and 56% of affected children take prescription medications to treat the disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is strongly linked with low academic achievement.   This study suggests that children with ADHD may benefit academically from medication and special education.  You may request your school to conduct an educational evaluation to determine if your child qualifies for special education.

More families are calling me about bullying in schools.  The problem seems especially pertinent to children with special needs.

Last week I spoke with Randy Wiler, Director of the Kansas Bulllying Prevention Program.  Randy is a law enforcement officer and a national expert on bullying.  We are fortunate to benefit from his service to our children and community.

Any kid can tell you that recess is the best part of the day.  Now scientists agree.  A study in this month’s journal of Pediatrics found that providing young students with one or more recess of at least fifteen minutes in length was associated with better class behavior.

I have often represented children with attention deficit disorder.  Sometimes teachers “punish” children with ADD or ADHD by depriving their recess.

The new study would support an argument that fidgety children need even more recess, not less.  This research could be used by parents at IEP or 504 meetings.  For example, required recess could be written into a child’s behavior plan.

The popular press widely reported three test cases in vaccine court on February 12.  In those cases, the families failed to prove that autism for their children was caused by childhood vaccines.

If that’s all you read, you might think the pharmaceutical industry won forever.  Not quite, though.  Last week, the vaccine court awarded over $800K to a family with autism.  The vaccine court believed that their child’s autism (actually, PDD NOS) was caused by a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.  Read the details by clicking this link to the Huffington Post.

Kate’s Law (formally known as Kansas Senate Bill 12) remains stalled in the Kansas Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.  If passed, the bill would require health insurance to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in Kansas.

To read more about Kate’s Law, and how you may advocate for its passage, click the following link for the Kansas Coalition for Autism Legislation .

Our children in special education narrowly dodged a drastic cut in funding under the Economic Stimulus Bill.  Instead, the final passed version of the bill seems to increase funds for special education.

I’m still studying the final results, but here’s how it looks.  The Senate stimulus bill would have allowed school districts to use federal funds to supplant local funds.  That would have resulted in an overall decrease in already underfunded programs for children with disabilities.

The final version eliminated that provision.  Instead, the final law included $12.2 billion for IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).