In Midland, TX and new school “spirit” store will open at Midland High School, but not just to sell t-shirts and mugs. It will also provide job skills training for students who have special needs.

Full story at newswest9.com

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Lately, we have seen lots of stories about the mistreatment of kids with special needs by other. In this letter, a mother of a child with Autism, thanks the high school seniors for understanding and accepting her son.

Full story at mlive.com

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First words, an educational Ipad/Iphone app for preschool-age children has been downloaded over 1 million times.

This app has been very helpful for children with special needs.

“The FirstWords apps really let my son Leo shine,” says Shannon Des Roches Rosa, co-founder and editor of The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism. “

Full Story at benzinga.com

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Oscar French, a student in Yarraville, Australia, was denied funding for an integration aide in school because he knows “too many words”.

Huh?

He is now staying home from school.

Full story at maribyrnongweekly.com.

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Ashley Watt has a sister with Down Syndrome and a sister with epilepsy. After seeing how special her siblings are, she decided to become a Special Education teacher.

If you have a sibling with special needs, how have they inspired you?

Full Story at ktvq.com

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The best advocates for autism? How about children who have autism. In Colfax Upper Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Jon, who has Autism, had a chance to talk to his fellow classmates about what it means to live with Autism.

Full Story at PittsburghLive.com

There is some good news coming from WI. A bipartisan bill was recently introduced  which would provide a scholarship for children with special needs to attend the school of their choice. Both public and private schools would be included.

Full Story at PRNewswire.com

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A study was done in South Australia, which showed that 62% of children with ASD were bullied in school. 

Here is an example:

• An autistic boy who was beaten everyday as he walked to school by other students but did not tell his parents for months because he thought it was normal.

The study cited different methods to prevent bullying. Here are a couple:

• Education on ASD as a compulsory part of the curriculum
•  Parents of non-autistic children being educated on ASD when their child reached kindergarten age, to reduce the level of ignorance on the disorder.

It seems like education is key.

To read more visit http://eastern-courier-messenger.whereilive.com.au.

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A while back we wrote about a boy with special needs left on a bus for hours. Well here it happened again.

To read more click here

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