Access to School Athletics for Students with Disabilities is Investigated

Demand for inclusive sports is on the rise, and the investigative arm of Congress is looking into how schools provide access to sports for students who have disabilities. While federal law prohibits the exclusion of students with disabilities from school sports, no standards are in place to help schools determine how best to provide physical education and athletic opportunities for such students. A Maryland law passed last year may provide a model for other states.

Link to Education Week article "GAO Probes Access of Students with Disabilities to Sports": http://bit.ly/4yplf3

Though Research is Promising, Some Would Not Treat Down Syndrome

According to new research, scientists have been able to alleviate cognitive problems in mice that were genetically engineered to exhibit symptoms similar to Down syndrome. Scientists administered a drug that boosts a chemical messenger in the brain. But a new survey shows that nearly 60% of parents say they might choose not to treat their children who have Down syndrome even if there was a cure for the disorder, a Canadian survey showed.

Link to LA Times blog Booster Shots article "Is a wonder pill necessarily wonderful for people with down syndrome?": http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/down-syndrome-treatment.html

Link to MIT Technology Review article "Potential Treatment for Down Syndrome": http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23979/?a=f

Down Syndrome Terminations May Be Double Reported Rate

Link to Article: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/10/down-syndrome-terminations/6117/

By Shaun Heasley, Disability Scoop Online - Women who learn prenatally that they are carrying a child with Down syndrome may be having abortions in twice the numbers officially reported, a British registry of Down syndrome statistics suggests. The group estimates that there were 4,777 terminations following a Down syndrome diagnosis between 2004 and 2008 compared to Department of Health numbers indicating that 2,168 during that same period, reports the (London) Daily Mail.

See the link above to read the entire article.

MSNBC Article: Autism Seen As An Asset, Not Liability In Some Jobs

A new movement helps hone unique traits of autism into valuable skills! Follow this link to read the entire article by Chris Tachibana: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34047713/ns/health-mental_health/?ns=health-mental_health

Two Projects Related to Inclusive Education

Two projects from the National Inclusive Education Initiative (NIEI) at the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability (http://iod.unh.edu/niei.html)

1. Educator Leadership Series - A web-based professional development series for educators focusing on the foundation of and strategies that promote inclusive education for students with autism and related disabilities

2. Model Demonstration Elementary Schools - schools across the nation can apply for an opportunity to be chosen as one of 20 model demonstration elementary schools. The chosen schools will receive professional development, technical assistance, and leadership team facilitation to focus on inclusive education.

See the above website for deadlines and more information.

Parents Connecting to Other Parents: An Antidote to Stress

"Stress: Portrait of a Killer" is a National Geographic film featuring Stanford University neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. A 5-minute segment in the film focuses on parents of children with disabilities and a study that shows there is biochemical evidence that the chronic stress parents experience damages areas of the brain. So what is the one antidote to the damage caused by chronic stress? Getting together with other parents in a supportive atmosphere! check the following link for more information and to view a clip from the film: http://www.pbs.org/stress/

What If People With Down Syndrome Ruled The World?

This is the title of a paper authored by Dennis McGuire, Ph.D. of the Adult Down Syndrome Center of Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge Illinois. It was originally delivered as a plenary address at the conference in Chicago in July of 2005, co-sponsored by the National Down Syndrome Society and the National Association for Down Syndrome. You can read the full text at http://www.nads.org/pages_new/news/ruletheworld.html