SPED 524

This article studies school nurses and the measures one school district took to better ensure the safety of their students with epilepsy. “ Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes seizures” (James McLeskey, 2013) . There are two different types of seizures a grand mal seizures and a petit mal seizure. “A seizure happens when a brief strong surge of abnormal and disorganized electrical activity affects part or all of the brain. Two or more unprovoked seizures is the diagnostic criterion for epilepsy” (Brook, Hiltz, Kopplin & Lindeke, 2015).   The CDC estimates that “about 467,711 children (0-17 years of age) in the United States suffer from epilepsy” (Brook, Hiltz, Kopplin & Lindeke, 2015).               School nurses are a key component in the safety and the support of students with epilepsy. It is important that school nurses are confident in their ability to provide care for these students . “In a nat...

            This article discusses children with ASD and their lack of effective social skills, communication skills, and how physical activity can help with these issues. “The Autism and Developmental Disabilities estimated the prevalence of ASD to be approximately 1 in 68 children” (Lee & Vargo, 2017). The rate of Autism Spectrum Disorder is on the rise. It has been essential to develop and implement ideal interventions. “Several interventions have been developed to target the social-communicative behaviors of individuals with ASD, and many have shown desirable outcomes” (Lee & Vargo, 2017). “Those interventions utilized social stories, behavioral skill training, peer-mediated strategies, video modeling, and pivotal response training” (Lee & Vargo, 2017). In addition, physical activity has been shown to improve social-communicative behaviors.             If ...

Medicine in the Classroom Have you ever thought how many students in your class are medicated? I’m sure if you knew, it would amaze you. You would think teachers would be one of the first people   to know this information, however that is not always the case. This article takes a look at emotional and behavioral disorders and how physicians prescribe medication. It also identifies some strategies teachers and schools can assist students to be successful.   “Today, nearly a quarter of all students seen by school psychologists take some form of psychiatric medication in EBD settings, as many as 65% of students take at least one, and sometimes several, such prescriptions.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) I was shocked after I read that statement. The percentage seems extremely high. Then again, it is quite possible that parents are not always forthcoming with information. As we all know, teachers cannot suggest to a parent that their child should be prescribed medicatio...

Obesity, Nutrition, And Physical Activity For people with significant disabilities This article discusses how physical activity levels can affect individuals with intellectual disabilities. Obesity is defined as “a body mass index of 30 or higher and is calculated by a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (Grumstrup & Demchak 2017. P.14).” If you take a look at children with intellectual disabilities, you will notice these children are “2 to 3 times more likely to be obese than the general population (Grumstrup & Demchak 2017. P.15).”   Many factors can come into play when looking for a solution to this problem. Some factors that I have personally noticed throughout my years in the school setting are: medication, mobility, parental involvement, parental knowledge, child involvement in outside activities, and influences from general education peers.   The article discussed a few of these factors I have witnessed in many of my stu...