Seattle Schools Community Forum

From UW's 11th Annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lectures; Connecting the Dots between Research and the Community: Wednesday, May 4th - Autism Intervention in the Community Lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. and take place in Kane Hall 130. with UW professor Wendy Stone and University of Pennsylvania professor David S. Mandell. Families of young children often face obstacles as they navigate the path from being concerned about autism to initial diagnosis and treatment. Wendy Stone and David S. Mandell share strategies—from the doctor’s office to the classroom—for ensuring that children get the autism-specialized services they need.

Interesting story on NBC last night about one of the members of Cheap Trick and his use of music to help his autistic son.  He's started a group called Rock Your Speech . Also from STAT, this story, Is the dramatic rise in autism tapering off? CDC officials found that 1 in every 68 children in the country has an autism spectrum disorder, a rate unchanged from the last CDC survey  two years ago. And while the new findings may help counter claims that half of all children in the United States will be autistic within a decade, it’s too soon to say whether the rate has reached a plateau, CDC officials cautioned. Here's yet another great story about the move to bring back more CTE (Career and Technical Education). The Tri-City Herald reports that the Kennewick School District's Tri-Tech Skills Center students built two "tiny" houses that will be put up for sale along with all other district surplus items.

By my rough count, probably half of Seattle Schools' school buildings are probably pre-1986.  That's a key date, according to this NY Times story on schools nationwide worrying about lead in the water.

The Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT) is a multicenter research study based at Yale that spans Duke University, Boston Children’s Hospital, the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles. The aim of the consortium is to develop reliable and objective measurements of social function and communication in people with autism. For more information about the study, contact  asdbiomarkers@yale.edu .  For UW info .

From Disability Scoop : In what looked like a puff piece about Jerry Seinfeld, NBC pulled an astonishing admission from Seinfeld: Seinfeld tells NBC News that he sees traits of autism in himself, indicating that he isn’t the best socially and does not always follow what others are saying. “I think on a very drawn-out scale, I think I’m on the spectrum,” said Seinfeld, 60. “You’re never paying attention to the right things. Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I’m very literal, when people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don’t know what they’re saying.” “I don’t see it as — as dysfunctional. I just think of it as an alternate mindset,” he said. It would be interesting to find out what his K-12 school experience was.  FYI, Disability Scoop is a great resource on information on people with challenges. 

Recent to semi-recent stories from around the country on Sped topics. From Disability Scoop , a story about the feds looking to nail down best practices to support those with autism from school to job. The National Institute of Mental Health is doling out $7.9 million in first-year funding for 12 research projects that will assess various models of service delivery for individuals with the developmental disorder at three key stages of life. At the young end, grants will fund efforts to determine how best to identify kids with autism as early as possible and ensure that such children connect with intervention services, the NIMH said. Meanwhile, a separate set of projects will focus on individuals preparing to leave high school. Researchers plan to test methods to improve school-based service coordination for students during transition, enhance parent advocacy skills and teach self-regulation and self-determination to those on the spectrum. A third group of studies ...

Update: just missed my e-mail letting me know that SPS has just released its "Facility Condition Assessment Report for 2014."   This should make for interesting reading.   The district will engage the community over the next 13 months and ask for input and feedback with regard to projects to be included in the BTA IV capital levy. I know something - don't use it like BEX to build/renovate (like $100M downtown high school and $53M to renovate the Federal Reserve building.)  If those are on there, I'm voting no. Is there no end to the number of people in government who suddenly want to invest in early childhood programs?  It's almost as if they all got a memo.  Or something. The latest one is KC Executive Dow Constantine who plans to ask voters for a new levy for early childhood programs by next fall.  The Times reports that he calls it "Best Starts for Kids."  In yet another curious item, the PI's Joel Connelly, in reviewing the Mayor...

From Disability Scoop : In what advocates are calling a major win, federal officials are for the first time telling states that Medicaid coverage must include treatments like applied behavior analysis for children with autism. Medicaid programs nationwide must offer “medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services” to kids with autism, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states in a bulletin this month.  That includes everything from speech and occupational therapy to personal care services and medical equipment, the agency said. The services must be included in what’s known as the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program, or EPSDT, a package of offerings that every state is required to provide children under age 21 who qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid coverage for kids with autism has traditionally varied from state to state. Establishing national requirements will have a huge impact, advocates said. ...

Asperger's Syndrome is a higher-functioning form of Autism.  In 2012 it was reclassified in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder.  Some have called it "autism lite" but the change may signal issues in how children receive services for this condition.  Autistic author and activist Temple Grandin expressed a similar fear.  “It is my opinion that social communication disorder is part of the social impairment continuum of the autism spectrum.  I fear that many Aspies will be switched into this diagnosis when school districts get short on funding," she wrote on her website . Most of us know people with Asperger's (whether we know they for certain that is diagnostically true) because we have all met people who seem socially awkward, unable to make those connections - intuitive to most of us - that make relationships and who have difficulty with focus and follow-thru. Many adults ar...

Locally (and, of sorts, public education news) comes the announcement that 37th district Senator Adam Kline will not be running to retain his seat.  Naturally, when a senator retires, the obvious replacement often comes from whoever are the representatives in that district (see Jamie Pedersen for Ed Murray).  I am hoping that Rep. Eric Pettigrew runs so that all the ed reform nonsense he has pushed and supported (and seemingly not understood given some of his past statements), he has to explain to voters.  And then he loses.  I also hear that Eric Liu, a great writer, is also thinking of running.  Eric is a great thinker but has never been elected to office.  He is so bright but also his BFF is Nick Hanauer which would (1) fund his campaign but (2) probably get him to support all Hanauer's ed reform push. Also locally, interesting story at KUOW about one family's work to get help for their autistic child , this time with a good outcome in Shoreline Sc...

It's summer and yet it feels busier than ever. Saturday community meeting with Director Patu at Cafe Vita at 10 am. Concerning story about the use of Roundup and links to autism, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's from Nation of Change. The authors of the new review call for more independent research to validate their findings, stating that “glyphosate is likely to be pervasive in our food supply, and contrary to being essentially nontoxic, it may in fact be the most biologically disruptive chemical in our environment.” From Director Carr on the subject of the Management Letter from the SAO: Please be clear that the Board doesn’t respond to the SAO – our management team does. The SAO doesn’t require to response to management letters, only to findings. The management team is required to develop corrective action to the Board as we track all levels in A&F (findings, exit items, management letters) though they are provided some flow time to develop that plan (so we don’...

Autism affects one in 88 children in the US.  It affects 1 in 54 boys. About 1.5 million people live with some kind of autism spectrum disorder. Only 56% of students with autism finish high school. 12 The average per-pupil expenditure for educating a child with autism was estimated by SEEP to be over $18,000 in the 1999-2000 school year. This estimate was nearly three times the expenditure for a typical regular education student who did not receive special education services. 13 The Autism Society has teamed up with AMC Theaters to make going to the movies possible for many autistic kids with their "Sensory Friendly Films" program.   From the Autism Society: In order to provide a more accepting and comfortable setting for this unique audience, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down, families will be able to bring in their own gluten-free, casein-free snacks, and no previews or advertisements will be shown befor...

KUOW is launching a series of stories about young adults/teens coming of age who have autism.   It debuts Tuesday, November 13 with a call-in at 9:30 am (543-5869) or e-mail comments, weekday@kuow.org. It's an inspiring series and one that hits close to home for me.  I think as the number of people who are on the autism spectrum grows that it's important to learn about their challenges and help them find acceptance in our society.  

Today is the fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day.  The theme this year, from Autism Speaks, is Light It Up Blue with landmarks like the Empire State Building going blue tonight.  This starts a month of awareness events to shine a light on the issues around autism.  World autism Awareness Day was started in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly. It is estimated that 1 in every 88 children in the U.S. is on the autism spectrum.   That's about 1.5M Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is the most prevalent developmental disorder to date.  Studies suggest that boys are more likely to be born with it than girls but girls appear to develop the more severe types of autism.  From the Autism Speaks website: Will my child be able to attend school? Most likely yes. Much depends on where your child falls on the spectrum, but with your support, as well as that of doctors, therapists and teachers, your child should be able...

Dr. Temple Grandin , an noted animal scientist and advocate for those with autism, will speak on Improving Animal Welfare at UW's Hogness Auditorium (A-420), Health Sciences Center, on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 4 p.m. The even is free and open to the public with a booksigning to follow the talk. From the Times: Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism as a child but went on to obtain a Ph.D. in animal science, is noted for her work exploring the similarities between autistic consciousness and the thought processes of animals — research that has led to improvements in livestock handling to reduce animal stress. Grandin’s research on pictorial thinking shared by animals and autistics alike has resulted in more than 400 scientific and lay publications, 6 books, and numerous awards. In 2010, TIME Magazine listed Grandin as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Her talk may not be a topic that interests you but if you want to see someone with...