News at a Glance
A Victory in the
U.S. Supreme Court
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 that parents of children receiving
special education services can represent their child’s education interests
in court without hiring an attorney and without having to be an attorney
themselves. The case was Winkelman v. Parma City School District. The parents
of Jacob Winkelman couldn’t afford an attorney, but they disagreed
with decisions made during a due process hearing about educational services
Jacob was receiving through the Parma City School District, and they wanted
to argue their case in court themselves. The Arc of the U.S. participated
in a “friend of the court” brief supporting the Winkelmans. The
brief said this decision should help some families who can’t afford
attorneys to pursue legal action against school districts. It also said that,
because of the ruling, districts may be more likely to work with families,
since there is a chance that parents can take them to court with or without
an attorney.
Source:
The Arc of Minnesota ![]()
Volunteer Opportunities
Available at
Mental Illness Nonprofit
Give a little time, get a
lot in return. It only takes a few hours a month to make a huge difference
in the life of an adult who experiences depression, anxiety or another
psychiatric disability. Being a friendship volunteer helps your
new friend stay active, improve their health and fulfill their
dreams. And the best part is, you’ll not
only see what it does for them, you’ll feel what it does for
you. A variety of volunteer positions are available.
Learn more by contacting the
Volunteer Coordinator at Guild Incorporated: 651-450-2220 ext. 18
or e-mail at volunteer@guildincorporated.org Check
out our Web site at www.guildincorporated.org for more information.
Source: Guild Incorporated ![]()
New Sleep Health Clinic
for
Children with Disabilities
Gillette Children’s
Specialty Healthcare has opened a first-of-its-kind Sleep Health
Clinic for children with disabilities at the St. Paul hospital
campus.
“Sleep is a quality of life issue for not only children, but
their families as well,” explains John Garcia, M.D. a board-certified
sleep specialist at Gillette Children’s. “When a child
is struggling with sleep issues, it affects their overall health
and well-being in dramatic ways. Diagnosing sleep issues and taking
steps to improve sleep can be one of the most important ways to improve
a child’s health and the entire family’s quality of life.”
The Gillette Sleep Health
Clinic will be the regions’ first
and only sleep clinic dedicated to children with disabilities. Up
to 70 percent of children with disabilities have sleep problems including
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Symptoms of OSA may include snoring,
observed apnea, excessive daytime sleepiness and seizures, among
others. Gillette’s Sleep Health Clinic will be particularly
beneficial to children with cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy,
craniofacial anomalies, mitochondrial disorders and neuromuscular
conditions.
Children visiting the clinic will come in during the early evening
hours for this all-night evaluation. They will be able to bring comfort
items from home with them and can expect to have a parent with them
in an adjoining room the entire time. A sleep study involves the
monitoring and recording of a number of physiologic variables while
a child sleeps.
Source: Gillette Children’s ![]()
UCP Releases Statewide
Medicaid
Report
United Cerebral Palsy publicly recently released
a report, The Case for Inclusion 2007, on how states are serving
Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities under
Medicaid. The report ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia
on how well the states are providing community-based supports.
The full report and state-by-state breakdowns on more than 40 data
categories (not all of which are included in the report) are available
at www.ucp.org/medicaid
The report provides a tool to compare how your state is doing in
comparison to the rest of the country. Whether your state ranks first
(Arizona) or 51st (Mississippi) in the overall rankings, the report
and data reveal that every state has room for improvement.
Some of the report’s
key findings include:
• Forty one states have
176 large state institutions (more than 16 beds) housing 39,000 Americans;
• Only
16 states direct more than 80% of funding to people living in the
community;
• Sixteen states report
very large and long waiting lists for services; and
• Only one
in four people with disabilities participates in competitive employment.
This is the second year that UCP has scored and ranked states on
their Medicaid-funded services to Americans with intellectual and
developmental disabilities. The 2007 rankings were developed with
a new methodology that is more comprehensive and focused. UCP plans
to use this new methodology as the foundation for any future rankings,
providing advocates and elected officials with a vehicle for year-to-year
comparisons on how their state is performing.
Source: United Cerebral
Palsy of Minnesota ![]()
New Bus Routes to Courage
Center Announced
As mentioned
last month, Metro Transit service to the Courage Center changed as
of June 2, 2007. Here are some further details about the shift: Buses
marked 14 with the letter C, G, and D will now go past Courage Center
from downtown. You can catch them along
7th St, but there is no pickup at Hennepin on 7th, which is a change.
The bus letter designation is as follows: 14C goes past Courage
Center to Noble and takes a right to the Robbinsdale transit station
(42nd & Broadway); 14D passes Courage Center and onto Duluth
St to Douglas (Honeywell), then North to 36th, and East to Noble
onto the transit station; finally, 14G ends at the Park and
Ride on Duluth and Lilac.
From the Courage Center, take either 14A or 14E, depending on how
far past downtown you want to go. While ‘A’ will take
you all the way to 54th and Bloomington Avenue in South Minneapolis, ‘E’ ends
at 38th Street and Hiawatha.
Source: Courage Center ![]()
"Pillow Angel" Surgery
Illegal,
Admits Hospital
Last week, the Children Hospital and
Regional Medical Center admitted that they broke Washington state
law three years ago by performing a hysterectomy on Ashley, a girl
with severe cognitive and physical disabilities, who is now 9 years
old. Her parents refer to her as their “Pillow Angel.”
“Washington law specifically prohibits the sterilization of
minors with developmental disabilities without zealous advocacy on
their behalf and court approval,” stated Mark Stroh, executive
director of Washington Protection and Advocacy System, the organization
which investigated the incident.
The hospital blames
a miscommunication stemming from a note written by Ashley’s parents’ attorney,
which indicated that a court order was not required for the operation.
“Not being lawyers, we just assumed that the opinion must
have been sufficient, and that it had been reviewed by someone who
would know that,” said Dr. Douglas Diekema, who served on the
hospital’s ethics committee.
Despite lacking the
court’s blessing, Diekema says the hospital
made the right decision in performing the treatment on Ashley. “Nobody
has been able to say that what we did to Ashley has harmed her,” he
said.
The Washington Department of Health is investigating whether further
action, if any, should be taken against the hospital or physicians.
Ashley was diagnosed with severe brain damage shortly after birth.
Her hysterectomy was one of a number of methods her parents have
implemented to stunt her growth so they could care for her at home
more easily as she grows.
Source: UCPeople, United Cerebral Palsy ![]()
Understanding
ADHD Begins Where
Traditional Literature Ends
“They Say I Have ADHD, I Say
Life Sucks!”: Thoughts from
Nicholas, a new book by Lisa-Anne Ray-Byers, is an insightful narrative
that reveals how ADHD impacts a child’s life socially, academically,
emotionally and physically.
“They Say…” is based on the author’s years
of experience in meeting children who have ADHD, her own experiences
as a child, and her son who has ADHD. Readers follow Nicholas and
his animated clock companion through a typical day, a day in which
he talks too much, loses a friend or two, forgets his homework, loses
track of time, gets sent to the principal’s office and feels
all-around inadequate. Ray-Byers’ writing—as informed
by her own daily experience—provides readers with a close glimpse
into the mind of a child who has ADHD.
Ray-Byers, a speech-language
pathologist, wrote the book to inspire empathy in parents, teachers,
administrators, and even psychological and neurological specialists.
She also strived to demonstrate the thoughts and feelings behind
many of the behaviors exhibited by children who have ADHD and to
put into words what most young children can not. “They Say I Have ADHD…” is
a valuable reference for anyone who works with children who have
ADHD and an effective discussion piece for parents and their children.
Source: Booksurge
LLC ![]()
