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Free leadership training for Tennessee people with disabilities and family members - Partners in Policymaking Leadership Institute

The Partners in Policymaking Leadership Institute is a leadership, advocacy and self-advocacy training program for adults with disabilities and family members of persons with disabilities from across the state, sponsored by the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. Attend information sessions by local and national experts in the disability field on a variety of disability-related topics, including employment, building inclusive communities and classrooms, the state and federal legislative processes, supported and independent living, assistive technology, strategies for advocates and conducting effective meetings. For more information, please the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities website http://www.state.tn.us/cdd/, or by contacting Partners Director Ned Andrew Solomon at 615.532.6556, or by e-mail at ned.solomon@tn.gov.

Even when delayed, most kids with autism acquire speech

Even When Delayed, Most Kids Acquire Speech

By Michelle Diament

March 4, 2013

The majority of youngsters with autism who have severe language delay do eventually learn to talk, researchers say.

Some 70 percent of children with the developmental disorder who were not making meaningful phrases by age 4 ultimately achieved some form of speech by age 8 — whether talking in phrases or fluently — according to findings reported Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

The study is based on a review of clinical data on 535 children with autism who had no significant speech by the time they turned 4.

Children were most likely to gain language abilities if they had high nonverbal intelligence and good social engagement, the study found. In fact, researchers said that kids with typical intelligence levels gained language almost six months sooner than those with below average IQ scores.

“We hope the results of this study empower parents of children with autism and severe language delays to know that, with the appropriate therapy, a child will likely make significant gains in this area over time,” said Ericka Wodka, a neuropsychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Center for Autism and Related Disorders, who led the study.

“However, progress should be expected to be slower for those children with lower intellectual abilities,” she said.

Source: www.disabilityscoop.com 

Athlete with intellectual disability gets a chance to shine

High school basketball player passes ball to mentally challenged player on the other team