SPECIAL ED ATTORNEY Matt Cohen has started a blog where he describes personal and professional experiences with LDs and their consequences. His most recent post is a little chilling, and reads like a nightmare that parents of 2e kids might have -- about a 16-year-old with AD/HD who somehow wound up in a behavioral school for the emotionally disturbed. Find the blog.
A CEC ACADEMIC AWARD WINNER is profiled in her local Marion County, Kansas, newspaper. Despite an LD, she switched in high school from special ed to general ed courses and earned honors-level grades. She's planning on applying for scholarships to attend college. Read more.
DYSLEXIC ACHIEVER. A young man diagnosed with dyslexia at age 18 months discovered a remarkable talent for selling at a summer job, and as a result is donating some of his earnings from that job to help pay for teachers to attend a Harvard University conference on dyslexia. Back-story: his early diagnosis came because of dyslexia earlier in the family, and he was part of a Rutgers University study. His father founded The Dyslexia Foundation. Find the article.
KEYS TO SUCCESS. An article in Education Week reports on research to identify non-academic skills necessary for success. The focus is on skills which can be taught like other skills. Examples are conscientiousness and agreeableness. Read more.
OFF THE TOPIC. Google labs has introduced a "Google Body," a body browser with which you can study a 3D model of the body, changing viewpoints and zooming in through layers, or concentrating on organs, or muscles, or bones. Using it is a great time, and it's gotta be useful for educators and learners. Find the tool. See a sample view. Note that the tool requires your browser to support WebGL; the site lists qualifying browsers.