In a press release today, the US Department of Education released guidelines that schools should follow to enure the safe and carefully considered use of this controversial practice in dealing with children with behavioral problems.

As noted by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), there is no evidence that using restraint or seclusion is effective in reducing the problem behaviors that cause these techniques to be utilized. Furthermore, there have been cases of alleged abuse, including deaths, related to the use of restraint or seclusion of children in public and private schools.

Read the full resource document from the Department of Education.

Read the UCP Press Release about the new guidelines.

The World Health Organization recently released, Born Too Soon: A Global Action Report on Preterm Birth. The report features the first-ever estimates of preterm birth rates by country and is authored by a broad group of 45 international multi-disciplinary experts from 11 countries, with almost 50 organizations in support. This report is written in support of all families who have been touched by preterm birth. Findings show that rates of preterm births are increasing however premature babies can be saved now with feasible,cost-effective care. An Executive Summary highlights the key findings of the report.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College issued a joint statement on the use of technology and interactive media with young children. The statement is meant to provide research-based guidance to all those who care for young children as they consider if, when and how to use technology and interactive media in early childhood programs (schools, centers, family child care) serving children from birth through age 8. Read the full Statement.

 The New York Times recently featured an article about the importance of financial planning for families of people with disabilities. The article provided links to a few different calculators that help families plan for their loved one's financial future. Read the article online or head straight to the calculators:

• Merrill Lynch
  
  
• MetLife

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities recently published findings from a survey of state aging and disability services. State Aging and Disability Agencies in Times of Change,  highlights the roles and responsibilities of state aging and disabilities agencies during this unprecedented era of state agency reorganization, re-conceptualization of state government, and restructuring of long term services and supports delivery systems and financing.

The 2011 survey captured a snapshot of the states in a period of transition and change.  Key elements driving continued change include the economic environment, Affordable Care Act implementation, uncertainty in the federal budget particularly with the failure of the Congressional Super Committee, changes in state level leadership, and the 2012 elections. 

The Athletic Equity Symposium held in June 2011 brought together diverse academic, administrative, organization, and education experts as well as advocates and athletes with disabilities to discuss policy issues and changes that can be made at the national, state and local levels to ensure full participation of children, youth and young adults in sports and physical activity. A strategic plan was created to accomplishing the goal of full participation in sports and physical activity. Click here to read these proceedings and the strategic plan from the meeting. The last page of the proceedings document contains links to other resource documents used to inform the discussion.

 The American Academy of Pediatrics released a new clinical report, "Providing a Primary Care Medical Home for Children and Youth With Cerebral Palsy".

The report reviews the aspects of care specific to cerebral palsy that a medical home should provide beyond the routine health care needed by all children such as diagnosis, planning for interventions, authorizing treatments, and follow-up, and optimizing health and well-being for children with cerebral palsy and their families.

A new statistical brief from the US Census Bureau shows that 2.8 million school age children live with cognitive, vision, hearing, ambulatory, self-care or independent living difficulties. The report also includes data on attendance in public or private school and comparisons between metropolitan and rural areas.

Early Intervention programs help children ages 0-3 with developmental delays or disabilities. Intervention is vital during this very early time because this is a crucial time of development where a child learns and develops at the fastest rate. Every state is mandated by the federal government to provide services but how well does your state do? 

Easter Seals has just published a report, Our Nation’s Children At Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention that provides a state by state snapshot of early intervention services. The full report is available online. You can also read more about early intervention on UCP's My Child Without Limits Website.

The CDC recently released this American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)-endorsed curriculum which is designed to educate future pediatricians on identifying, diagnosing, and managing autism spectrum disorders through case-based scenarios. The curriculum is a flexible, interactive learning tool that emphasizes practical skills for patient and parent interaction. The full curriculum and videos are available online

A new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics explores the multi-faceted issues and needs faced by families of children with disabilities such as health care services, social and financial support, care coordination,and transition services--and how these families can best be served.

Parent-Provider-Community Partnerships: Optimizing Outcomes for Children With Disabilities explores the challenges of developing effective community-based systems of care and offers suggestions to pediatricians and policy-makers regarding the development of partnerships among children with disabilities, their families, and health care and other providers to maximize health and well-being of these children and their families.

This State Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Scorecard is the first of its kind: a multidimensional approach to measure state-level performance of LTSS systems that provide assistance to older people and adults with disabilities. Performance varies tremendously across the states with LTSS systems in leading states having markedly different characteristics than those in lagging states. Yet even the top-performing states have some opportunities for improvement.

The Scorecard examines state performance across four key dimensions of LTSS system performance: (1) affordability and access; (2) choice of setting and provider; (3) quality of life and quality of care; and (4) support for family caregivers. It is designed to help states improve the performance of their LTSS systems. It also underscores the need for states to develop better measures of performance over a broader range of services and collect data to more comprehensively assess the adequacy of their LTSS systems.

How does your State fare?

The basic purpose of this chart book is to answer  the question of whether working age (18-64) people with disabilities in the United States  experience health disparities similar to those  experienced by members of racial and ethnic  minority groups in the United States. The report also explores the role of disability in the context of national efforts to address health disparities. Are the socio-economic and health experiences of people with disabilities similar to other recognized minority groups in the United States, such as underserved racial and ethnic groups?  Read more...

People with disabilities often lack access to health care services. Minority persons with disabilities are doubly burdened. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Minority Health recently released "Assuring Health Equity for Minority Persons with Disabilities: A Statement of Recommendations and Principles" with the hopes of ensuring that the needs of this population be specifically addressed to ensure that the  benefits of health care reform are available to all.

The younger brothers and sisters of children with autism appear to be at greater risk of developing the condition than had been thought, according to research published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study, "Recurrence Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Baby Siblings Research Consortium Study" found the recurrence rate to be 18%. Previously, the recurrence rates had been estimated to be between 3% and 10%,

AARP recently conducted research on "Valuing the Invaluable: 2011 Update. The Growing Contributions and Costs of Family Caregiving."  The study aimed to quantify in monetary terms the tremendous amount of care and support that family caregivers give to their loved ones.

The federal Agency on Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently conducted a review of the research on autism therapies looking at what evidence is available regarding the effectiveness, benefits, and harms of therapies used to address the core and associated symptoms seen among children ages 2–12 years with autism spectrum disorders. The findings were published in two separate reports, one for clinicians and one for parents titled, "Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Research for Parents and Caregivers."

Operation Autism is a web based resource specifically specifically designed and created to support military families that have children with autism. It is the shared product of the vision and energy of the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) and the funding support of the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation. The website provides information on autism, how to access treatment services both on and off base, a support forum for families and more!