U.S. Department Of Education To Offer Schools Guidance On Restraint, Seclusion

Michelle Diament writes on Disability Scoop that the U.S. Department of Education will offering guidance to school districts on restraint seclusion, with the guidance being disseminated before the start of the next school year:

The U.S. Department Of Education plans to offer school districts guidance on restraint and seclusion before the next school year begins, officials said Thursday, even as Congressional efforts on the issue continue to appear stalled.

Alexa Posny, the Education Department’s top special education official, told a federal autism advisory committee Thursday morning that her agency will issue guidance to schools this fall around the same time it releases the first ever national data on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.

Read more on Disability Scoop.

For those who might think this is good news, it’s not. “Guidance” has no force of law and is not enforceable. Guidance will not prohibit what needs to be prohibited, it will not impose mandatory notifications, transparency, and accountability, and it is not a substitute for a strong federal law.

Florida school district places additional restrictions on use of prone restraint

Jason Schultz and Allison Ross had an article in the Palm Beach Post last month about the use of prone restraint, which is probably one of the most – if not the most – dangerous techniques to use:

After months of wrangling and impassioned pleas from parents, the Palm Beach County School Board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to approve an update to a policy governing the use of a controversial face-down restraint technique on special-needs children.

With no board discussion, the policy update makes a technique called “prone restraint” a last resort that school staffers can only use if a special needs student is acting out in a manner where they might hurt themselves or others. It’s meant to be used only if a long list of verbal techniques and less restrictive holds have failed.

The updates to the district’s restraint policy for special-needs children stopped short of the complete ban on the use of prone restraint that some parents have wanted in Palm Beach County schools for years.

Read more in The Palm Beach Post

.

Teen suicide: More schools bring issue out of shadows

A news report by John Keilman shows how some schools are trying to reduce teen suicide by increasing awareness about it and screening students:

The paper handed to each freshman at Oak Lawn Community High School recently was filled with blunt and uncomfortable questions. Had they lost interest in everything? Did they feel they weren’t as smart or good-looking as most other people? Were they thinking about killing themselves?

A squad of counselors stood by to interview those who, based on their answers, might have been struggling with depression or contemplating suicide. By the end of the day, more than 50 teenagers had come to see them.

Read the full article in the L.A. Times. As the article makes clear, it is not whether this type of initiative is really effective in reducing the suicide rate and there are significant privacy concerns to consider that require allowing students or their parents to elect not to participate.

That said, and as uncomfortable as it may be, I am generally in strong favor of teaching students about teen depressions, its signs, and what to do if they feel that they are depressed or that a friend is depressed.

If your teen’s school hasn’t provided information, feel free to download these 2001 handouts for teens from the National Institute of Mental Health: What To Do When a Friend is Depressed and Let’s Talk About Depression. The articles are in the public domain and you can reproduce them and share them with others or use them in class to start a discussion.

American Idol contestant has Tourette’s and Asperger’s

The latest sensation on American Idol is a young man with Tourette’s Syndrome and Asperger’s.  If you watch the clip below, you can see some of his tics.  You can also see how the tics disappear when he’s totally focused when he’s performing and how they re-emerge afterwards. And of course you can see and hear his amazing talent:

Thanks to A Sweet Girl for pointing me to the video clip.

Hospital accommodated resident with Asperger’s – Court

Amy Lynn Sorrel reports on an ADA complaint where the employee, a medical resident with Asperger’s Disorder, did not prevail in his claims:

A federal appeals court has found that a hospital did not fail to accommodate a disabled medical resident who could not do essential functions of his job before firing him.

Experts say the decision is a reminder that, although federal law provides protections for employees with disabilities, accommodating such disabilities requires both parties — the worker and the employer — to
collaborate in finding a reasonable solution.

Martin Jakubowski, who has Asperger’s syndrome, sued Christ Hospital after he was fired in 2007, claiming that the Cincinnati facility failed to accommodate his disability in violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, court records said.

Jakubowski had difficulty with communication and organizational skills.

Although Jakubowski proposed certain accommodations to help him overcome his deficiencies, a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that they did not address what the hospital identified as core functions a medical resident must be able to perform — in this case, communicating with colleagues and patients.

Moreover, the hospital acted in good faith in trying to assist Jakubowski, including offering alternatives, the Dec. 8, 2010, opinion stated.

Read more about the case on American Medical News.

« Previous Page — Next Page »