by Common Ground | Apr 16, 2012 | Letters
Dear Editor: Now is an historic time in New Jersey education. Parents—including parents of students with disabilities—should be aware of the opportunity to fundamentally transform New Jersey’s public school education system to the benefit of all students, including...
by Common Ground | Apr 16, 2012 | Parents, Professionals, Q&A, Teachers
“Children with apraxia often have family members who have a history of communication disorders or learning disabilities. This observation and recent research findings suggest that genetic factors may play a role in the disorder.” Apraxia of speech (called...
by Common Ground | Apr 16, 2012 | Capitols
The New Jersey Department of Education has issued a corrective action plan for a north Jersey school district. The order is in response to a complaint investigation initiated by a non-attorney advocate last fall. According to the report, students placed in a...
by Common Ground | Apr 16, 2012 | Capitols
Currently, more than $1.6 billion a year in Medicaid funding is used to pay for physical, occupational and speech therapy, mental health services, transportation and counseling.The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services...
by Common Ground | Apr 14, 2012 | Courts
A federal judge has ruled that Washington, D.C. public schools must dramatically change the ways in which they identify and serve preschoolers with disabilities. A class action lawsuit was filed in 2005 by parents of seven young children with disabilities, claiming...
by Common Ground | Apr 11, 2012 | Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a California school district ordered to provide compensatory tutoring to a teen with learning disabilities. The case, Compton Unified School District v. Addison, involves a tenth-grade student who had failed...
by Common Ground | Apr 5, 2012 | Features, Parents, Professionals, Teachers
By: Dr. Meir Flancbaum As a teacher, you can serve as the child’s “coach,” when he implements strategies in the classroom. Sam is a bright, considerate, athletic middle school student, but he dreads going to school. Throughout his day, unintended movement and noises...
by Common Ground | Nov 15, 2011 | Snapshot
Two and a half million students — or about 5% of all students in public schools — are identified as having learning disabilities (LD) in 2009 and are eligible for assistance under IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In the last decade, the number of...
by Common Ground | Sep 12, 2011 | Features, Parents, Professionals, Teachers
An Interview with an Expert on Bullying Provides a Thought-provoking Perspective “Bullying by teachersis enabled by a conspiracy of silence.” – Dr. Alan McEvoyBy Jean Harkness Many parents would advise a child that the only way to deal with bullies is to stand...
by Common Ground | Sep 12, 2011 | Parents
By Lisa Shields After a child is born, parents focus on the “milestones:” Sitting up. Crawling. First Words. Walking. For parents of kids with disabilities, milestones hold their luster. We become less interested in the “time line” than we are in the actual...
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