Sept 6, 2018, Bend (OR) Bulletin: Oregon plan to tackle dyslexia starts this fall for kindergarteners, first-graders Elementary schools must screen students for risk of dyslexia, have trained reading specialist https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/6501971-151/oregon-plan-to-tackle-dyslexia-starts-this-fall After the Legislature asked the Department of Education for a plan to combat dyslexia at an early age, every Oregon elementary school will begin mandatory screening of students for the learning disability this fall. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1003 in the 2017 session, requiring screening for dyslexia risk factors for every kindergartner and first-grader new to Oregon. This bill also required that each elementary have a teacher undergo specialized dyslexia training. … “Early screening and early intervening is our best course to get on-track readers,” he said. As many as 15 to 20 percent of Americans show some symptoms of dyslexia, according to the International Dyslexia Association. These symptoms can include poor writing and spelling and slower reading abilities. … Thomas Beck said the state allocated $1.9 million from 2017 to 2019 to help districts offset training costs, which results in a per-school award of about $2,700. She said this might not cover the cost for every district if, for example, teachers had to drive far for training sessions. School districts and/or educational service districts can choose from a state-approved list of training vendors. Although the training isn’t required every year, if the reading specialist leaves, the school district will need to hire another specialist or train someone else.
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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