Items 1 through 4 have been deleted, since they are primarily for families
living in Virginia and Maryland, and I did not want to send useless
information to the folks in the rest of the country. However, please let me
know if you live in Virginia, Maryland or DC; so that I can add you to my
private email distribution list for events in those states. Thanks!

> 5. Check out the free publication at http://mcie.org/pubs.asp. There are
> some good articles and guidelines on functional life skills and on
> inclusion.
>
> 6. Knowledge Path: Locating Community-Based Services to Support Children
> and Families is an electronic guide for service providers and families to
> help them find resources within their communities to address child and
> family needs. The knowledge path was produced by the MCH Library, in
> collaboration with the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's
> Mental Health at Georgetown University. It contains information on (and
> links to) Web sites and electronic publications; toll-free telephone
> lines; and databases. Topics include education and special needs, mental
> health and well-being, family support, parent education, child care and
> early education, health and wellness, and financial support. The
> knowledge path is available at
> http://join.buddywalk.org/site/R?i=YBcWimNhItB3bgmqCLWWWw. MCH Library
> knowledge paths on other maternal and child health topics are available at
> http://join.buddywalk.org/site/R?i=AOkomyKxh6h3bgmqCLWWWw.
>
> 7. When your child is having difficulty with instruction as presented,
> try another way- Differentiated Instruction at
> http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/rfmslibrarylab/di/differentiated_instruction.htm
> and
> http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.b929745be54a98cbbfb3ffdb6210
> 8a0c/.
>
> 8. Access Center at http://www.k8accesscenter.org/ is a free technical
> assistance service for schools. The mission of the Access Center is to
> provide technical assistance that strengthens State and local capacity to
> help students with disabilities effectively learn in the general education
> curriculum at
> http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/FrameworkFinal.asp.
> More info at:
>
> Access Center Staff (http://www.k8accesscenter.org/about/staff.asp)
> Partner Organizations
> (http://www.k8accesscenter.org/about/our_partners.asp)
> Advisory Board (http://www.k8accesscenter.org/about/advisoryboard.asp)
> Customized Assistance
> (http://www.k8accesscenter.org/about/TA_strategies.asp)
> Link to our Web site (http://www.k8accesscenter.org/linktous.asp)
>
> 9. Federal Resource Center (FRC) for Special Education at
> http://www.dssc.org/frc/. The FRC) is a five-year contract between the
> Academy for Educational Development (http://www.aed.org/), its partner,
> the National Association of State Directors of Special Education
> (http://www.nasdse.org/) and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of
> Special Education Programs
> (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html). The FRC
> supports a nationwide technical assistance network
> (http://www.dssc.org/frc/ta.htm) to respond to the needs of students with
> disabilities, especially students from under-represented populations.
> Through its work with the RRCs and the technical assistance networks, the
> FRC provides a national perspective for establishing technical assistance
> activities within and across regions by identifying and synthesizing
> emerging issues and trends. In addition, the FRC works with the Office
> of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to plan national conferences of
> education professionals, with the object of communicating OSEP priorities
> and promoting positive systemic change in special education programs
> across the nation. About the FRC at (http://www.dssc.org/frc/index.htm)
> and:
>
> Conferences (http://www.dssc.org/frc/confer.htm)
> Federal Resources (http://www.dssc.org/frc/federal.htm)
> IDEA (http://www.dssc.org/frc/idea.htm)
> Public Meetings (http://www.dssc.org/frc/nprm.html)
> Publications (http://www.dssc.org/frc/pubs.htm)
> RRFC Network (http://www.dssc.org/frc/rrfc.htm)
> Technical Assistance (http://www.dssc.org/frc/ta.htm)
> What's New (http://www.dssc.org/frc/index.htm#New)
> Technical Assistance Providers
> (http://www.dssc.org/frc/TAGuide/welcome.htm)
> Updated TA&D Placemat (PDF) (http://www.dssc.org/frc/placemat_021405.pdf)
> A recently updated directory of centers in the Special Education Technical
> Assistance and Dissemination Network. Placemat Text Only (MS Word)
> (http://www.dssc.org/frc/placemat_text.doc).
>
> 10. From TASHInfo@... at http://www.tash.org/index.htm, TASH is
> pleased to be offering the following two new videos in partnership with
> the Forum on Education.
>
> Lou Brown Unplugged at http://www.tash.org/products/loubrown/index.htm.
>
> A Lifetime of Experiences Advocating for Individuals with Disabilities,
> Their Family Members and the Professionals Who Serve Them Lou Brown tells
> stories that communicate important lessons and other information accrued
> from over forty years of working on behalf of individuals with
> disabilities in classrooms, workplaces and courtrooms. The stories will
> make you laugh, cry and angry. They will also inform and challenge you to
> improve the lives of persons with disabilities. The DVDs were produced at
> Indiana University with Professor Leonard Burrello in front of a live
> studio audience of parents, teachers, school administrators, job coaches
> and persons with disabilities. The DVDs also contain printed versions of
> the stories and related information. 3 DVDs: $150.00. Additional
> information and ordering at
> http://www.tash.org/products/loubrown/index.htm.
>
> Creating a Unified System: Integrating General and Special Education for
> the Benefit of All Students. (mip://06d2e958/waynesailor/index.htm),
> narrated by Wayne Sailor.
>
> This video takes the Forum's previous work in Schoolwide Behavioral
> Support and Wraparound Services and provides a structured framework to
> guide a local dialogue on a unified system. It suggests the kind of
> policy and professional development needed for system and school level
> changes. White Church Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas uses an
> instructional coaching model guided by school wide data based
> decision-making and a full integration of all school resources and
> supports, to the benefit of all students. Their results are remarkable.
> Research at White Church led to the development of the Schoolwide
> Applications Model (SAM) created by Dr. Wayne Sailor at the University of
> Kansas' Beach Center and Oakland based Blair Roger. Who should view this
> tape: central office administrators tackling district transformation, and
> principals and teachers leaders leading school transformation. They'll
> find solutions to program and staff fragmentation that hinders
> collaboration among teachers and staff. 50 min VHS: $120.00.
> Additional information and ordering at
> http://www.tash.org/products/waynesailor/index.htm.
>
> For more information about these videos and to place your order, go to
> http://www.tash.org/products/ or contact TASH, 29 W. Susquehanna Ave.,
> Ste.210, Baltimore, MD 21204, or by fax to 410 828-6706. Questions? Call
> TASH at 410 828-8274, or e-mail ddotson@....
>
> 11. "The challenge of autism" dated 10 May 2005 by Audrey Wong from
> Fairfield Daily Republic at
> http://www.dailyrepublic.com/articles/2005/05/09/top_stories/news01.txt.
>
> "When Garret Koontz greets a visitor he holds out his hand and says, "xiao
> wu hao" - good afternoon in Mandarin - one of many languages he taught
> himself. Garret's twin brother, Austin Koontz, isn't interested in other
> tongues but is fascinated with math and science. Their mother, Darlene
> Jones, knew her sons were special ever since they were babies. The
> infants focused longer than usual on things. They didn't crave physical
> attention or make eye contact like their young peers. Even though doctors
> didn't detect anything, Jones sought extra educational help for her boys.
> Finally when they were 6, a doctor formally diagnosed the pair with
> autism. By that time, Jones had her children tested for special education
> classes and enlisted the help of a speech therapist. The two are now
> freshmen at Rodriguez High School. ..."
>
> 12. "Baseball's Miracle League aims for fun" dated 9 May 2005 by John
> Zenor with the Associated Press at
> http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/sports/11599083.htm.
>
> "Baseball cap tugged low, Dudley Luckie looks every bit the ballplayer as
> he scoots around the bases, triumphantly crosses home plate and grabs a
> seat in the dugout. Never mind that the 7-year-old gets around using
> crutches, the field is a miniaturized version of a Little League park and
> the scoreboard is just for show. The Miracle League doesn't keep score,
> doesn't have winners or losers and is more about the smile than the style.
> "We just want to have fun," Dudley said, "be like a real team." In other
> words, they just want to be like other kids who grow up playing Little
> League baseball. The Miracle League, founded in Georgia, is the field of
> dreams for kids with mental or physical disabilities, with 17 rubberized
> fields around the country allowing kids in wheelchairs to race around the
> bases. The smiling kids get the same cheers and encouragement from
> parents whether the ball dribbles off the tee or sails into the outfield.
> ..."
>
> NOTE: There is also a Challenger Division of Little League, which both
> our kids play on. The web site for our local league is at
> http://www.springfieldchallenger.org/. Springfield Challenger is Little
> League Baseball for boys and girls, ages 4 - 21, who have any special
> needs that preclude them from participating in a mainstream Little League
> program. Beginning in 1993 with nine ball players, Springfield Challenger
> will register up to 200 players in our 13th Season. We just finished the
> Virginia State Challenger Fun Tournament this past weekend.
>
> 13. "The Age of Autism: Absence of evidence" dated 9 May 2005 by Dan
> Olmsted from United Press International at
> http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050508-082911-5005r.htm.
>
> "After several weeks of looking, the prevalence of autism among the
> central Pennsylvania Amish still appears remarkably low, and the few cases
> I have found suggest an ominous pattern. In two columns last month I
> asked, "Where are the autistic Amish?" My search encompassed Lancaster
> County, heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and I obtained a tentative
> answer. ..."
>
> 14. "Student Takes Different Path to University" dated 30 March 2004 by
> Desiree Cooper from the Detroit Free Press at
> http://www.bridges4kids.org/articles/4-04/FREEP3-30-04.html#top.
>
> "Social worker Janice Fialka warns that a child's high school graduation
> can be bittersweet, but especially so for the parents of developmentally
> disabled children. Fialka should know: Her son, 19-year-old Micah
> Fialka-Feldman, is a special education student. As his graduation drew
> near last year, it felt more like a dead end than an open road. "Eighty
> percent of people with disabilities are unemployed," said Rich Feldman,
> Fialka's husband and Micah's father. "There's not a view of them having a
> place in our society." From birth, Micah had developmental delays,
> including difficulty responding to voices and displaying certain emotions.
> In the first grade, Micah declared that he wanted to use the same door as
> everyone else. Since then, his parents have championed inclusion. Micah
> eventually lettered in cross-country and was on Berkley High School's
> homecoming court. "Kids like Micah have a better chance if they're
> included," Fialka said. "It's a social justice issue." ..."
>
> 15. "AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN COVENHAVER: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT
> STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS" dated 10 May 2005 by Michael F.
> Shaughnessy on EducationNews.org at
> http://www.educationnews.org/an-interview-with-john-covenhave.htm.
>
> "John Copenhaver, is currently Director of the Mountain Plains Regional
> Resource Center 1780 North Research Parkway No. 112 in Logan, Utah, 84341.
> The following are some commonly asked questions with guidance regarding
> providing services to students with special health care needs. Parents and
> teachers should check with their school district's attorney for further
> clarification and school policy issues. ..."
>
> 16. "Getting needled" dated 8 May 2005 by Rich Tucker from townhall.com
> at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/richtucker/rt20050508.shtml.
>
> "About 2 p.m. on April 30, Donald Herbert announced that he wanted to
> speak to his wife. Nothing unusual about that. Except Herbert had been
> silent since 1995. The former firefighter suffered brain damage when a
> roof collapsed on him, and doctors thought he'd never speak again. But
> there he was, asking for his wife. It's amazing how much we don't know
> about the human body. "We need to study hundreds if not thousand of
> patients like this so we can make generalizations," Dr. Joseph Fins of
> Cornell University told CNN. "Right now we can't predict which patient
> will have this kind rebooting and who will remain in permanent
> unconsciousness." Further brain study is important. But we'd all benefit
> if doctors showed the same curiosity about whether our childhood
> vaccination policy needs improvement. Sadly, doctors seem less interested
> in that. ..."
>
> 17. "A Blood Test for Autism Seen Possible' dated 6 May 2005 by Peggy
> Peck, Senior Editor from MedPage Today at
> http://www.medpagetoday.com/tbindex.cfm?tbid=1000&topicid=85.
>
> "Blood samples from children with autism have detectable changes in immune
> system regulation and protein expression suggesting that an autism blood
> test is possible. When blood samples from children with autism are
> compared with samples from children who are developing normally in this
> preliminary study, there are "signs of dysregulation of the immune system
> as well as a pattern of changes of in peptide expression that may serve as
> a marker for autism," said David G. Amaral, Ph.D., of the University of
> California Davis. ..."
>
> 18. "Study Refutes Link Between Childhood Vaccinations, Autism" dated 9
> May 2005 by Dr. Max Gomez from WNBC.com at
> http://www.wnbc.com/drmaxgomez/4467528/detail.html.
>
> "In their search for answers, many parents turn to studies that show a
> possible link between childhood vaccines -- in particular, the mumps,
> measles, rubella (MMR) vaccine -- and autism. But findings from a recent
> Mayo Clinic study do not suggest an association between vaccines and
> autism. While some studies show an increase in the occurrence of autism
> associated with vaccines, some researchers say there is a problem with
> those studies. "All of those studies have shown that the trend are called
> prevalence studies," said Dr. William Barbaresi, a pediatrician at the
> Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "They're studies that involve taking a
> snapshot in time. He says those studies don't look at trends over a long
> period of time. ..."
>
> 19. "Japanese Study Finds No Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism Rate"
> dated 8 May 2005 by Katrina Woznicki from MedPage Today at
> http://www.medpagetoday.com/tbindex.cfm?tbid=669.
>
> "Researchers from the Yokohama Rehabilitation Center in Japan and the
> Institute of Psychiatry in London evaluated children in Japan during a
> period when the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine was offered and when
> it was no longer used to assess any link between the vaccine and cases of
> autism. The research, published in Journal of Child Psychology and
> Psychiatry, showed that on a population level there is no link. ..."
>
> 20. "The Relationship Between Chemical Exposures and Incidence Of
> Learning and Other Developmental Disabilities" sponsored by Senators
> Lautenberg, Clinton, DeWine, Jeffords, Kennedy, Kerry & Snowe from
> Environmental Media Services at http://www.ems.org/nws/pf.php?p=1428.
>
> "Learning and developmental disabilities are estimated to affect one in
> six children in the U.S. under the age of 18, and scientists report that
> the rates appear to be increasing. The National Academies of Science
> estimates that 25 percent of developmental and neurological deficits in
> children are due to the interplay between environmental and genetic
> factors, and research indicates that the developing fetus and children are
> particularly vulnerable to chemical exposures. Of the more than 80,000
> chemicals currently registered in the marketplace, only 12 neurotoxicants
> have been thoroughly studied. Exposure to these chemicals in the womb and
> throughout childhood can damage the developing brain and contribute to
> learning and developmental disabilities. ..."
>
> 21. "Gene Mutated In Cancer Found In Some With Autism" dated 10 May 2005
> from Ohio State University in Science Daily.com at
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050509211018.htm.
>
> "A gene that is changed in many forms of cancer has also been found to
> show similar changes in some forms of autism, according to preliminary
> research. The gene, known as PTEN, was found to be changed, or mutated,
> in three of 18 people with larger than normal heads and autism spectrum
> disorder. Autism spectrum disorder includes classical autism, Rett
> syndrome and other conditions. ..."
>
> 22. "Alternative Advances: Brain Food for Autism" dated 9 May 2005 from
> Ivanhoe Broadcast News at
> http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=11170.
>
> "Autism affects one in every 166 children. It's the most common childhood
> developmental disorder. Now researchers say changing your autistic child's
> diet could change his life forever. The faces of autism -- young boys and
> girls stuck in a world all their own. A world Lin Schwarzkopf has come
> face to face with. Her 3-year-old Trevor was born with autism. It's a
> developmental disorder that's difficult to treat. Lucky for Lin, she ended
> up in the right doctor's office. Psychiatrist Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D.,
> Ph.D., who received his medical degree from Stanford, has worked with
> autistic children for decades -- not only using traditional medicine, but
> also trying alternative approaches. His treatment for Trevor wasn't a drug
> -- he changed his diet. ..."
>
> 23. "Hope for early autism diagnosis- Children's blood, immune systems
> show abnormalities" dated 6 May 2005 by Thomas H. Maugh II from the Los
> Angeles Times at
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/06/MNGL1CKUU21
> .DTL.
>
> "Autistic children have abnormalities in their immune systems and unusual
> constellations of proteins in their blood that may be an indicator of the
> disorder, UC Davis researchers said Thursday. The findings "suggest the
> possibility for future diagnostic tests for autism at birth" and may mean
> that "we can get children into effective treatment much earlier than is
> now possible," said Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg of the Boston University
> School of Medicine, who chaired the Fourth International Meeting for
> Autism Research in Boston, where the results were presented. ..."
>
> 24. FOR A COMPILATION OF ALL OF THE RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS THAT I HAVE
> SENT OUT SINCE 7 DECEMBER 2004 ON VARIOUS LIST SERVS, PLEASE GO TO THE
> POAC-NoVA WEB LINK OF:
> http://www.poac-nova.org/base.cgim?template=news_and_events.