Current News for October:
IEP Time!!!!
The Ministry of Education gives the school thirty days to produce a new IEP for their students. Many of you may of received letters asking for your input. Don't be shy about making a request. Many schools do their absolute best to incorperate your requests into the IEP. If the IEP is really not what you were looking for at all, then give us a call. We will give you an unbiased second opinion on the IEP and rewrite it with you or with the school.
Past Articles worth reading:
Summer Learning Loss
Interesting set of ideas from our friends at ADDitude on summer learning loss and how to prevent it. The idea of learning loss seems to be every where these days. This article is aimed at the ADD and AD/HD population, however, the suggestions can used to help any student. The ideas suggested can also be used by parents of kids on the spectrum, who may be looking for suggestions to help transition their child back into the school routine.
"Click here"
Autism and exclusion:
This is the link to a past story about Exculsion and Autism in Toronto:
"Click here" Follow this online fight about Emily a Fourteen year old girl who is at home, excluded from school. Add your comments. What do you think about this?
Education and Boys. Are we failing them...YES!
The Globe and Mail ran a very interesting series of articles on Education. In particular, AD/HD is highlighted. Give the series a read.
"Viewed as too difficult to teach and too disruptive to control, the less help the male 'problem' pupil gets, especially in language skills and reading, the worse he does. Part 4 of a six-part series."
"For most her eldest son's school career, Nicole Stamos has made so many trips to the principal's office she felt like she was getting a detention herself."
Autism in the Schools
We are finished the study. We will be sharing the results by the end of May.
This is a NEW study we are undertaking that is designed to examine how students with Autism (ASD) are faring (disciplinary action) in the schools. We hear what the schools have to say now lets hear from you! Please visit Survey Monkey and take the survey Click here to take survey
Dec 2009 "Ottawa's public schools are suspending a growing number of students with special needs from autism to learning disabilities..."
"Ottawa's public schools are suspending a growing number of students with special needs from autism to learning disabilities, according to a newly released report obtained by the Citizen. The report, which will be discussed tonight by the board of education's Special Education Advisory Committee, shows that at the same time overall suspensions have dropped almost 38 per cent over the past five years. But it is the increase related to the suspension of children with special needs that is raising concern. "The kids who need help the most are the ones getting suspended," said Dale Ford, a former special education resources teacher who acts as an advocate for the families of suspended children....." For the full article visit the Ottawa Citizen.
"There were 890 suspensions of students with learning disabilities, up from 672 the previous year."
Exclusion from school:
It has come to our attention that children in Ontario are being "Excluded" from school. Some of these students are high needs special education students who NEED additional resourses, not told to go home with no options for an education. Parents are being told that their child is excluded from school due to safety concerns. If you are concerned about children having their right to an education, to a future, taken away from them, please send the following letter to the Minister of Education:
Use the following letter or write your own. Contact information for Kathleen Wynne, the Minister of Education in Ontario, is provided.
Dear Minister,
It has come to my attention that children in Ontario are being "excluded" from school. Could you please launch an investigation to determine how many children are being excluded from attending school.
Sincerely, __________________
Ministry of Education
22nd Floor, Mowat Block 900 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M7A 1L2
Tel 416-325-2600
Fax 416-325-2608
LDAO report on lack of Knowledge Accommodating Children in the School System.
You have got to read this report from the LDAO. They have spent two years completing a research project in to knowledge that professional in our education system have with regard to Learning Disabilities. Ever wonder why some times staff don't seem to understand how to help your child? Read the study, go to our links page and visit the LDAO's website for more information. A Pan-Canadian Perspective on the Professional Knowledge Base of Learning Disabilities The applied research study took 2 years to develop. The study surveyed Ministries of Education across the country to identify requirements for teachers and psychologists working with students who have learning disabilities, and the existence of policies to guide their work. The study concludes that Canada's Ministries of Education have no specific guidelines for teachers or psychologists to address the needs of students with learning disabilities. A Pan-Canadian Perspective on the Professional Knowledge Base of Learning Disabilities by David Philpott and Mildren Cahill. Ottawa: Leaning Disabilities Association of Canada. Released December 8, 2008.
Ill-prepared to help LD students
By Janet Steffenhagen 12-08-2008 Teachers and psychologists have little information about learning disabilities when they enter their professions and have no guidelines to help them in their work with LD students. That's the conclusion of a study released today by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, which found that no province or territory requires teachers or psychologists working with children to take even a single course on learning disabilities. Furthermore, there are no regulations to ensure consistent and informed practice in identifying and working with LD children, it says. "The findings of this study underscore the need for enhanced professional knowledge, especially in light of the shift towards inclusive classrooms," the association says in a release. "Given Canada's increasingly mobile and diverse population, the time has come for a national understanding of Learning Disabilities and of the processes to accommodate these students," adds Mildred Cahill, an education professor at Memorial University who conducted the study with her colleague David Philpott, an associate professor of special education. There are more than three million Canadians with learning disabilities, the release says.
April 2nd is World Autism Day!
We will post activities here as soon as we know about them
Technology Concerns? Wondering about additional Special Education Funding?"
The 2009-2010 SEA and SIP Education Funding information - Click here for the new 2009-2010.PDF
Bursaries and grant information for LD students Click here.
Ottawa Citizen News on Edu-Advocates.
Read About Edu-Advocates in the Citizen- Click here to see what the Ottawa Citizen has to say.