In India, the field of Learning Disabilities faces some familiar problems. There, as in the US and elsewhere, people debate the value of testing. In the Mumbai Rustomjee educators and legislators are discussing a court decision staying the testing of students.
Professor in management studies Dr Gulab Mohite said, “The government needs to improve infrastructure in education sector and take into account that there are students who have learning disorders.”
Counsellor Dr Rajan Bhonsle said, “There is little awareness among people and lawmakers about learning disorders.
“There are hardly any trained special teachers available. There are many variants of learning disorders like Dyslexia, which even ordinary medical practitioners are not aware of.”
Link to the story.
In San Fransisco (CA, US), Maureen Faibish has been on trial for felony child endangerment for leaving her son Nicholas alone in their house with the family’s pit bull dogs. The dogs killed the 12-year-old boy, who had Learning Disabilities, so the charges against Ms. Faibish carry an additional degree of severity. Many news sources in San Fransisco have been covering the events, which transpired 3 June 2005, and Ms. Fabish’s trial. Here in chronological order are links to coverage of the trail by Jaxon Van Derbeken of the San Fransisco Chronicle:
- Mom’s trial opens today in son’s mauling death - Attack by family pit bulls led to child endangerment charge– 07/17/06
The mother of a 12-year-old San Francisco boy mauled to death by the family’s pit bulls goes on trial today to defend herself against charges that she put her son’s life in jeopardy by leaving him alone in a basement, with no working phone or toilet, next to a room where the dogs were kept….
- Conflicting portraits in dog-maul trial - Mother faces felony charge for leaving son alone with pit bulls– 07/17/06
Prosecutors portrayed the mother of a 12-year-old boy mauled to death by his family’s dogs last year as “criminally negligent” in opening statements at her child-endangerment trial today, while the mother’s defense attorney described her as a “good person”….
- Mother in mauling case leaves court in tears - Graphic details of son’s fatal wounds overwhelm Faibish– 07/19/06
A San Francisco woman on trial for child endangerment began to sob and had to leave court Tuesday during graphic testimony about the fatal injuries her 12-year-old son suffered when attacked by the family’s two pit bull terriers….
- Mom said victim of stress in mauling - Lawyer says woman was doing her best with husband away– 07/18/06
The San Francisco woman whose 12-year-old son was mauled to death last year by the family’s pit bulls was “a good person and a good mother” who became overwhelmed by stress before she left her boy at home alone with the dogs, her defense attorney said….
- Prosecution rests in trial of dog-maul mom– 07/19/06, br />Prosecutors rested their case today against the San Francisco woman accused in the dog-mauling death of her 12-year-old son, after summoning witnesses to bolster their argument that she should have known the boy was unlikely to follow directions and stay….
- Father of mauled boy says his son had no fear of dogs, was ‘just soft’– 07/20/06
The husband of the San Francisco woman accused in the dog-mauling death of her 12-year-old son tearfully testified Wednesday that the boy was a shy, obedient child who loved sports and video games and had no fear of the family’s pit bulls….
Link that searches Google News for stories with “Maureen Faibish” in them. This will point readers to coverage by TV and other newspapers in The City.
Liz Ditz has a post that links to the full versions of the main papers presented at the LD Summit in 2001. I’ve dropped a comment on that post that links to videos of each session, in which one can see and hear (it’s multi-sensory!) the authors of the main papers as well as the commentors’ statements.
Eliot Schrefer, a novelist, has a post about extended time on the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude [or Assessment] Tests; college-entrance examinations) at Huffington Post. It’s another in a long-line of sensational stories of this sort, which Liz Ditz and I have covered repeatedly (see Liz’z list of related posts. Link to Mr. Schrefer’s editorial.
Important reminder
Sixteen years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed the US Congress, in Iowa City (IA, US) a group of people celebrated the law’s enactment, according to Rob Daniel of the Iowa City Press-Citizen. They explained how the ADA helped them gain access to services and education, and it’s a message that deserves recounting. In these times when there is seemingly ceaseless pressure to reduce the number of children receiving special education, there was one especially well-taken comment by Chris O’Hanlon.
Link to Mr. Daniel’s coverage of the event.