From the Ottawa [Canada] Citizen:

Suspensions of students with special needs in the Ottawa public schools have risen by more than 56 percent over the past year, while suspensions for all students dropped almost 30 percent over the same time period. In all, some 16 percent of students with special needs had been suspended over the past year.

The figures were included in a report to be discussed by the board of education’s Special Education Advisory Committee Wednesday. The “special needs” category covered students with behavioral issues, learning disabilities, autism and mild intellectual disabilities, as well as kids who had been identified as gifted.

“The kids who need help the most are the ones getting suspended,” said a former special education teacher who now serves as an advocate for students who had been suspended.

From the Scranton [PA] Times-Tribune:

A Pennsylvania couple whose daughter has autism have developed an iPhone application that allows a caretaker to keep a digital record of a child’s responses to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

Behavior Tracker Pro streamlines the process of documenting a child’s behavior, making it unnecessary for a caregiver to take notes on paper and then enter the information into a computer. The software has been approved by Apple as an “app” and is available on the iTunes Web site.

From WTVF Nashville, and the [Columbia, TN] Daily Herald:

A judge has issued an emergency injunction against educators at a Tennessee elementary school following allegations that a student with developmental disabilities was stripped down to his underwear and locked in a seclusion room.

Michelle Parks, mother of the 9-year-old boy, said her son’s civil rights had been violated. “I don’t think our elected representatives envisioned a prison cell inside an elementary school for special needs children,” said Kevin Latta, her attorney.

Parks said she was called to Joseph Brown Elementary School in Columbia to pick up her son for acting out in class. She found him wearing only his underwear and standing in a small cinderblock seclusion room with a concrete floor, no chairs and a door with no handle.

The school suspension notice says the boy, who is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, was verbally abusive and kicked a teacher. Parks said she was told her son’s clothes were taken away for his own protection.

(Photo from Daily Herald)

By Alan Judd in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The suicide of 13-year-old Jonathan King highlights concerns about a lack of regulation of what are called “psychoeducational” schools for children with  behavioral problems.

Authorities say the schools offer a cost-effective way for allow such children to be educated in their communities. Some parents and advocates question their disciplinary tactics, especially physical restraint and seclusion.

Jonathan hanged himself in a stark 8-by-8 concrete-block “time out” room in his Georgia school, using a belt provided by a teacher. The boy, who had ADHD, had been repeatedly locked up there for misbehaving. Georgia educates about 5,600 students with disabilities at 24 “psychoeducational” schools. The state does not regulate restraint or seclusion of students.

Earlier posts here.

Related posts here.

(Photo from Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

From the [Minneapolis-St. Paul] Star Tribune:

Psychologist Sue Pederson says she and her colleagues at the Fraser Child & Family Center in Minneapolis may have found a new way to reach students with Asperger’s:  iPods that cue them on navigating in society.

The devices may carry videos with scripts known as “social stories” that are used to teach basic social skills. Other useful information: “To-do” lists, suggested conversation-starters, and slide shows about acceptable behavior.

Experts say the iPod programs work well because many kids with Asperger’s are more comfortable with electronic gadgets than with people, and because the devices are inconspicuous. Researchers are developing similar software for cellphones, pocket organizers and other devices.

Earlier post here.

From AP/Philadelphia Inquirer:

New Jersey governor Jon Corzine is expected to sign a measure, passed by the state legislature, that would expand health insurance coverage for autism and other developmental disabilities.

The bill would require insurers to cover the cost of autism treatments deemed medically necessary, including behavioral intervention and speech, physical and occupational therapy. The measure would cap coverage at $36,000 annually for patients aged 21 and younger.

If Corzine signs the measure as expected, New Jersey will become the 14th state to mandate such insurance coverage.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat, warned voters yesterday that budget cuts would reverse years of progress in autism treatment unless state lawmakers hike income taxes by 16 percent for three years.

Speaking at an autism rally at Bryn Mawr, Rendell urged voters to lobby their lawmakers.

One theme emerged: Services for autistic children, though expanded in recent years, virtually disappear once the children turn 21. As the disorder is diagnosed in more and more people, the need for state programs to back up hard-pressed parents will only grow.

Republicans responded that there was “zero” chance of getting approval for a tax increase during an economic downturn, and said the cuts to autism services would not affect treatment.

See also: NJ senate passes bill expanding coverage for developmentally disabled children — [NJ] Star-Ledger

“Countless families with an autistic child are bankrupting themselves to give their child the potential for a brighter future,” said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden), one of the bill’s sponsors whom families credited for driving the bill’s success. “Autistic and disabled adults who have not received the proper treatment will leave our families, communities and state with new and more expensive challenges.”