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AUTISM FIRST STEPS
AUTISM DAILY NEWSLETTER     
Sunday December 16, 2001  

INDEX:
*   Behavior Analysis legislative alert
*   HBV Vaccination Safe in Neonates
*   Toy ideas for special kids Ten toys tips to Inspire a Love of Learning!  
*   Places where you can find more great tips on selecting, buying &
     modifying toys:
*   Several developmental disorders and bilingualism
*   Tradition & Technology!
*   A few other helpful holiday resources
*   First-of-its-Kind Report Identifies Thousands of High-Poverty and High-
     Minority Schools Across U.S. Performing Among Top Schools in Their
     States
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Behavior Analysis legislative alert

For all those interested in Behavior Analysis, an important bill is
currently in the Senate. It is the Rural Mental Health Bill S-859,
proposed by Sen. Thomas of Wyoming. The act is designed to increase
accessibility in rural areas by providing the following:

(1) Creating community education programs to lessen mental health stigma
(2) creating interdisciplinary training programs in University's between
mental health providers and primary care providers
(3) Study the effectiveness of mental health services delivered by
telehalth systems
(4) Develop 20 demionstration projects to provide services to children and
the elderly.

The bill currently lists clinical social workers, psychiatrists,
psychologists, mental health counselors, family therapists, and clinical
nurse specialists.  It would seem to me that a simple addition to this
list would be board certified Behavior Analysts. Especially given the
success of behavioral interventions with mental health conditions such as
ADHD, Oppositioanl defiant Disorder, and even depression. In addition in
some states such as Pa, autism and PDD are partially funded under the
mental health system. The time to act is now, before we are locked out.
E-mail your senator and suggest th change. To reach your senator, e-mail
combinations usually read as below:

the state @last name.senate.gov

for example Sen Thomas would be:

wyoming@thomas.senate.gov

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HBV Vaccination Safe in Neonates

NEW YORK  (Reuters Health) Dec 12 -

Hepatitis B vaccine administration within the first 21 days of life is not associated with an increase in febrile episodes, allergic or neurologic events or suspected sepsis, according to the results of a study conducted at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center. Although the vaccine is recommended for routine use in infants by the American Academy of Pediatrics, there have been anecdotal reports of an increased incidence of fever among newborns who receive this vaccine. To further investigate, Dr. Henry R. Shinefield, of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, in Oakland, California, and multicenter colleagues conducted a randomized trial of neonatal hepatitis B vaccination with more than 5000 infants born between November 1, 1991, and April 30, 1994. A total of 3302 infants were vaccinated within 21 days of birth and the remaining 2353 were not. All infants were full-term and healthy. The researchers found no differences between the two groups of infants in the incidence of fever, allergic reactions, seizures, or other neurologic events, they report in the November issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal. Moreover, vaccinated infants were significantly less likely than unvaccinated infants to undergo evaluation for sepsis, contrary to prior anecdotal reports (p < 0.001). The findings should allay concerns about the safety of neonatal hepatitis B vaccination, a potential obstacle to routine infant vaccination. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2001;20:1049-1054.

http://allergy.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/12/12.13/20011212clin007.html

READERS: Please respond to your feelings on the validity of this article
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Toy ideas for special kids Ten toys tips to Inspire a Love of Learning!

As parents we all want to find that perfect Christmas gift for our child that will light up their face on Christmas morning with an ear to ear grin. Unfortunately, when our child has a disability, the toys on the local mall shelves are not always the perfect choice. Don't give up though, let us offer you our "top ten choices" to get you started. We guarantee that these gifts will be fun, educational & guaranteed to earn you that picture perfect smile!

1. For the young artist - Chubbi Paint Sticks from DragonFly Toys.com. The set comes with 8 bold colored thick Paint Sticks. The sticks can be used dry as a rich pastel-like crayon, or wet to paint with by dipping them in water. Plus as added bonuses for Mom & Dad they are break-resistant and guaranteed not to drip!

2. For the school-age crafter - The Imagination Station from Ablenet, Inc. This switch-adapted device uses ordinary stamps, scissors, stapler, and hole punch so that your student can use the same tools the other kids are for creating their works of art.

3. For the future entrepreneur - The Coinulator from Different Roads to Learning, Inc. This is a wonderful new tool for learning about money. It uses realistic coin buttons to count money & includes 3 money-counting games to encourage practice. The buttons are so realistic looking that to add twenty-five cents you simply press the quarter. The coinulator is hand-held and cheers when the child does it correctly. There's even an "Oops" button to undo the numbers and try again. This is sure to have great entertainment value when shopping with Mom & Dad.

4. When you're ready to sit & snuggle, pick out a great book - Amazon.com offers over 2 million books, but we've selected some special titles sure to please your special kids. All of our recommended books are lively, heartwarming and filled with positive messages to help kids with special needs feel good about themselves.
Choose from titles for ages 4-8 OR choose from titles for ages 9-12.

5. Just for fun -- Pick out a new game from the SmarterKids.com Special Needs Center. I love the Sesame Street Cookie Hunt Jumbo Card Game. It's a great gift for all fans of Big Bird & company. It is a readily adaptable card game where the kids get to help Sesame Street characters find the missing cookies. It's simple rules can be modified and understood even by kids who can't read & the over-sized cards are easy to grasp. To make the game even more accessible, you can purchase a card holder or create one simply by cutting horizontal slots in a 2"x4"x12" wooden base. Be sure you cut the slots one-inch apart & at an angle so that all the cards will be visible to the player.

6. A "leap" forward into language arts - If you're in the market for a gift that really packs an educational punch, then check out Little Leap and Lovable Lilly. Both are hug-able, plush, talking frogs that use songs and games to teach alphabet, phonics, counting, colors, and even manners! Interactive songs ask "What's next?" , a challenging "mystery" game teaches thinking skills with fun "reasoning" clues, & the Say Please game is a friendly way to remind your kids to use their manners. Soft buttons on body and hands start and stop games & each has an automatic shut-off feature.

7. For older language learners -- If Little Leap doesn't quite meet the needs of your older child, consider the Leap Pad. The LeapPad is a wonderfully engaging toy that will help children learn to read, and love it! It includes a "magic wand" that lets children hear words and letters pronounced and sounded phonetically; read animated storybooks; engage in guided science and geography activities; and even play and listen to favorite songs on an interactive keyboard! Leappad lets each child progress at their own pace & has built-in volume control and a headphone jack for Mom & Dad.

8. For the kid on the go - If your child has people to see & places to go, then you may want to check out the new Talk Trac Wearable Communicator from Ablenet, Inc. The Talk Trac is the latest innovation in wearable personal communicators. You wear it on your wrist & can activate 4 personalized messages. The Talk Trac has 1-inch activation areas & 75 seconds of total message space.

9. For the animal lover -- The fascination that kids have for animals seems to be almost universal & this next item is a wonderful gift that combines the fun of a game, the color & action of a great cartoon, & lessons on science, nature & geography as only Ms. Frizzle can teach them. We found Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals available as computer game software at ToysRUs.com. To find four lost animals your child will explore the African savanna, Arctic tundra, Brazilian rain forest, Himalayan Mountains, the Sonoran desert, North American swamps and South Pacific islands. The software includes over 30 games for both fun & knowledge building plus there's also an art area where children can design and print out ecology posters. And in the interest of never getting bored again, when you've found the four lost animals and returned them to their respective homes, you can start the adventure all over again, with all new animals to find! This CD-ROM is packed with things to do & is one of the easier titles to play in the series. Plus it's just plain FUN!

10. And finally - In case you found a great new computer game (like the one in tip #9) but are worried about "mouse problems" -- never fear! Here comes the Switch Click from ACCI to the rescue. Switch Click allows you switch access to your computer. It acts as a left mouse click and works with switch accessible or scanning software. It also keeps your standard keyboard and mouse still functional (just in case Mom or Dad wants to join in the game) & is great for use either at home or in the classroom!

Hopefully, these ideas have got your creative juices flowing & on Christmas morning your efforts will be rewarded with the greatest smile ever!

© 2000 Lisa Simmons
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Places where you can find more great tips on
selecting, buying & modifying toys:

eParent's Toys 2000 offers a selection of articles from Exceptional Parent magazine with tips on choosing toys, adapting board games, avoiding toys with latex, and an annual toy review.

ERIC (the Education Resources Information Center) has a list of companies that manufacture or produce toys and accessories for children with disabilities. E-mail addresses and links are provided.

The National Leotek Center recommends 10 things to consider when buying toys for special kids.

Family Village has a directory of places to find accessible toys.

And the American Foundation for the Blind, provides an excellent guide to choosing off-the-shelf toys that are appropriate for kids who are blind or visually impaired.

Related Articles:

Taking a child with special needs to Disney World

Helping special needs kids participate in the holidays

Inclusion in the holiday activities at school
http://www.ideallives.com/generic.jhtml?pid=46

Iowa and World Wide Autism Registry

Disney's Magic Kingdom Seen Through The Eyes Of Autism

Magic Kingdom Part Two


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Several developmental disorders and bilingualism

Author/s: Caludio O. Toppelberg
Issue: Sept, 1999

Language ability is a strong predictor of functional outcome in autism (Nordin and Gillberg, 1998) and other moderate to severe developmental disorders (DD) such as mental retardation, childhood schizophrenia, and moderate to severe language disorders. For example, there is a strong relationship between language and aspects of both general and more specific (e.g., theory of mind ability) social functioning and adaptation in disorders ranging from autism to Down syndrome and specific language impairment (Tager-Flusberg and Sullivan, 1997). Therefore, it is essential to ensure an optimal language acquisition environment in order to maximize social and adaptive behavior outcomes in children with DD.Because second language and bilingual environments are becoming increasingly common in the United States and around the world, it seems timely to offer some clinical reflections on the impact of these environments on children with developmental delays. In the normal child, full bilingualism is associated with a wide range of cognitive advantages (Diaz, 1985). The research evidence is strong enough to contend that, when possible, every normal child should have the opportunity of being exposed to 2 or more languages and that an effort should be made to preserve the home language in language-minority children. The question is whether the same conclusions should apply to the child with severe DD, in whom control of either language, let alone bilingualism, is rarely attainable.To begin answering this question, we address (1) the importance of quality of language input in determining functional linguistic outcome in the child with DD and (2) the need to secure high-quality language input for the acquisition of a second language (L2). Then, we review the DD child's specific difficulties in acquiring L2. We conclude by offering a few clinical recommendations.Language Acquisition: Quality of Language Input for Normally Developing and DD ChildrenIt has been argued that most children acquire a first language effortlessly and without special teaching. Very young children appear to have inborn or early-developed cognitive mechanisms that allow them to acquire language very rapidly (Pinker, 1994). For instance, toddlers learn 10 new words a day and syntactic complexity increases exponentially between ages 18 and 36 months (Gleason, 1997). These mechanisms for language acquisition are pluripotential, i.e., able to learn the language of any language environment, including all the world's spoken and signed languages. Young children's extraordinary plasticity allows them to quickly pick up the abstract structure of the available input language, mentally translating it into rules about the use, the content, and the form of the language (Bloom and Lahey, 1978). These mental rules establish when to use a plural form, how to conjugate regular verbs, what sound variations are considered distinctive in a given language, and how to organize their mental dictionaries. Language input also allows young children to formulate pragmatic rules, such as rules about narrative, conversation, and social contexts appropriate for the use of particular linguistic forms. Relatively minimal language input, provided by both parents and peers, allows young children to extract actively these mental rules, though often adults from most cultures will adjust their language, making it easier to process and capturing the young child's attention to linguistic form and use (Snow, 1977).

To see the Full Story:
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2250/9_38/55812258/p1/article.jhtml?term=bilingualism

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Tradition & Technology!

All of us want to help make sure that all children enjoy the wonders of the holidays. Experts say that one of the most lasting gifts we can give our children is that of family traditions that will stay with them for a lifetime. This year as you celebrate the holidays we want to encourage parents to make the most of today's technology so that each child can embrace his or her family's traditions. In that spirit we list several common holiday traditions & a technology solution that might make the activity more accessible.

1. Baking holiday treats - Check out your local kitchenware store or a variety of assistive technology sites & you will find a wide range of "gadgets" designed to help those with limited dexterity or cognitive skills to participate in cooking. Low-tech solutions might include enlarged grips or color-coded measuring devises. For yummy holiday recipes, check out Old Fashioned Holidays.com

2. Singing carols - This is an area where a little pre-planning goes a long way. Before you family sits down for its song fest, spend some time thinking about ways your child could participate. Could they learn a part of the song that's repeated over & over (say "and a partridge in a pear tree")? Could they play a simple rhythm instrument such a set of jingle bells during appropriate songs (Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, etc.)? If they use a communication device could they "request" favorite songs or even have their "solo" programmed in so that at the proper moment they can join the fun? This is an area where a little creativity goes a long way!

3. Wrapping holiday gifts - Most kids find the bright colors & mysterious nature of gifts irresistible. With the advent of pop up tape dispensers many kids can participate as the "Keeper of the tape". Another possibility -- use electric scissors to cut your wrapping paper. Even if they don't have the dexterity to manage fine cuts, they will probably be able to make the first large cut from the roll & be delighted to be Mom or Dad's helper. You can find these other "wrapping tools" at home/office supply stores like Staples.com or Office Max

4. Holiday stories - Traditions, by their nature, are passed from 1 generation to the next. This is truest of all when it comes to the holiday stories you pass along to your children. This area seems very straight forward of course -- you simply read or tell the stories to your kids. But most kids thrive on repetition & going through the pictures in their books over & over again. If you don't have the time to help with this during the hectic pace of the holidays your child doesn't have to miss out. For repetition, simple record your families favorites on a cassette tape & use
6. Shopping! - Everyone is thinking gifts this time of year. Your kids won't be any different. Encourage them to go with you on a special shopping trip. Pick a time & place when things will be less crowded if you're worried about congestion & then utilize those choice making skills you encouraged all year round. Let me them show you special things they would like & also help you decide on gifts for close family members. Remember choice making can be done at virtually any level -- your child may be able to point to an item on a shelf or verbalize a toy's name. If not use their yes/no response to get to the proper area & then offer them a small selection of choices in your hands or on their wheelchair tray. Take your time & be sensitive to their body language & small moments. Parenting Special Needs offers some ideas on gift giving & lowering holiday stress.

7. Decorating a holiday tree or your home - This can start during the shopping trip if you are purchasing new decorations. Once you're home encourage them to be creative in how they participate. If they can use a long-range reach tool, they can position items in higher areas of the tree, if they have grasp but poor aim - they can decorate with less exact décor like tinsel. If they are more interested in quality than quantity, encourage them to select which ornament or decoration to use or where it goes. This can often be done using nothing more than a yes/no response.

8. Holiday Greeting Cards - With the abundance of sites on the web offering free electronic greetings this is an excellent tradition to use with kids who have developed good accessible computer skills. Guide them through the process & help them learn the email addresses of close friends & family members. Not only will they be able to select & personalize their own holiday greetings, but also they will be building email skills that can be used for socialization long after the holidays are past. If traditional cards full of family photos are more your style, be sure & check out the tips from Kodak on how to make them turn out "picture-perfect"!

9. Writing Santa - On a related note, many holiday sites offer an electronic way for kids to send their wish lists to Santa. So hook them up on that accessible computer & let them go to it. If that's not an option, a more low-tech solution is to help your child write a picture letter to Santa. Create a simple fill in the blank letter form & then let your child "fill it in" with Poloroids of desired items & even a current picture for the signature.

10. Holiday worship - For many people of course, worship assumes a central place in their lives during the holidays. Work with your pastor or children's minister to find a way for your child to be included in the children's choir or holiday pageant. If they need ideas -- a good place to start might be a copy of our recent article for educators on including special needs students in holiday programs! Don't be afraid to train your worship leaders in the use of assistive technology. Not only will their understanding open doors for your child to participate in worship, but it will help the entire congregation gain a better understanding of all that is possible!

May your family have a wonderful holiday filled with warm & loving traditions!

© 2000 Lisa Simmons

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A few other helpful holiday resources

Smart Travel Tips -- If your family is planning to travel during the holiday, the folks at Foders have some suggestions on travel support for those with a disability.
Fodors.com > Smart Travel Tips > Disabilities
10 Great Holiday Web Sites for Teachers or Homeschoolers -- These resources will help you get in the spirit of the season and teach your kids more about Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Chanukah.
Education World ® : Curriculum: Ten Holiday Web Sites You Won't Want to Miss!

Holiday activities -- Pick the holiday you're interested in & find links to tons of fun activities & resources for your classroom or a family fun night.
Holiday Lesson Plans & Activities
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First-of-its-Kind Report Identifies Thousands of High-Poverty and High-Minority Schools Across U.S. Performing Among Top Schools in Their States

Washington, DC – The Education Trust released today a first of its kind state-by-state and national analysis of high-poverty and high-minority schools that score in the top 1/3 of all schools in their states. The report, Dispelling the Myth Revisited, finds that in the year 2000 – the most recent year for which test data are available in every state – over 4,500 high-poverty and/or high-minority schools nationwide scored in the top 1/3 of all schools in their states – often out-performing predominantly white schools in wealthy communities. The Education Trust also released its accompanying interactive Web site, Dispelling the Myth Online.The report – Dispelling the Myth Revisited – evaluates over one million school-level test scores in 47 states and the District of Columbia. It identifies the schools in each state with math and/or reading achievement levels in the top 1/3 of all schools that also ranked in the top 1/3 of the state for poverty levels and/or African American and Latino enrollments. (Complete state-by-state lists of schools with achievement and demographic data are included in the report.) This report updates the Education Trust’s 1999 Dispelling the Myth, which examined 366 high-performing high-poverty and high-minority schools in 21 states (this report is available at www.edtrust.org). The interactive Web site – Dispelling the Myth Online – is a searchable database that allows journalists to generate instant lists of schools based on users’ own search criteria."Twenty years ago Ron Edmonds asked, 'How many effective schools would you have to see to be persuaded of the educability of poor children?' Until now, limited technology and poor data collection have meant that those of us who share Ron's belief – the belief that poor and minority children can achieve at high levels when they are taught at high levels – could, at best, come up with a handful of schools to butress our arguments," said Kati Haycock, Director of the Education Trust upon releasing the report. "Well, that's all about to change. Our new analysis identifies not hundreds, but THOUSANDS of high-achieving high-poverty and high-minority schools. Naysayers can no longer dismiss such schools as mere outliers," Haycock continued.In commenting on this data, Georgia Governor Roy E. Barnes, who participated in the National Education Summit in October, said, "These data show that the achievement gap can indeed be closed. This report helps dispel the myth and the excuses by showing that, even for children living in poverty, we are correct in raising expectations, providing resources, supporting quality leadership and teaching, and yes, even insisting on accountability."
All of the schools in the Dispelling the Myth Revisited analysis have poverty and minority enrollment levels of at least 50%, and many are far greater than that. To make the list, schools also had to have poverty and/or minority levels in the top 1/3 of all schools in their states. In states with high minority enrollment, this criterion excluded nearly 1,500 schools, even though their scores were among the top 1/3 in their states.
AMONG THE REPORT’S FINDINGS:
Nationally, among those schools meeting the analysis criteria were:

As a group, these schools educate approximately 2,070,000 (over 2 million) public school students, including:

Schools on the high-performing, high-poverty list have about twice the rate of low-income students compared with all public schools nationally, and score in the top 1/3 of schools in their respective states.

Schools on the high-performing, high-minority list have more than twice the rate of African American and Latino students compared with all public schools nationally, and score in the top 1/3 of schools in their respective states.

Nearly half of the schools in the analysis -- 46% -- scored in the top 1/3 in their states in both math AND reading or language arts.

The overwhelming majority of schools in the analysis are regular neighborhood public schools.  

LESSONS FROM PRINCIPALS AND SOME COMMON CHARACTERISTICS (see attachment for principal quotes)In the Education Trust’s 1999 Dispelling the Myth report, surveys of principals of those schools showed that they shared six common characteristics. Preliminary interviews with principals from Dispelling the Myth Revisited schools indicate that these schools, like the ones in the original report, share most of the same characteristics. In addition, there seems to be a new emphasis on the role of assessments in helping schools guide instruction and deploy resources, and also as a healthy part of everyday teaching and learning.These characteristics include:

Extensive use of state/local standards to design curriculum and instruction, assess student work and evaluate teachers;

Increased instruction time for reading and mathematics;

Substantial investment in professional development for teachers focused on instructional practices to help students meet academic standards;

Comprehensive systems to monitor individual student performance and to provide help to struggling students before they fall behind;

Parental involvement in efforts to get students to meet standards;

State or district accountability systems with real consequences for adults in the school, and;

Use of assessments to help guide instruction and resources, and as a healthy part of everyday teaching and learning.

"This report is unique for filling in the information gap that Ron Edmonds faced as he attempted to draw attention to how these high-performing schools could help many educators overcome their limited expectations for poor and minority children. But we know that more work still remains to be done. We intend to dig even deeper into what’s behind these schools and to get out the message about what works," said Craig Jerald, author of the report and senior policy analyst at the Education Trust. "We invite journalists and researchers to join in our effort to examine high-performing, high-poverty and high-minority schools."The report is an analysis of a massive new U.S. Department of Education database which was created by the American Institutes for Research. It is the largest database on U.S. public schools ever developed, and the first to combine school-level assessment scores along with demographic and other kinds of information on nearly all of the nation’s schools. This is the first ever published analysis of that database.The Education Trust is making this database accessible to users through the Dispelling the Myth Online site and is available on the Education Trust Web site http://www.edtrust.org,  just ranked as the top education Web site by National Journal. Dispelling the Myth Online will be updated several times per year as states release new test scores for schools. We also plan to introduce data on the performance of groups within schools as states move to make such data available over the next few years.   (attachments)

*** Our actuality line numbers are (actuality available in both English and Spanish): ***toll free – 888-784-3322 OR locally – 202-638-3214Report is available on web site only -- www.edtrust.org.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.