Current Announcements & Offers Related to ADHD / Special Needs Issues
from SOAR - Success Oriented Achievement Realized
* LD Summer Camp and ADD / ADHD Adventure Summer Camps
"SOAR believes all individuals identified with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorders (ADD, ADHD, AD/HD) possess inherent talents, abilities, and gifts, which we harness during our summer camps, fall and spring weekends, winter break program and semester courses. The SOAR model is founded on two fundamental principles. The first principle is youth with LD and ADHD flourish when they are encouraged to focus on their strengths in an experiential setting, such as summer camp and outdoor adventure activities. The second principle is that youth with LD and ADHD must develop and utilize strategies that enable them to deal with the challenges associated with LD and ADHD. Students participating in SOAR's summer camps, weekend, winter break and semester courses take part in adventure experiences as diverse as camping, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, SCUBA diving, sea kayaking, and horseback riding. These activities provide the venue for developing problem-solving skills; effective communication strategies; increased self-awareness and general social skills."
* Charis Hills Christian Summer Camp for kids with learning and social difficulties such as ADD, AD/HD, and Asperger's disorder
"Campers receive academic reinforcement each day while participating in a traditional summer camping program geared to encourage success and reward positive behavior consistently. Emphasis is placed on teaching about Christ, improving social skills, self esteem and confidence, and helping kids learn, first hand, that their differencesare neither uncommon nor debilitating. By combining recreation with learning, campers are able to have fun while finding success in their daily lives."
* Three-Week High School Program For Rising High School Juniors & Seniors
"This program encourages students to develop a lifelong appreciation of learning through experiential and practical activities! Students will learn academic strategies to approach challenging college-level curriculum including note taking, test taking, active reading and time management. The curriculum will cover multiple intelligence theory in an effort for students to understand their own challenges as learners in order to better advocate for their needs. Each student will make an oral presentation focusing on his or her individual learning profile. For more information about the 2008 program, please contact the admissions office at 802-387-6718, or email admissions@landmark.edu."
* Two-Week Transition Programs for 2008 High School Graduates
"The Transitions program helps prepare students for the profound transition from high school to college, and from home to the residence hall. Your son or daughter will be introduced to college level work and academic strategies. They’ll develop an understanding of their personal learning strengths and needs, and discover what kinds of resources and self-advocacy will support their success in college. To support a smooth transition to their next college or university, students will be guided to review the support services offered at the institution they plan to attend in the fall. They’ll also develop a comprehensive plan of action with a member of Landmark College’s professional staff. For more information about the 2008 program, please contact the admissions office at 802-387-6718, or email admissions@landmark.edu."
* IEP & Conference Preparation Kit
IEP & Conference Preparation Kit designed for parents of kids with learning and attention difficulties: information, practical strategies, and planning forms.
* All About Adolescent Literacy
"AdLit.org will be the premier source of adolescent literacy material for parents, practitioners, and anyone else with a commitment to helping students in grades 4 through 12 become better readers. We offer research-based articles, instructional material for classroom teachers, tips for parents, book recommendations, exclusive interviews with top authors, and much more!"
* When Your Child Struggles with Learning: A Step-by-Step Guide for Getting Help
"Our interactive guide will help you navigate this often complicated journey. We'll lead you through the process by providing tips, strategies, and essential resources to answer your questions at every step along the way."
* The China Doll:
A new children's book, The China Doll, utilizes a fresh approach to raise autism awareness among youngsters ages 4-8!
* Social Skill Autopsies:
A Strategy to Promote and Develop Social Competencies By: Rick Lavoie (2005) This article is so helpful...do take a look at it and the listed resources!
* Ed Extras
A free monthly e-newsletter that offers schools and PTAs articles about learning to include (may be used in parent newsletters).
* Caring for Children with ADHD - Resource Toolkit
Caring for Children with ADHD: A Resource Toolkit for Clinicians, published by the Academy of American Pediatrics, provides a number of rating scales and tools for physicians, parents and teachers that aid the diagnosis process.
The toolkit also provides support information for parents on how to deal with their child at home, help its treatment and monitor their child's development and long-term outcome. These tools tie in with a resource kit that physicians can supply to teachers to monitor classroom behaviour, gain a better insight in the disorder and help their pupil's treatment.
* ADHD Blog Network
ADDvantaged.com is a website about living and succeeding with ADHD- for parents and for people who have it. The community blog format includes authors, experts, and everyday people looking at life with ADHD. As a member, you get your own personal blog and a chance to participate in some of the interesting things that make the site special.
* LDTalk.org, the Internet's only Web site featuring discussions on issues critically important to people with learning disabilities
Recent LD Talk: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Topic: The Social Side of Learning Disabilities
Transcript of live chat with Rick Lavoie, leading expert on learning disabilities. Rick answered questions about the social side of learning disabilities.
* Events Calendar - Searchable and Updated Regularly!
* E-ssential Guides: Topic-specific PDF Booklets
Schwab Learning provides these free, downloadable guides for parents and educators on topics such as Problem Behavior (20 pages), Behavior Basics (18 pages), and Reading Basics (20 pages)
* THE LD ONLINE YELLOW PAGES
Visit the new LD OnLine Yellow Pages. Find professionals in your area. Looking for a school, tutor or camp? They are there too! Products, national consultants and more!
* Surviving Inclusion, Kay Johnson Lehmann
Kay Johnson Lehmann provides this timely and valuable resource for all teachers and includes information from this web site in her book! She is an independent educational consultant specializing in online education and the integration of technology into the K-12 curriulum. She won the Milken National Educator Award and the Washington Award for Excellence in Education for her abilities to reach every student in the classroom. Her innovative methods utilized hands-on constructivist teaching with technology integration to bring social studies, reading and other subjects alive for her middle school students. Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, WA, with a free-reduced lunch rate of 50% and a large second-language learner population, provided plenty of opportunities to utilize the methods shared in this book.
* Free Professional Development Resources
These free teaching modules were developed by education faculty and professional developers. They can be used as extension units in your existing courses, or can be used independently in workshops and meetings.
Each module includes articles, video footage, PowerPoint® presentations, and class activities. They draw from the wealth of GLEF's archives of best practices and correlate with ISTE/NCATE NETS standards.
* GLEF's New, Free Edutopia Magazine
Edutopia is where education meets innovation. Six times a year, Edutopia magazine tells the stories of innovative teaching and learning, providing you with the knowledge you need to inspire and implement change in your school and district. With each issue, Edutopia reports on the best thinking in education. We will profile the heroes of this movement, showcase the innovations, and challenge the status quo. We will tell the stories of their success and how they got there, the mistakes they made, and the lessons they learned. We will give you the tools to make similar changes happen and also offer practical ideas and tips for educators to enrich their lives outside the classroom.
* Collaborative Teaching: Special Education for Inclusive Classrooms
This is an online, free textbook available for downloading! Chapters include:
- Chapter 1: The Change from Isolation to Collaboration
- Chapter 2: Legal Issues of Interest in Collaborative Teaching
- Chapter 3: Collaborative Teaching
- Chapter 4: Partnerships with Parents
- Chapter 5: Curricular and Instructional Patterns in Regular Classrooms
- Chapter 6: Accommodations Strategies
- Chapter 7: Elementary Programming
- Chapter 8: Secondary Programming
- Chapter 9: Management of Health Issues in Regular Classrooms
- Chapter 10: Management of Special Equipment and Adaptive Devices
* Researchers from Eastman Kodak Company Studying ADHD Diagnosis
Serendipity: Imaging as Diagnosis: Researchers from Eastman Kodak Company may have discovered a method for quickly diagnosing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Kodak scientists noticed that several people with ADHD exhibited erratic changes in body temperature. Researchers spied the unusual temperature changes in one of 72 volunteers in a 1998 study. A follow-up trial performed in 2000 with 32 children -- half of them diagnosed by doctors with ADHD -- found the temperature method to be at least 84 percent accurate in spotting the disorder.
* CAN-Alert!
This is an online newsletter/announcement list for members and others interested in getting online action alerts and other information on Cure Autism Now activities. Through funding and commitments of almost $8 million, CAN is the largest private funder of autism research and resources. For more information on Cure Autism Now, please visit CAN or go to Yahoo Groups.
* ADHD E-Book!
REVIEW: "Recently, I [came across a] truly enlightening, well written, concise, informative, humorous, and well researched ELECTRONIC BOOK on ADHD. IMPORTANT! YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THIS E-BOOK if you want to be quickly and thoroughly informed about Attention Deficit Disorder w/ and w/out hyperactivity. The book is for parents, teachers, children, teenagers, family units, and virtually anyone else who spends time with an ADD er. IT'S YOUR CHOICE. READ IT! ---BJ Madwell, editor of www.ADDchoices.com." This is a wonderful resource and it's easily accessible online or by downloading chapters!
* Special Needs Monthly
Monthly issues focus on such issues as IEPs. Archived issues include the following topics: * The IEP Cycle* The IEP Team Members* What to Include in an IEP * The General Educator's Role* Using General Education Standards with IEPs * Preparing for an IEP* Positive Descriptions of Student Behavior * Guidelines for Behavioral Observations* Effective Accommodations for IEPs.
* More Conference Information...
Recent and upcoming conferences where Childwatch International Key Institutions are involved.
* Learning Disabilities and More...
LEARNING DISABILITIES AND MORE Don't go it alone -- meet other parents and stay up-to-date with our tips, discussions, and resources. Updated frequently with articles, printable teaching helps, and other resources.
* ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE FOR KIDS LABELED ADD/ADHD
In his new book *ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom,* Thomas Armstrong deplores the labeling and overmedication of children with attentional and behavioral difficulties. Armstrong implores teachers to be creative in their approaches to these children. Armstrong advises teachers to focus on the positive. To purchase a copy of *ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom,* (Stock # 199273), or for more information on this and other ASCD publications, visit ASCD's online store at or call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723.
Also, educators may want to take a look at the following resources:
- Creating an Inclusive School, a guide edited by Richard Villa and Jacqueline Thousand, in which experts on inclusion share wisdom and daily practices, including classroom- and school-wide strategies.
- Inclusion: A Fresh Look, a how-to guide providing elementary teachers with practical strategies for accomodating the needs of all students in the classroom.
- "Inclusion" - a video showing profiles of students with special needs and teachers practicing the principles of inclusive education by modifying lessons, meeting with parents in developing IEPs, and creating a positive environment for all students.
Again, these resources are available through the Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 800-933-2723, http://www.ascd.org
* For Parents...
Your Child's Evaluation - a new publication from NICHCY - describes the steps the school system will take to evaluate your child to determine if he or she has a disability and is eligible for special education. Check it out!
* For Teachers...
David J. Chard & Jean Osborn offer guidance for teachers on selecting programs to use with children experiencing reading difficulties in Phonics and Word Recognition Instruction in Early Reading Programs: Guidelines for Accessibility
* Interventions for Chronic Behavior Problems
This NICHCY Research Brief is meant to help schools answer the question, "What does the research tell us?" about promising interventions for students with a history of behavior problems. It's important to know that there is a tremendous body of research available on this subject, covering a wide variety of students, situations, and settings. This publication is a short overview that you can use and adapt to help your students and develop your own programs. NICHCY Research Brief
* Introduction to Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans
An IEP Team's Introduction to Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans. Introduced last year, but worth mentioning again -- this is a user-friendly guide for understanding the responsibilities of IEP Teams, plus an overview of functional assessment and behavior intervention plans. Intervention Plans
* New CHADD Help/Information
CHADD (Children & Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) has opened a new AD/HD National Call Center to provide information about AD/HD. Open weekdays from 8 AM to 5:30 PM EST, the center responds immediately and thoroughly to anyone who contacts via e-mail national@chadd.org or using the toll-free phone number (800/233-4050).
Also available from CHADD: A new guide to AD/HD and IDEA, giving vital information on the new definition of the "other health impairment." Request the IDEA Guide via the phone number or e-mail above.
Parent Training and Information Centers in each state provide training and information to parents of infants, toddlers, school-aged children, and young adults with disabilities and the professionals who work with their families. This assistance helps parents participate more effectively with professionals in meeting the educational needs of children and youth with disabilities.
* Teaching Students with Disabilities
LRP publications has introduced "Teaching Students with Disabilities," a new four-page newsletter designed to give teachers the direction they need to effectively and legally educate students with disabilities. A new issue will be published each semester. For more information call: 800-341-7874, ext. 347
* "Diet, ADHD, and Behavior"
The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a non-profit group that works on issues in the sphere of public health advocacy and nutrition. The executive director has just released a report on "Diet, ADHD, and Behavior" highlighting how dietary alterations might help a child or any individual with ADHD by affecting his or her behavior. Many studies have shown the interaction between diet and behavior, and CSPI's report puts forward the idea of using specific dietary changes as a treatment of ADHD, and as an alternative to Ritalin.
* ADD resources in Spanish
A fantastic resource for spanish-speaking families is now available at ADD About.com!. There are several pages of helpful information, including material on medications and diagnosis.
