LD News Briefs (LD News: April 2006)

Study Supports 'Success for All' Reading Method
The third and final report from a federally financed study of Success for All, released last week, concludes that students in schools using that model improved their reading skills significantly more than similar groups of students taught with other methods.

More information available at:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/04/12/31read.h25.html

Announcing the Advocate Academy at the Advocacy Institute
The Advocacy Institute recently announced the grand opening of the Advocate Academy, a new Webinar service designed to meet the training needs of special education advocates nationwide.  The virtual doors will open in April 2006 with first training sessions.

To visit the Advocate Academy Web site, go to: http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/academy/

To read a press release, click here.

Characteristics of Schools, Districts, Teachers, Principals, and School Libraries in the U.S.
The National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Sciences recently released its first report containing data from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the nation's most extensive sample survey of schools and the teachers and administrators who staff them. The report, "Characteristics of Schools, Districts, Teachers, Principals, and School Libraries in the United States," covers public, private, and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. 

To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, go to:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006313

Health Insurance Linked to Identification of LD
Children covered by public health insurance are almost twice as likely as uninsured children and children with private insurance to be identified as having a learning disability, according to the new data trends reported on by the Child Trends Data Bank. Learn about this and about other statistics relating to various topics, including Pre-K programs, well-child visits and more.

To download the Child Trends Data on Learning Disabilities, go to: http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/65_PDF.pdf

To learn about all indicators, go to: http://childtrendsdatabank.org/whatsNew.cfm

Study Reveals Prolonged Effectiveness of Early Intervention Programs
A new study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation discusses the findings of an 18-year follow-up of low birth weight infants, some who were provided with early preschool and others who did not participate. The study finds that the children who did receive early education, particularly the "heavier" low birth weight group, had better academic and behavioral outcomes as their lives progressed than their peers who did not.

For more information, go to: http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/newsreleasesdetail.jsp?id=10396

Harvard Study Suggests Significant Prevalence of ADHD Symptoms among Adults
A recent NIMH-funded survey tracking the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms found that an estimated 4.4 percent of adults ages 18-44 in the United States experience symptoms and some disability. The survey is known as the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) and is part of a series of tracking surveys supported by NIMH and conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School to assess the state of mental health of the nation.

For more information, go to: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/adultadhd.cfm

National Assessment of Title I: Interim Report to Congress
The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance in the Institute of Education Sciences recently released "National Assessment of Title I: Interim Report to Congress." Volume I of the report, "Implementation of Title I," contains key findings on the implementation of Title I under No Child Left Behind.  Volume II, "Closing the Reading Gap: First Year Finding from a Randomized Trial of Four Reading Interventions for Striving Readers," is a report on the findings from Closing the Reading Gap, an evaluation of the impact of supplemental remedial reading programs on student achievement.

Both volumes and an Executive Summary are available at: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/disadv/title1interimreport/index.html.

State Performances on Educating Students with Disabilities
The National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring (NCSEAM) has released its latest state rankings that allow parents and professionals to see how their state performs on various measures in educating students with disabilities. The data compares across states as well identifies levels of improvement within states.

For more information, go to:  http://www.monitoringcenter.lsuhsc.edu/default.htm

New Kurzweil 3000™ Version 10 Gives Struggling Readers Expanded Reading and Writing Access
Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc., a reading technology innovator for individuals with visual or learning disabilities and a Cambium Learning Technologies company, recently unveiled Kurzweil 3000™ for Windows Version 10 at the 2006 California State University of Northridge (CSUN) "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" Conference held in Los Angeles, CA.

For more information, go to: http://www.kurzweiledu.com/press_032206.asp