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Musical therapy is making breakthroughs

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Jan 25 2012

Technology enables people with severe physical and mental disabilities to communicate and enjoy a more enriching life. By Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic January 22, 2012 There is a great deal of music in the world, and no one knows exactly why. But it does have its ready uses. The music business can make you rich and famous. The pianist Christopher O'Riley admitted in The Times last week what a lot of classical musicians won't: He learned the piano, at least in part, to attract the attention of girls. As I write this, a sparkling new recording of Tod Machover's "Sparkler," an infectious overture for orchestra and live electronics, is playing on my stereo and making itself useful. The CD, "but not simpler…," is...

iPads in class energize kids as teachers test how to use them

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Jan 25 2012

By Kevin Simpson The Denver Post For 10-year-old Kaitlyn Chin, the first few weeks of school came packed with holidaylike anticipation — especially when the fourth-grader at Legacy Academy in Elizabeth saw boxes delivered to the building. "I would always hope they were the iPads," she says. And finally, they arrived — a wave of tablet devices that, combined with other Apple technology, created a schoolwide learning system based largely on the second-generation iPad2. "The first day we could bring them home, I was up all night," recalls Kaitlyn. "I learned so many things, it really shocked me." Well into a first, full year of experimentation, many educators also describe a steep learning curve with their introduction to the popular touch-screen tablet. Students use the $600 devices to read novels, shoot videos, conduct research, hone their writing skills and bring new...

A New Resource: The Medicaid Reference Desk

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Dec 28 2011

Recently, the Arc of the United States has created a new, comprehensive online reference center offering information on Medicaid and state Medicaid services. The website is designed to provide information to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, families, Service brokers, service providers, and policymakers alike. It is currently the only website that provides in-depth Medicaid service information specifically for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This project is funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), a government agency whose mission is to make sure that people with developmental disabilities have access to the community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that they need. ADD and The Arc support people with I/DD to be independent, self-determined, healthy and productive people who are included in all areas of community life. The website is designed to offer...

Life with Down syndrome

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Dec 21 2011

Opinion Piece; By Jeremy P. MeyerThe Denver Post The memory from eight years ago is almost as vivid as if it had occurred only seconds ago. My wife was in the recovery room at Penrose Community Hospital in Colorado Springs, having delivered our first child, a daughter who came early and under emergency conditions. Behind drawn curtains in the crowded recovery room, we watched a video I had just shot of our baby in the neonatal intensive care unit when the doctor who performed the delivery nervously approached. Standing just outside the curtain, the doctor changed our lives. "We believe your baby has Down syndrome," she said. "I'm so sorry." The perfect baby we were expecting now was gone. We didn't know much about Down syndrome but soon realized the world was looking at us and our baby differently. Instead of congratulations, we were told, "I'm so sorry." In place of flowers and balloons, the hospital sent a chaplain. We were given outdated material abou...

Loveland, CO teen uses neurostimulation to walk again a year after paralysis

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Dec 21 2011

By Monte Whaley The Denver Post LITTLETON — On her final day in paradise, Kristen Adlhoch tried to surf for the first time. Standing on her surfboard made for good photos, but then she felt a weakness and tingling in her legs. Adlhoch left the water and collapsed on the beach. By the time she reached the hospital 20 minutes later, her legs were useless. That was more than a year ago, during a family vacation in Hawaii to celebrate Thanksgiving. The whole family was there: Adlhoch, her parents and her little sister. "We had pretty much did it all on the islands, and then we decided to try surfing on our last day," Adlhoch said. "That was really the last time I felt my legs." But thanks to her cheery tenacity and new wireless technology that defies her paralysis, the now-19-year-old Colorado State University freshman is walking again — tentatively — for about two hours a day. These shaky first steps are importan...

ZATSWHO has Exclusive Discount Deal for EFTV Community

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Dec 16 2011

In the News

ZATSWHO is giving the Exceptional Family TV community an Exclusive Discount Deal for a great Holiday gift and stocking stuffer! Receive $5.00 off each set ZATSWHO® Soft Photo Recognition Flashcard game. (Offer valid 12/15 - 12/18) The Soft and Sensory Photo Frames Double as a Flashcard Game! Fun and Educational. Slip in your photo's for your child to learn: To recognize family and friends - by identifying the special people/places/things in their lives Critical basic skills, language and memory development: shape and color identification, and sequential thinking How to explore their own imaginations and express that to others! Preserve special memories - holidays, vacations, and other meaningful moments becoming a keepsake! Keeps Family Connected Easy to Hold / Soft & Flexible Wipes C...

Inclusion: The Right Thing for All Students

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Nov 18 2011

Nov. 11, 2011, 11:34 a.m. [Op-Ed in New York Times] By Cheryl M. Jorgensen Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D., is a member of the affiliate faculty with the National Center on Inclusive Education at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. In 2008 she received the National Down Syndrome Congress Education Award for her leadership and pioneering research supporting the inclusion of students with Down syndrome. She has written this open letter to Shael Polakow-Suransky, the chief academic officer for New York City schools. It’s time to restructure all of our schools to become inclusive of all of our children. We have reached the tipping point...

Single Parenting a Child with Special Needs

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Oct 22 2011

by Cheri Fuller and Louise Tucker Jones The single parent has unique needs and stresses, especially if he or she is the sole caretaker of a disabled child. One of the biggest pitfalls is the tendency to neglect your own needs. As Rosemarie Cook says, "We parents of children with special needs often forget how to take care of ourselves. We may be able to get along fine until some major stress or crisis develops. If we continue to ignore our own needs, we will suffer the consequences, mentally or physically or both It's a natural reaction to want to compensate for the loss in our children's lives, whether that loss is by death or divorce." She suggests several ways to cope and keep balance in your life as a single parent: Find a network of support... READ MORE......

OU Health Sciences Center's Special Skateboard Helps Researchers Study Babies with Cerebral Palsy

Posted by Renee Burton Charlan on Oct 06 2011

In the News

The babies love their souped-up skateboards. But don't worry. The people putting these infants on robotic skateboards aren't looking for another viral YouTube sensation. They're looking for a way to help babies' mobility and brain development. ...

Twins' family have positive outlook over cerebral palsy

Posted by Nathan Charlan on Oct 05 2011

Written by Jami Kinton, Mansfield New Journal, Sept. 27, 2011 ASHLAND, Ohio -- Three-year-old twins with cerebral palsy are making life adventurous, challenging and bittersweet for the Hancock family. "They're happy kids but it definitely makes it more difficult because as a parent you want them to have every opportunity that every other child has," said mother Carrie Hancock. "It's hard, but we're handling it the best we can." Because they were born 10 weeks premature, both children suffered developmental delays. By the time Tessa and Dylan were 20 months old, Tessa had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a permanent disorder that affects movement and posture. At that time, parents Carrie and Jeremy were getting ready to take their daughter overseas for a stem cell transplant, a procedure that would allow Tessa to live a better, less physically restricted life. In the midst of their planning, the family was soon faced with another obstacle. That January, Dylan also was diag...

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