‘Waves are toys from God’

From USA Today (with video):

Competitive surfer Clay Marzo is widely regarded as being among the world’s best. He’s also got Asperger’s syndrome.

His surfing peers marvel at his skills, but also are baffled by his many quirks and mannerisms, which include lots of hand-rubbing, hair-twisting and voracious eating habits.

Marzo’s impact on the sport has been so significant that major sponsors and contest directors now are changing the structure and judging of new surfing competitions to focus on the creative and expressive aspects that the goofy-footed (surf lingo for right-foot forward) surfer is bringing to the sport.

Earlier posts here.

(Photo from USA Today)

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

A ruling by an arbitrator in response to a teacher complaint could force the Cleveland school district to hire hundreds more special education teachers.

Cleveland’s union contract requires that each inclusion classroom be team taught full-time by a general education teacher and a special education teacher. Presently, the district more often pulls students with disabilities out of their classrooms and sends them to a central location for extra help. The arbitrator’s decision could force the district to hire up to six new teachers per school.

A compromise agreement is expected.

From the Omaha World-Herald:

Nebraska’s troubled Beatrice State Developmental Center has moved a step closer to losing $25 million a year in federal Medicaid funds. The state has received word that its appeal of Medicaid decertification has been denied.

The Beatrice Center’s funding has been in jeopardy since September 2006, when it failed seven of eight federal standards and received two federal citations for problems that endangered residents. Earlier this year, state inspectors found that problems at the center had led to the death of an 18-year-old woman.

The center, which cares for about 185 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has also been cited by the U.S. Justice Department, which found that its practices had violated residents’ constitutional and legal rights.

Earlier posts here.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A report by the Illinois State Board of Education has found that about half of Chicago public schools reviewed by the state failed to provide adequate services to children with disabilities.

The report, which “excoriates the district for its continued failure to comply with federal disability laws,” also found that 40 percent of the 96 schools monitored were not properly implementing special education plans.

The school district was supposed to come up with a plan to address the concerns this month, but instead is challenging the report. Administrators argue there are only six areas that need more work [not 11], and blame the state’s findings on flawed methodology.

From the Washington Post:

A private school faces closure after the District of Columbia decided to pull 170 students with disabilities, citing concerns about the quality of instruction. Officials at Accotink Academy said they planned to fight the decision and had not been told of any concerns before notices were sent to parents.

The District has nearly 9,300 special education students, including those in public charter schools, and about 30 percent of them are enrolled in private schools because the District can’t meet their needs. The cost to taxpayers in tuition and transportation is about $200 million a year. Accotink Academy has been receiving about $10 million a year from the D.C. school system, according to District figures.

[Correspondence from the District to the school] said that Accotink staff members were “indifferent” to the students and that the quality of teaching was “quite low.” It also said teachers didn’t seem to be following individualized education plans, which guide instruction for special education students.

Several parents said they hadn’t noticed any problems and are worried about their children switching schools mid-year.

See also: D.C. parents decry move against private school — Washington Post

From Bloomberg News, Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal, San Diego Business Journal, Market Watch:

San Diego-based Sequenom Inc. today announced the firings of two top executives following a five-month-long independent investigation of alleged mishandling of research data on a first-trimester blood test for Down syndrome. Company executives had touted its SEQureDx test as 100 percent accurate.

Terminated were CEO Harry Stylli and senior vice president for research Elizabeth Dragon, as well as three unnamed researchers. The company’s chief financial officer, Paul Hawran, and Steven Owings, who oversaw commercial development in prenatal diagnostics, also resigned.

The company said in a statement that it had “failed to put in place adequate protocols and controls for the conduct of studies” of its prenatal test for Down syndrome. “Certain employees also failed to provide adequate supervision.”

Test data “included inadequately substantiated claims, inconsistencies, and errors,” Sequenom said today. “Due to the deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures, in a number of instances such test data and results were reported to the public in our press releases and other public statement.”

… “We are no longer relying on, and the public should no longer rely on, any of our previously announced test data and results for our noninvasive prenatal test for [Down's Syndrome],

… Shares of Sequenom were halted prior to the news late Monday after closing at $5.69, down 71% for the year. In after-hours trading, the stock fell 44% to $3.18, close to the low of $2.86 hit in the wake of the initial disclosure of the issues in April.

Earlier posts here.

From Agence France Press:

Pablo Pineda, a Spanish actor with Down syndrome, has been  awarded the best actor prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival for his performance in the film “Yo, Tambien” (“Me Too”).

Pineda plays a 34-year-old man with Down syndrome who, like Pineda himself, earns a university degree. His character then goes on to start his first job in regional social services and fall in love with a colleague. Pineda has a university degree in special education.

To play Sanz with a range of emotions from joy to disappointment and sadness “called for a lot of introspection, I had to relive some very difficult moments,” said Pineda after the feature-length film by directors Antonio Naharro and Alvaro Pastor was screened at the festival.

See also:

Pablo Pineda: ‘Soy realista: yo no soy un actor’ – El Mundo (Spain) — An excerpt:

“El problema”, abundó Pineda, “es que hay gente que ni siquiera tiene una oportunidad en la vida como la que yo he tenido. He hecho esta película por ellos. Siempre me he considerado el portavoz, el que lleva la bandera del colectivo Down, porque no tienen voz. Alguien tiene que tenerla y me ha tocado a mí”.

Unofficial translation:

“The problem,” explained Pineda, “is that there are people who have not even had the opportunity in life like the one I have had. I have made this film on their behalf. I have always considered myself the spokesman, the one to carry the flag for the Down syndrome community, because they don’t have a voice. Somebody must have it, and it has fallen to me.”

Pablo Pineda: ‘Hoy parezco Brad Pitt’ – El Mundo

Pablo Pineda: “No habría sido lo mismo si no se lo hubieran dado a Lola” – Estrella Digital

‘Yo, también’, las personas con síndrome de Down también se enamoran – Galiciaé

(AFP photo)