Special needs

About: Special needs is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11257 publications have been published within this topic receiving 144423 citations.

Introduction to Response to Intervention: What, Why, and How Valid Is It?.

Abstract: On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed into law the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004). The revised law is different from the previous version in at least one important respect. Whereas practitioners were previously encouraged to use IQ–achievement discrepancy to identify children with learning disabilities (LD), they now may use “Response to Intervention,” or RTI, a new, alternative method. It is also a means of providing early intervention to all children at risk for school failure. IDEA 2004 permits districts to use as much as 15% of their special education monies to fund early intervention activities. All this has implications for the number and type of children identified, the kinds of educational services provided, and who delivers them. RTI may be especially important to Reading Research Quarterly readers because roughly 80% of those with an LD label have been described as reading disabled (Lyon, 1995). With RTI, there may be a larger role for reading specialists, which in turn might affect preand inservice professional development activities conducted by universities and school districts. Yet much still needs to be understood to ensure that RTI implementation will promote effective early intervention and represents a valid means of LD identification. In this article, we explain important features of RTI, why it has been promoted as a substitute for IQ–achievement discrepancy, and what remains to be understood before it may be seen as a valid means of LD identification. What is RTI?

A New Definition of Children With Special Health Care Needs

Abstract: * Abbreviations: MCH = : Maternal and Child Health (program) • CSHCN = : Children With Special Health Care Needs (program) • DSCSHCN = : (Maternal and Child Health Bureau's) Division of Services for Children With Special Health Care Needs. Developing community systems of services for children with special health care needs represents a significant challenge for pediatricians, families, managed care organizations, and public and private agencies providing services to this population. At the state level, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and Children With Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) programs are vested with the responsibility for planning and developing systems of care for all children with special health care needs. Historically, these programs have been supported through Title V of the Social Security Act, with state-matching funds, to provide health services to selected groups of children with special needs, typically those with complex physical conditions. However, during the last half-century, service systems have become increasingly complex as a result of health, education, and social policy changes, as well as changes in the epidemiology of child health, including increases in the number and proportion of children with chronic conditions and disabilities and changes in their case-mix.1-4 These changes have resulted in gaps in some service areas and duplication in other areas, as well as fragmentation in the way service systems are organized.5 Recognizing these difficulties, health policy leaders at the state and federal levels, with broad input from public and private agencies, providers, and families, effected legislative changes in the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, which expanded the mission of CSHCN programs to facilitate the development of community-based systems of services for children with special health care needs and their families. Since then, the explosive growth of managed care has presented new challenges and opportunities as well as a heightened urgency for the development of systems of care that integrate health and related services for this population.6 7 Developing systems to serve children with special health care needs requires a clear definition of the population to … Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Merle McPherson, MD, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Room 18A27, Parklawn Bldg, 5600 Fishers Ln, Rockville, MD 20857.

Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: A narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is profoundly affecting life around the globe. Isolation, contact restrictions and economic shutdown impose a complete change to the psychosocial environment in affected countries. These measures have the potential to threaten the mental health of children and adolescents significantly. Even though the current crisis can bring with it opportunities for personal growth and family cohesion, disadvantages may outweigh these benefits. Anxiety, lack of peer contact and reduced opportunities for stress regulation are main concerns. Another main threat is an increased risk for parental mental illness, domestic violence and child maltreatment. Especially for children and adolescents with special needs or disadvantages, such as disabilities, trauma experiences, already existing mental health problems, migrant background and low socioeconomic status, this may be a particularly challenging time. To maintain regular and emergency child and adolescent psychiatric treatment during the pandemic is a major challenge but is necessary for limiting long-term consequences for the mental health of children and adolescents. Urgent research questions comprise understanding the mental health effects of social distancing and economic pressure, identifying risk and resilience factors, and preventing long-term consequences, including—but not restricted to—child maltreatment. The efficacy of telepsychiatry is another highly relevant issue is to evaluate the efficacy of telehealth and perfect its applications to child and adolescent psychiatry. There are numerous mental health threats associated with the current pandemic and subsequent restrictions. Child and adolescent psychiatrists must ensure continuity of care during all phases of the pandemic. COVID-19-associated mental health risks will disproportionately hit children and adolescents who are already disadvantaged and marginalized. Research is needed to assess the implications of policies enacted to contain the pandemic on mental health of children and adolescents, and to estimate the risk/benefit ratio of measures such as home schooling, in order to be better prepared for future developments.

Computers Helping People with Special Needs

Abstract: Design is often seen at the heart of software engineering, a practice directed at the production of software systems. While research examining user involvement in designing systems for people with special needs has yielded insights into methodological considerations, work on involving users with SpLDs has often focused on design implications of tools or applications [1-3]

Children With Medical Complexity: An Emerging Population for Clinical and Research Initiatives

Abstract: Children with medical complexity (CMC) have medical fragility and intensive care needs that are not easily met by existing health care models. CMC may have a congenital or acquired multisystem disease, a severe neurologic condition with marked functional impairment, and/or technology dependence for activities of daily living. Although these children are at risk of poor health and family outcomes, there are few well-characterized clinical initiatives and research efforts devoted to improving their care. In this article, we present a definitional framework of CMC that consists of substantial family-identified service needs, characteristic chronic and severe conditions, functional limitations, and high health care use. We explore the diversity of existing care models and apply the principles of the chronic care model to address the clinical needs of CMC. Finally, we suggest a research agenda that uses a uniform definition to accurately describe the population and to evaluate outcomes from the perspectives of the child, the family, and the broader health care system.