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Autism and Comorbid Mental Health Issues: Challenges and Issues for School Teams
Children and youth with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) represent a variable and growing population in the K-12 school system who may be served under IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: 2004). ASD is, according to the DSM V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,...
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Autism Paradox and the Broken (Special) Education System
YouTube and the Internet have provided a boost for my 14-year-old autistic son, where his public school has failed to educate him. Technology has empowered Fridrik to explore his curiosity, while expands his intelligence. Using the 1990s cartoon series Dexter’s Laboratory and its 78 episodes...
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Building Skills in the Classroom with Smart Tablet Applications
Technology and teaching are becoming increasingly intertwined. Students in the twenty-first century will interact with the world through a technological lens. Technology is changing how and what we learn, allowing students access and directing them to those advancements which will determine future...
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Using Technology to Provide Evidenced-Based Outcome Data to Make Better Decisions
Schools, provider agencies and parents are concerned with looming cuts in special education services. Schools, provider agencies and parents are looking to become more efficient and effective with their programs. The Devereux School of NY has meet the challenge by partnering with Operant...
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The ASD Nest: A Successful Inclusion Model in the NYC Public School System
Ten years ago Dorothy Siegel and Shirley Cohen, working closely with administrators of a Brooklyn school district, initiated a pilot for the ASD Nest program. Now, ten years later, that pilot has evolved into a robust model based in 20 public elementary schools in New York City, with continuing...
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The Alien World of Work for Adults with Autism
After college, one is confronted with the confounding world of job searching. Unlike anything one has experienced before, a job search is filled with resumes, cover letters, and interviews, salary negotiations, networking, and writing that looks nothing like the work just finished to earn a degree....
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How to Improve the Public Special Education System: Empowering Parents, Educators and Treatment Providers
The Special Education system in New York City is an ever-evolving work in progress, and any shortcomings of the current system might be excused by the difficulty of the task at hand and/or the relatively short time-frame the system has had to evolve. Other challenges include changes in the...
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Teaching the Teachers: Creating New Opportunities and Outcomes in Educating Students with Special Needs
Educating students with special needs is an inherently challenging task due to the individualized and shifting needs of each student. Different schools of thought emerge when contemplating this issue: inclusion, a variety of special education services, modifications/accommodations, community based...
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Traditional Education May Be the Biggest Barrier to a Meaningful Education
Unlike many disorders that are treatable with a pill or procedure, the most important form of treatment for an autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is education. However, the traditional special education model, notwithstanding the great advances made in public education, individualized programing and...
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What You Need to Know Before Your Child Transitions to School
Although it is common knowledge that transitions are hard for most children with special needs, transitions can also be difficult for their parents, especially the transition from services in the home to services in the school. Under the age of three years, children are cocooned in their own...
