Guide to Advocacy for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
The National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation have announced the release of the LD Advocates Guide, a handbook designed to provide simple, accessible instruction on how to work with the government and the media on issues affecting individuals with learning disabilities. READ MORE

Racial Inequity in Special Education: Harvard University Findings
Racial inequities pervade special education in American schools. In 1998, approximately 1.5 million minority children were identified as having mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or a specific learning disability. Racial Inequity in Special Education , The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University which is a new book published by Harvard Education Press, explores the inequities experienced by minority school- children in special education and the potential life consequences of such inequities. READ MORE

Victory for Those Living With Spina Bifida
The Spina Bifida Association of America (SBAA), the Spina Bifida Foundation (SBF) and the 70,000 people in the United States who live with Spina Bifida extend their gratitude to the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives for passing the "Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Prevention Act of 2003." READ MORE

December 2003

A Therapeutic Mecca: The McCarton School
by Jocelyn K. Egyes
Sitting in Dr. Cecelia McCarton's office there is no doubt that her passion is children. Kermit the Frog and a teddy bear sit side by side on a bookshelf while dozens of other toys line her office. But it's a special kind of child that warms the heart of this pediatrician, it's "children who are different" says McCarton, her blue eyes passionately sparkling as she speaks of 'her' children. READ MORE

McCarton School Parent Shares Views
One parent who sees the learning first hand is Noam Spanier. His 6-year-old daughter Shira has been with the program... READ MORE

November 2003

Helping the Visually Impaired at Baruch College
by Jocelyn K. Egyes
It’s not everyday that advances are made in technology to benefit the blind and visually impaired. READ MORE

Dr. Cecelia McCarton Leads Symposium on Learning Disabilities
by Joanna Leefer
“How can I tell if my child has a learning disability?” “Will my son be stigmatized if he is officially classified as LD?” “I’m applying to schools for my daughter. READ MORE

Reforming Special Education. . . Again
by Michelle Accorso
How can we best serve the city’s neediest children? That was the question posed to the diverse array of panelists at a recent special education hearing housed at the New School. READ MORE

October 2003

Products for the Visually Impaired READ MORE

Wheelchair Charities A Superstar
by Mike Cohen
Steve Francis took a pass from Nick Van Exel on the wing and drove past Stephon Marbury for a thunderous highflying one-handed dunk. The Crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted with applause.
READ MORE

September 2003

Deaf Actor Signs Up for Broadway Stardom
Tyrone Giordano wins raves as Huck Finn in a play that mixes music, speech, sign language and Mark Twain. Like Huck Finn, Tyrone Giordano savors the simple pleasures. As a child, he said, “I would lie in the night, with the stars, listening to crickets.” READ MORE

August 2003

Inclusion: What Are We Doing? Perspectives From The Field
by Marjorie Aug
In the mid-seventies a landmark act for educating special education students was passed to ensure the rights of special needs students to receive appropriate instruction in a regular education setting, based on the individual needs of each student. READ MORE

Dancing with Wheelchairs in New Mexico
by Jan Aaron
“Like other people, little girls in wheelchairs and older people, too, want to dance,” says Shira Greenberg, founder and artistic director of Keshet Dance Company based in Albuquerque, NM. She adds: “Anyone—regardless of age, physical abilities, or expertise can become a beautiful dancer.” READ MORE

July 2003

New Dyslexia Study at NYU Child Study Center
by Adam Koplewicz
A research study of teenagers with dyslexia has begun at the New York University Child Study Center. This study is attempting to shed new light and understanding on a common but disabling condition. READ MORE

Special Education in New York City
by Jill Levy
Thirty-five years ago, many children, including my own, did not have the right to attend public schools. They were children with “problems”—disabilities that prevented them from learning or attending school as easily as other children. READ MORE

June 2003

Would You Recognize a Troubled Teen?
One of the difficulties parents and educators face when dealing with adolescents is recognizing the difference between a teen going through the normal rebelliousness of adolescence and a teen who is heading down a destructive path. READ MORE

May 2003

Blackman Lecture at Teachers College
by Adam B. Kushner
If it was just another dreary and wet pre-spring day outdoors, the scene inside Grace Dodge Hall at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College was something else entirely. READ MORE

Hooray for the ERBs
by Sloan Roberts
At two -years old, I noted my daughter’s somewhat scattered language that was not in keeping with her other skills. READ MORE

An 11 Year-Old Boy Wonder Wins State Science Fair
Andrew Hsu, age 11, became the youngest winner ever of the grand prize in the 46th annual Washington State Science and Engineering Fair. READ MORE

Resources, Referrals and Help
Parents of learning disabled children often need information on resources. READ MORE

April 2003

Research On Beach Access for the Handicapped
It’s virtually impossible for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices to enjoy the full benefits of a beach experience, but the National Center on Accessibility (NCA) at Indiana University Bloomington is working to remedy this situation that affects millions of Americans. . . . READ MORE

Resources, Referrals and Help
As a principal of a private school for learning disabled children, I am asked by parents and other professionals on a daily basis for information on resources. . . . READ MORE

Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund gives $50,000 for Study of Successful Leaders in High-Poverty Schools
The Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund has given $50,000 to Dr. Jacobson, University of Buffalo professor of educational administration in the GSE’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, for a study of successful leadership in elementary and secondary school settings that serve high-poverty communities. . . . READ MORE

E-cards from the “Braille Bug” Children’s Web Site
The days of flimsy paper cards with cartoon animals are gone. . . . READ MORE

March 2003

Technology & Inclusion at Children’s Center
By Nancy Glass
The Children’s Center School, a division of Queens Centers for Progress, in Jamaica Queens, offers comprehensive educational and clinical services to children with special needs, from birth through twenty-one years of age. Students at the school present with a variety of disabilities, ranging from mild to profound. While many students are multiply-handicapped, the school also services “typically developing” youngsters who are often participants in inclusionary programs where children with and without disabilities share the same classrooms. . . . READ MORE

Rhodes Scholar “Sees” The World
By M.C. Cohen
Cyrus Habib is in elite company. As one of the 32 recipients of this year’s Rhodes Scholarship, Habib is an accomplished senior comparative literature and Mideast studies major at Columbia University. Yet, he’s far from an elitist. Whether lobbying for the rights of students with disabilities at Columbia, where he is president of the campus group “Columbians Organized for Disability Advocacy,” or rallying at a peace demonstration in New York, Habib sees the world as a place bigger then himself. “Education can’t exist in a vacuum,” he says. “We must always remember to fight the world’s fight.”. . . . READ MORE

Resources, Referrals and Help
As a principal of a private school for learning disabled children, I am asked by parents and other  professionals on a daily basis for information on resources. . . . READ MORE

February 2003

Special Education Update Around the Nation
Compiled By Andrew Schiff
Important Events Around the Nation
OSEP Joint Personnel Preparation/ State/Improvement/CSPD Conference, will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C., from February 19 to February 21. The theme for the 2003 Joint Conference is..... READ MORE

January 2003

"Circus of the Senses” Brings Children with Disabilities Under the Big Top
By Marie Holmes
The Big Apple Circus recently held its annual Circus of the Senses for hearing and visually impaired students under the circus tent set up at Lincoln Center. The show happened..... READ MORE

Living and Overcoming Learning Disabilities
By Rob Langston
I spent many miserable years as a “handicapped” child and I have spent many wonderful years as a “successful” adult. Somewhere in between lies living and overcoming...... READ MORE

Students Spread Cheer to Group Homes
Nearly 30 young adults with developmental disabilities were treated to a holiday party recently, courtesy of the eighth-grade confirmation class at Holy Innocents Church....... READ MORE