The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), known to parents of children across America as their states’ Protection and Advocacy agencies, has issued a formal call to action with their January 2009 report, “School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Investigative Report on Abusive Restraint and Seclusion in Schools.” Parents are supposed to send their children to… Continue Reading Seclusion and Restraint: America’s Children with Disabilities in Crisis
Archives for January 2009
Executive Dysfunction Requires More than a Magic Wand
I was recently stopped in my reading-tracks, by an article in the December 3, 2008 issue of Teacher Magazine. The teacher titled her perky little piece, “Teaching Secrets: Taming the Dragon of Classroom Chaos” (By, Cossondra George). In the first several paragraphs, the teacher laments -albeit without excuses – being “inherently disorganized, life’s simplest tasks… Continue Reading Executive Dysfunction Requires More than a Magic Wand
It is time to hold the national media accountable to students with disabilities!
In the 1976 film, Network, a nightly news anchor played by actor Peter Finch, says, “”I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” And while I have no desire to meet the same fate as Mr. Finch’s character and be shot to death for my passionate stance on America’s abysmal… Continue Reading It is time to hold the national media accountable to students with disabilities!
What is the Difference between a Pit Bull and a Parent Advocate/Education Activist?
What is the difference between a pit bull and a parent advocate/education activist? Well, with no intended slight to former Republican vice presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin or her comparison of pit bulls to hockey moms…the answer is still, lipstick. I’ll admit, I had not thought a lot about Governor Palin’s statement other than to… Continue Reading What is the Difference between a Pit Bull and a Parent Advocate/Education Activist?
Don’t Forget Your Power Drill in Your Special Education Tool Kit!
Have you ever felt like or actually found yourself grinding your teeth during an IEPT (individual education planning team) meeting? Or maybe in your sleep and during the nightmares that are more like autopsies of bad meetings and terrible results? IEPs (individual education plan) crafted and signed to deliver anything but the federally required “free… Continue Reading Don’t Forget Your Power Drill in Your Special Education Tool Kit!