Has alternate assessment helped revamp special education services and practice for students with significant cognitive impairments? The following paper includes true stories from teachers and state level staff who have seen improvements in both the education system and lives of individuals with significant cognitive impairments. From the U.S. Department of Education (less)Has alternate assessment helped revamp special education services and practice for students with significant cognitive impairments? The following paper includes true stories from teachers and state le... (more)

Tags: alternate assessments, standardized testing, achievement standards, nonverbal students, intellectual disability teacher resources, mental retardation teacher resources

AAIDD promotes progressive policies, sound research, effective practices and universal human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Tags: mental retardation organization, intellectual disability organization, developmental disability organization, national disability organization

Detailed article with tips on babysitting a child with autism, brain injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation. Goes over characteristics and caregiver checklist for each disability along with general safety tips. From the Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities (less)Detailed article with tips on babysitting a child with autism, brain injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation. Goes over characteristics and caregiver checklist for each disability alo... (more)

Tags: autism family issues, epilepsy family issues, cerebral palsy family issues, intellectual disability family issues, mental retardation family issues, traumatic brain injury family issues, choosing childcare, hiring a sitter, what to tell the sitter

This study compared the effects of OT with an SI approach on the frequency of self-stimulating behaviors in 7 children with PDD and mental retardation. From SPD Foundation

Tags: mental retardation therapy resources, intellectual disability therapy resources, developmental disability therapy resources, perseveration, perseverating behavior, self injurious behavior, stims, stimming, PDD

To make informed decisions about the best instruction and assessments for students with cognitive disabilities, several questions need to be answered. Can we discern whether a student's failure to meet proficiency is due to the student's disabling condition or lack of appropriate instruction? From the U.S. Department of Education (less)To make informed decisions about the best instruction and assessments for students with cognitive disabilities, several questions need to be answered. Can we discern whether a student's failure to mee... (more)

Tags: alternate assessments, standardized testing, achievement standards, taking tests, nonverbal students, intellectual disability teacher resources, mental retardation teacher resources

Through a family and youth driven approach, children and youth with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges and their families obtain needed services so that children grow up healthy and able to maximize their potential. (less)Through a family and youth driven approach, children and youth with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges and their families obtain needed services so that children grow up healthy and ab... (more)

Tags: national disability organization, mental illness organization, intellectual disability, developmental disability, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, ADHD, Tourette's syndrome, autism, borderline personality

FRAXA's mission is to accelerate progress toward effective treatments and ultimately a cure for Fragile X, by directly funding the most promising research.

Tags: national disability organization, fragile x syndrome, chromosome disorder organization, rare disorder, rare disease, genetic disorder organization, martin bell syndrome, intellectual disability organization, mental retardation organization

A poignant reflection from a dad who turned a question into a learning experience for some curious kids and maybe changed some lives in the process. From Father's Network

Tags: father personal perspective, parenting intellectual disability, parenting mental retardation, parenting autism

Try to find the balance between what the person can do and what the person wants to do but has difficulty. From eHow

Tags: physical disability parenting, autism parenting, intellectual disability parenting, mental retardation parenting, hygiene skills, bathroom, taking a shower

In this video, medical director Dr. Charles Sophy discusses possible causes of mental health disorder and mental retardation, differences in IQ, treatment and prognosis and what special education is available. From Video Jug (less)In this video, medical director Dr. Charles Sophy discusses possible causes of mental health disorder and mental retardation, differences in IQ, treatment and prognosis and what special education is a... (more)

Tags: mental health disorder overview, mental retardation overview, intellectual disability overview