PPMD e-News Header

January 2012

New Online Tutorial for Teachers on Learning Disabilities

 The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) launched a new online tutorial, co-developed with Teachers Without Borders, on the basics of learning disabilities designed for general education teachers. This free five-part tutorial was designed to equip general education teachers with a broad set of basic resources to inform their practice and guide their lesson planning and collaboration with other professionals in their school.

 

Learning disabilities have unique characteristics from other disorders or learning issues, and they require teachers to have a keen understanding of these differences to provide students with what they need to be successful in school. One essential way to help a child with a learning disability (or a child who shows serious signs of struggling to learn) is to have a strong foundation in what learning disabilities are and how to choose appropriate interventions based on this knowledge. 
 
View the tutorial at www.ld.org 
MyAutism Team: New Site for Families with Autism 
MyAutismTeam is more than just a repository of recommendations about local therapists and accommodating Taekwondo studios and barbers; it's also a social-media destination. But unlike Facebook, it's intended as a place where parents of children whose developmental trajectory has taken a different turn from most of their peers can feel understood.
 
MyAutismTeam is the brainchild of Eric Peacock, a tech excutive whose nephew was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, seven years ago. Peacock watched his brother and his wife struggle to find the right resources for their son. They scrambled from place to place on the Internet, unable to find a central clearinghouse. "It was like reinventing the wheel," says Peacock, who had been running Insider Pages, a business and restaurant review site reminiscent of Yelp. That gave him the idea to combine the crowdsourcing recommendations of Yelp with the social aspects of Facebook, all targeted to the autism community. Learn more  
ADHD Research Study at Kennedy Krieger

The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland is conducting a short-term research study to evaluate the social, academic, emotional, and functional outcomes of children who have been diagnosed with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  

 

We are recruiting the parents of children ages 3-17 years who have been diagnosed with ADHD to participate in this study. Eligible participants will be asked to complete two online surveys, six months apart. Each survey is takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Participants' responses will be kept strictly confidential and only aggregate data will be reported from this study. Participants will receive a $5.00 gift card to Target after completion of each survey.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions about this study. I can be reached at 443.923.7927 or by email (Koriakin@kennedykrieger.org). 

Tax Deductions for Special Education 

 More than six million children in the U.S. fall into the "special needs" category, and their ranks are expanding. The tax code can help-if you know where to look. There are numerous tax breaks for education, but the most important one for many special-needs students isn't an education break per se. Instead, it falls under the medical-expense category.  The deduction also can be used for additional therapies. Regina Levy, a Los Angeles CPA with two special-needs children, offers a partial list: occupational therapy, music therapy, dance therapy, physical therapy, social-skills groups and "hippotherapy" (horseback riding), among others.

 Read the full Wall Street Journal Article  and visit the IRS website for more information on medical deductions.

 

COC 2012 Quarterly Meetings Scheduled

Dates have been chosen for the COC quarterly meetings for 2012.  All meetings will be held at the Meeting House in Columbia Maryland where we have been meeting for the last year or so unless otherwise notified.  The Meeting House is located at 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia Md. 21045.  We have accomplished so much in trying to improve the care and the lives of Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs, thank you for being part of the Community of Care Consortium!  All meetings will be from 10:00 - 12:30pm.

 

The meeting dates for 2012 are:

January 25

April 25

July 25

October 24 

Health Reform Hits Main Street
In response to Kaiser polls that have found that many people are unaware of or confused by major provisions in the Affordable Care Act, the Kaiser Family Foundation has created an interactive feature intended to explain the new coverage system. Featuring the YouToons characters from the Foundation's "Health Reform Hits Main Street" animated video, the new feature makes it easy to see how people's health insurance coverage could change under reform. View it here.
STOMP Specialized Training of Military Parents
STOMP, a Parent Training and Information Center established to assist military families of children with disabilities and special health care needs, is offering a 2-day training for military families in the MD-DC-VA area on January 25 & 26, 2012 at Joe Rosenthal Theater, Henderson Hall, Arlington, VA. The training is open to DOD ID card holders. Register by January 20 to ensure you receive workshop materials. Call 703-693-6368/4172 to register.
Free Friday Night Teen Parties by B'More Abilities
Looking for social activities for your teen with disabilities? B'More Abilities is offering FREE Friday Night Teen Parties for youth ages 13 and over in a safe, supervised location. The first party is January 6 from 6-8 pm. Call 443-769-0507 to RVSP. Click here for more information.
 
In This Issue
MyAutism Team
ADHD Research Study
Tax Deductions
COC Meetings
Health Reform Hits Main Street
Save These Dates!

 

January 9, 2012
Staying Positive During the Deployment of a Family Member
Charlotte Hall, MD
301-290-0040

3:00pm - 4:30pm 

January 27, 2012
Annapolis, MD

Check the PPMD online calendar for time,  location, and registration information for these and many other training opportunities. www.calendarwiz.com/ppmd 
Free Online Dictionary of Disability Terms

  

Brookes Publishing offers the second edition of the Dictionary of Developmental Disabillities Terminology online for free.  Just type in the term you are looking for, hit search, and it's defined for you.  Try it here.

Finding Good Apps for Children with Disabilities
 
Because there are many apps and more coming that can be useful for children with disabilities, several good Web sites have been created to review special-needs apps. Most of these sites are not driven by advertising nor do they receive referral fees for recommending apps. 

 

 

Making Your Case Now Available in Spanish
The Partners in Policymaking online tutorial : Making Your Case is now available in Spanish.  Tomar el curso.
Advice on College for Students with Physical Disabilities

Students with severe physical disabilities should consider applying to one of five U.S. colleges that offer adequate services for students to live on campus, says Chris Wise Tiedemann, who co-authors the website Disability Friendly Colleges with her son, Tom, who has cerebral palsy. For students with less-severe disabilities, Tiedemann advises early preparation in selecting a school and in-person campus visits.  Read their top four tips.
fb logo
Find us on Facebook.
Join Our Mailing List