Evanston Citizens for Appropriate Special Education (CASE) is a community advocacy organization working to improve the range, quality and accessibility of special education services in Evanston/Skokie District 65 and ETHS District 202.

We provide information and support for parents of children with special needs through Parent Connections meetings and our CASEline number.
We are commited to advancing disability awareness in the Evanston community.

On the CASE 

April 2014

Hello Evanston CASE community,

Happy Spring!  Let's hope we've seen the last of the snow!

There has been a significant development in the special education department at ETHS.  Dr. Maria Smith, Director of Special Services for D202, has resigned, effective immediately. Ms. Amy Verbrick, Special Education Department Chair, will be serving as interim director.  It is difficult to know what impact this will have on the accessibility and quality of services for the remainder of this school year.  However, CASE will be advocating ardently to bring our concerns to the table as we see this as a significant opportunity for change. 

Also, please participate in the survey sponsored by ETHS to guide the District's choice of a new special ed director!  Share your opinions regarding qualities you feel are essential in special education director and your thoughts on the most important issues facing the department.

There will not be a Parent Connections meeting in April because of Spring Break.  But,

SAVE THE DATE

Evanston CASE Screening of

Who Cares About Kelsey?

May 13th

Details to follow

In this issue:

• ETHS Survey on Choosing New Special Education Director
• Dealing with Explosive Behavior
• ADHD Study Strategies
• "Intense World Theory"
• ISBE Funding Cuts Planned
• Parent Advocacy Strategy -- The Written Opinion
• Neuropsychological Testing
• Chicago Botanic Garden Day Camp

I hope you find this information useful.

Warm regards,

Cari Levin, LCSW

Founding Director

Evanston CASE 

"Intense World Theory" of Autism

A Neurobiologist Struggles to Understand his Son

If you have questions about the intersection between autism and sensory processing problems, you might want to check out a piece on what's called the "intense world theory of autism. It's a theory that sees hyper-responsiveness to stimuli, and the resulting information overload, as an explanation for the behaviors we associate with the spectrum. It's not about cognitive or emotional deficits, this theory holds, it's about too much of everything.

"The Boy Whose Brain Could Unlock Autism" written by Maia Szalavitz in Matter, is a fantastic presentation of this view of the autistic brain and how it impacts on the experience of people on the autism spectrum.  A renowned neurobiologist, Henry Markram, struggles to understand what's going on in his son's brain.

Here is an excerpt:

"IMAGINE BEING BORN into a world of bewildering, inescapable sensory overload, like a visitor from a much darker, calmer, quieter planet. Your mother's eyes: a strobe light. Your father's voice: a growling jackhammer. That cute little onesie everyone thinks is so soft? Sandpaper with diamond grit. And what about all that cooing and affection? A barrage of chaotic, indecipherable input, a cacophony of raw, unfilterable data."

To read the complete piece, click HERE

It is also available as a free Kindle download or audio book.

Parent Advocacy Strategy: 

Submit Your Written Opinion 

IDEA 2004 specifically allows you to submit your concerns to the IEP Team. One way to record your concerns is to use a written opinion.

Good advice from Pat Howey, Special Education Advocate

Neuropsychological Testing:

What is It? When is it Needed?

This blog article written by Thinking Outside the Classroom, an agency that provides executive functioning coaching, is a good summary about neuropsychological testing.

 Here is an excerpt:

"A critical skill that neuropsychologists bring to the assessment process is breaking down learning problems into their component parts. For example, perhaps a child struggles to follow directions, and that reveals itself during testing. A neuropsychologist will go to another level of testing to evaluate which of the following this problem stems from:

• The child is unable to concentrate when directions are being given
• The child was unable to comprehend the directions he received
• The child was unable to remember the directions.

In other words, neuropsychologists dig deeper and get more granular than teachers or even psychologists do."

To read the full blog post, click HERE

Plant 'n' Play at the Chiago Botanic Garden Inclusive Summer Day Camp