How Brains Learn to See

At the end of this month, researcher Pawan Sinha gave a TED talk on "How Brains Learns to See," posted at http://www.ted.com/talks/pawan_sinha_on_how_brains_learn_to_see.html.

Sinha begins by explaining the dismal prospects for children in developing countries with vision impairments, who face a shortage of care in the early years and, after age 4 or 5, dwindling hopes that their brains will ever learn to process visual information. He describes the efforts of Project Prakash, an organization to locate Indian children in need, provide free vision-recovery treatments, and conduct research into how the brain interprets visual data. Near the end, he also discusses dynamic vision processing in individuals with autism.

Including One, Including All

Including one, including all: a guide to relationship-based early childhood inclusion by Leslie Roffman and Todd Wanerman of The Little School in San Francisco. The authors draw from decades of experience in inclusive preschools to form this guide to getting to know individual children with special needs and creating an accepting, supportive environment for children to learn together.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

RTI In Practice

RTI in practice: a practical guide to implementing effective evidence-based interventions in your school by James McDougal, et al., is a textbook and CD-ROM for special educators looking to implement an RTI model in their schools. The authors step through the process of screening, collecting performance and risk data to establish goals, staging interventions, and following through with assessments.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

Dyslexia Checklist

The dyslexia checklist: a practical reference for parents and teachers follows the same vein as The autism checklist by Paula Kluth in the same Jossey-Bass Teacher series. Authored by best-selling speakers, authors and teachers Sandra Rief and Judith Stern, the book is a concise yet comprehensive resource for teachers and parents of children with dyslexia. The authors cover the basics of the condition, comprehension strategies, and practical advice such as how to enforce reading in the home.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

Why Are Children with Disabilities Bullied?

A professor of language and development and psychology addressed an insidious problem schools in today's Long Island Press: "Why Are Children With Disabilities Bullied?"

Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman, the founder and Executive Director of the School for Language and Communication Development and Professor Emeritus at the Derner Institute for Advanced Psychology Studies, explains why children with disabilities can become the targets for unstable youths looking to wield aggressive power. She discusses how students with disabilities can be perceived as "unpopular," may withdraw out of shame or may have difficulty expressing their fears to caregivers. She advocates implementing stronger curricula to develop social skills to counteract these trends.

You can read the column here. For more information about bullying, also check out the book Bully-Free Classroom from the CeDIR library.

The Me You Don't Know

The me you don't know: A gift of knowledge for my future caregivers is a workbook by Dee Martella that acts as a template for seniors to write their "autobiography." Readers can note their food preferences for each meal, medical history, pets, financial situation (credit cards, debts, banking accounts), family contact information, hobbies, fears, and memories. Worksheets from the book would be best provided to individuals in the early stages of aging-related developmental conditions.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

Aimee Mullins on Language

Aimee Mullins, whose inspirational talks we've highlighted in the past, recently hosted another on the power of language. Mullins begins her talk with a discovery she made in the thesaurus when she looked up the word "Disabled: crippled, helpless, useless, wrecked, stalled, maimed, wounded, mangled, lame, mutilated, run-down, worn-out, weakened, impotent, castrated, paralyzed, handicapped, senile, decrepit." She challenges the notion that disability is necessarily negative by demonstrating the potential of adversity -- in her case, being born without shinbones -- to encourage human development.

You can watch the video on TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_the_opportunity_of_adversity.html.

Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction

The Native American Community Center of Bloomington will host a Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7pm. The dinner will take place at the IU Neal Marshall Black Culture Center on Jordan Street.

Admission to the Native American Community Center fundraiser, which is only $5, gets you:
-a light meal, including traditional Native foods from several tribal nations (deer stew, grape dumplings, cornbread, fry bread and finger foods)
-entry into raffle for a sheep sculpture by Ruby Growler-Smith (Diné/Navajo)
-ability to bid on arts and crafts items, many by local artists
-singing and jingle dancing
-knowledge you have helped a good cause!

All profits will go to the Native American Community Center's rent fund. $4800 will cover a year's worth of office space.

If you are on Facebook, please visit the event page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=301781281684&ref=mf.

Siblings: You're Stuck with Each Other, So Stick Together

Siblings: you're stuck with each other, so stick together by James J Crist, Elizabeth Verdick, and Steve Mark is a small paperback to teach children how to appreciate and respect their siblings. Every page is covered with colorful cartoons to keep young readers engaged. The book covers the resentments felt by youngest, middle, and oldest of the children in a family, how to recognize your siblings' good points, how to express yourself constructively, how to share space and privacy, and other aspects of getting along. The writing is at a level appropriate for older elementary and middle school students.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

YMCA Adaptive Sports

The Monroe County YMCA is offering two adaptive programs in volleyball and basketball for persons with disabilities. Adapted basketball will be offered on Thursdays starting on February 25 through April 15, 2010 and will focus on skill development, understanding of game strategies, and teamwork. A combined volleyball and basketball class will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting February 23 through April 15. Skill development, understanding of game strategies, and teamwork will be the primary focus.

For more information, contact Kevin Thompson at the YMCA at (812) 332-5555. You can also visit the Monroe County YMCA website for directions, hours, volunteer opportunities, and other youth and adult programs available. To read more about physical recreation for people with disabilities, check out some of our resources:

-Fun with messy play
-Canoeing and kayaking
-Adapted physical education and sport
-Active start: a statement of physical activity guidelines for children birth to five years

SSI and Disability: Quick Review Diagnoses

Yesterday, Cathleen Weber of the Community Health Education department at Bloomington Hospital advertised this piece of news:

The Social Security Administration has, for some time, had a list of 50 diagnoses that allowed people to get a "quick review" and immediate social security income or disability benefits (days vs. months or years). As you can imagine, this is imperative for some people with a limited life expectancy, children who need significant medical care, some cancers, etc.

Today the Social Security Administration released the attached news release adding an additional 38 diagnoses to the initial list, including early onset Alzheimer's Disease. This was a huge lobbying effort and a great success and will benefit many families.

The SSA press release is linked below, along with a National Public Radio blog segment about it. For those of you working in areas that help diagnose people (they had added several diseases affecting children) keep these handy and use the list to educate and advocate. Please feel free to share widely.

Link to initial list of 50 diagnoses: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

Link to SSA Press release and expansion list of 38 added effective March 1, 2010: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/cal021110-pr.html

NPR Blog segment Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/02/social_security_expands_disabi.html?ft=1&f=103943429

Still no power

Hello, we are still without power, but hopeful that we will be able to reopen tomorrow morning! In the mean time, check out this recent story at NPR on a new diagnosis for children who would have been labeled as having bipolar disorder in the past.

CeDIR Closed Today

Due to power outage, CeDIR will be closed today. Please email us your questions and requests and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

Friends of the CeDIR Library

We launched a new section of the website today: Friends of the CeDIR Library!

Friends contains a list of books we have pulled from the collection to sell to the public, sorted by subject area. Each listing includes a picture of the item for sale, author and year published, pricing and, when applicable, the WorldCat page for the title.

Call (812) 855-6508 or email us to inquire about purchasing any of the materials.

ArtsWORK's Featured Artist: Gina Golden

ArtsWORK Indiana, an organization that "facilitates access to careers in the arts for people with disabilities through awareness, education, and encouragement," has selected Gina Golden as this quarter's featured artist.

Golden inherited the family flare and aspiration towards the arts: her genealogical tree includes a visual artist grandfather, a similarly inclined grandmother, and a graphic artist father. She studied illustration at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. After building her career, she settled in Indianapolis and has contributed to several galleries and private collections.

Golden is also hearing impaired. Thanks to abnormal bone growth in her ears, her hearing gradually declined throughout childhood. She eventually lost it completely a decade ago. However, she has embraced who she is and refuses to concede to cochlear implants that aren't advanced enough to "listen to music or have a conversation with [her] eyes closed." Hearing loss has nothing to do with her identity as an artist, she says. "Being deaf is not a great selling point. I want people to remember my work, not that I’m a deaf artist."

You can read the ArtWORK article on Gina here. Also check out her website for samples of her paintings, drawings, sculptures and decorative walls. For an archive of past featured artists, visit http://www.artsworkindiana.org/index.php?pageId=47.

Against the Current

Bob Segelman, an accomplished academic with cerebral palsy, shares his experiences in the mainstream in his new book, Against the Current. Segelman and his publishers have made this book free to persons with disabilities and their families. To request a PDF copy, email drsts@comcast.net.

Members of the general public can order the book for $25 at http://www.drbobsautobiography.org. Non-profits receive a $10 discount. All profits from the book's sales will go to Speech Communications Assistance by Telephone.

The AAID Manual and Rosa's Law

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) has published the 11th edition of the definition manual: Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports. In it, the AAIDD sets forth "practice guidelines on diagnosing and classifying intellectual disability and developing a system of supports for people living with an intellectual disability." At the center of the organization's philosophy is an effort to abolish the stigma of intellectual disabilities: specifically by removing "mental retardation" from medical lexicon.

In related news, senators Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Michael Enzi of Wyoming have introduced a bipartisan bill entitled "Rosa's Law," which would replace "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability" in the federal law books. Rosa's Law has gathered 28 co-sponsors so far. You can track the bill's progress at govtrack.us.

55 Tactics for Implementing RTI

55 tactics for implementing RTI in inclusive settings by Pam Campbell, Adam Wang, and Robert Algozzine is a practical textbook and resource guide for teachers of inclusive classrooms. The book focuses on "planning, managing, delivering, and evaluating instruction." The "55 tactics" are organized into short, manageable chapters and include diagrams and fill-in charts, as well as a list of current literature for further reading in each topic.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

IEP iPhone App

The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) has developed a free Individualized Education Program (IEP) Checklist iPhone application for the parents and teachers of children with disabilities! The application contains basic laws pertaining to IEP, as well as the ability to create profiles for individual children.

To download the IEP App, visit the Apple iTunes store and type IEP Checklist in the search box. For more information, see the PEATC Press Kit at http://www.peatc.org/peatc.cgim?template=iPhonePressReleaseKit.

Writing Assessment and Instruction

Writing assessment and instruction for students with learning disabilities by Nancy Mather, et al., is a textbook for K-12 teachers and teachers-in-training. The authors stress a positive approach ("No Red Marks") to teaching students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning difficulties a solid base for reading and writing. The book offers dozens of field-tested activities and lesson plans, as well as printable worksheets to track progress.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.