Special Needs Network
Beats of Grief: Special Needs Network Puts the Focus Back on What Really Matters
In the midst of a world where the latest focus has been shootings and grief, seeing people’s good nature is absolutely refreshing. Last month, I attended Special Needs Network’s (SNN’s) holiday event, where thousands of special needs and underprivileged children and their families were provided…
Truly heartwarming.
Today’s ruling by the US Supreme Court that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional is a tremendous victory for the American public, including millions of underserved families currently uninsured and children and adults who were denied insurance due to autism, mental health, and other pre-existing conditions.
With autism as the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States, affecting one in every 88 children (and 1 in 54 boys), mental health conditions currently account for a major portion of pre-existing conditions. The Affordable Care Act will ensure that every child and adult living with a pre-existing health condition –such as autism and other developmental and mental health issues – will be protected by the law by 2014.
“This law will provide much needed assistance to the millions of minority families affected by developmental disabilities that face daily health struggles in the face of poverty,” said SNN President & Co-Founder Areva Martin, Esq.
Behavioral health treatment is listed in the Affordable Care Act as one of 10 “essential health benefits” required by each state to adopt, which will ensure coverage for autism therapies such as Applied Behavior Analysis, as well as other forms of treatment such as prescription drugs, and habilitative and wellness services for those in need.
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Upcoming Events You Should Know About!
June 9, 2012
SNN Participates in the Cultural CommUNITY Fair at James Foshay Learning Center
June 10, 2012
Senator Curren D. Price Jr.’s Summer Youth Resource & Safety Fair in Culver City
June 13, 2012
SNN President & Co-Founder Areva Martin at the 3rd Annual Substance Abuse and Policy Conference in Ontario
June 13, 2012
SNN Joins SEIU-ULTCW for Rally Against IHSS Budget Cuts in Sacramento
June 13, 2012
Foothill Autism Alliance Surviving Autism Parents Perspectives Lecture at the Pasadena Child Development Center
June 17, 2012
SNN President Areva Martin Speaks at the Family of Faith Church in Compton
June 22, 2012
Camp JPAC Acceptances Sent Out
June 23-24, 2012
Team SNN 1 in 88 Participates in ‘Relay For Life’ in Baldwin Hills
July 14, 2012
Parent Advocacy Mentor Program (PAM) Cycle 7 Graduation
July 14, 2012
SNN Participates in ‘Stephanie’s Day 2012’
July 14, 2012
SNN Participates in Assemblymember Holly J. Mitchell’s ‘Christmas in July’ Event
July 16, 2012
Camp JPAC Opening Day Ceremony
Report on the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in School Accountability Systems
This interim report presents descriptive information on school-level accountability, adequate yearly progress (AYP), and school improvement status of schools accountable and schools not accountable for the performance of the students with disabilities (SWD) subgroup under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Based on U.S. Department of Education EDFacts data from the 2005–06 to 2008–09 school years for up to 40 states, key findings from the study include:
• Across the 40 states with relevant data, 35 percent of public schools were accountable for the performance of the SWD subgroup in the 2008–09 school year, representing 58 percent of tested SWDs in those states. In those same 40 states, 62 percent of middle schools were accountable for SWD performance, while 31 percent of elementary schools and 23 percent of high schools were accountable.
• In 20 states that had relevant data for all 4 years, there was a steady increase in the percent of SWD-accountable schools, from 25 percent in the 2005–06 school year to 34 percent in the 2008–09 school year.
• In 32 states with relevant data, 55 percent of public schools were not accountable for the SWD subgroup in any of the 4 years examined, while 18 percent were accountable in each of the 4 years.
• In 37 states with relevant data, 9 percent of all public schools missed AYP in the 2008–09 school year because of SWD subgroup performance and other reason(s), and 5 percent missed it solely because of SWD subgroup performance. Together, these schools served 28 percent of tested SWDs in all public schools in these states.
• Among schools that were consistently accountable for the performance of the SWD subgroup during the 4 years across 27 states with relevant data, 56 percent were not identified for school improvement over this time period. By comparison, among schools that were not accountable for SWD subgroup performance in any of the 4 years, 76 percent were never identified for improvement.
To view the full report visit http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20124056/
Jobs And College Pose Big Challenges For Young People With Autism
Times are tough for young people. Unemployment is high, and college costs are soaring.
For those who’ve been diagnosed with autism, the challenges of life after high school are even steeper, according to a study just published in the journal Pediatrics.
Within the first six years of getting out of high school, only a little more than one-third of young people previously diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, had gone to college, and only a slim majority — 55 percent — had held paying jobs.
The first two years after high school are particularly hard, the researchers found, with less than half of the young people with an ASD having had any work.
The researchers compared the experience of the young people with autism to those with mental retardation, learning disabilities and impaired language or speech. Those with autism fared worse than the others when it came to jobs, the researchers found.
On the college front, those with autism were more likely than those with mental retardation to have attended some college but less like to have done so than those in the other two comparison groups.
“It appears that youth with an ASD are uniquely at high risk for a period of struggling to find ways to participate in work and school after leaving high school,” the researchers wrote. The findings, they said, point to a need for support during the transition from high school to life afterward.
The data for the analysis came from a long-running study of young people and concentrated on those receiving special education services. The researchers looked at the experience of more than 600 people in the autism category, and more than 400 each in the comparison categories.
The ranks of candidates for such intervention are growing. According to the latest federal estimates for autism, released in March, the number of children diagnosed with autism jumped 23 percent between 2006 and 2008. About 1 in 88 kids has been diagnosed with autism, the figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.
by SCOTT HENSLEY
