Hit by a drunk driver at 20, Salim Nasser realized he could lessen the muscle & joint trauma he experienced in rehab by a simple reconfiguration of the gear mechanism. This allows the user to move forward by a pulling / rowing motion instead of by pushing.

This article is from the March, 2013 Saudi Aramco World, but the device is reviewed several places, including Wired Magazine's Gadget Lab.

Click to read:

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201302/reinventing.the.wheel.htm

Versions of this spoken-word poem have been widely viewed on youtube.

Here is poet Shane Koyczan's performance of his work "To This Day..." at the TED conference last month.

HEADS UP: it describes the harshness of being bullied, and contains the F-bomb at one point.

http://www.ted.com/talks/shane_koyczan_to_this_day_for_the_bullied_and_beautiful.html

Another article from Big Think. This one taps into using Google to build memory.

"Ask yourself: What are the things that you want to remember? Then focus on remembering how to access them. "

 An article from the lates Big Think. Click below:

bigthink.com/experts-corner/why-focus-makes-us-smarter-and-8-ways-to-sharpen-yours

A Michigan State University study funded by the US Navy finds that just glancing at incoming messages on your cellphone hurts your ability to perform tasks. This article includes a link to the MSU press release.

Click below:

Monday, September 17th, 2012

This is a story from this morning's Morning Addition on NPR.

Worth a listen. It's about 8 and a half minutes.

The DSM was first published in 1952. The most recent revision was just voted upon, and there are many changes:

Asperger Syndrome is no longer a unique category, instead now being recognized as autism. Hoarding and binge eating are new categories. Internet use gaming disorder still needs more study.

Instead of linking to a particular article here, I've linked a Google news search. If you come across notable news articles, please let me know.

Click below:

Interesting article in this morning's New York Times' science section, Ancient Bones That Tell A Story Of Compassion.

http://specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/an-open-letter-to-ann-coulter/

Crapo, Risch vote against U.N. disabilities treaty

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/04/krichert/crapo_risch_vote_against_un_disabilities_treaty

This article was sent to me this morning (11/15) by an MDHS staffer. It's truly pretty amazing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20268044

 Deaf rapper Shawn Forbes and his interview on NPR.

http://www.ted.com/talks/faith_jegede_what_i_ve_learned_from_my_autistic_brothers.html

New school year. New kids & new parents. Lots of returnees, too.

Here's a quick guide to this webpage:

Over here on the left <-------

This is consistent on pretty much every webpage at MDHS. It's an index to the high school website, a site map.

Over there on the right ------->

That's where current events like homework, weather, lunch & the like are listed. Also contact links & info about our program live there.

In this column are links to info I find pertinent, maybe useful, hopefully interesting: articles and happenings parents send to me I think others might like to see; art contests; state & local events and news articles pertaining to disabilities; current research.

Maybe just an inspiring video. Who knows?

Feedback is always welcome.

Steve

"Human beings are more alike than unalike, and what is true anywhere is true everywhere...."

          ~ Maya Angelou

Watch This:

There's more info at The National Down Syndrome Congress website: http://www.ndsccenter.org/

 "Unlike the school playground, the marketplace is kind to misfits." From the June, 2012 The Economist.

This is a set of four free booklets addressing autism transition:

     - Age-appropriate Transition Assessment

     - Employment

     - IEP Transition Components

     - School-age Programming

Follow the links to the online PDF versions which are printable (about 30+ pages each).

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports a marked increase in autism dignoses.

Click for the story.

This article was sent to me early November, 2011. Thought I'd share it.

None of us like to be pigeon-holed -- I've heard it said that once you meet one person with Down Syndrome, you've met one person with Down Syndrome. You may well disagree with some of these characterizations. Nonetheless, as this originates from a presentation at a conference sponsored by the National Down Syndrome Society and the National Association for Down Syndrome, I include it on the webpage. Something to think about.

Click the picture, or click here.

It almost seems too simple, but books at home are directly related to success in school.

"A study recently published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility found that just having books around the house (the more, the better) is correlated with how many years of schooling a child will complete."

 Read this and see what you think.

Click to watch this nine minute talk.

This is worth the 8 minutes it takes to watch:

"Anybody who's paralyzed now has access to draw or communicate using only their eyes." -- Mick Ebeling

http://www.ted.com/talks/mick_ebeling_the_invention_that_unlocked_a_locked_in_artist.html