Sussan & Greenwald

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

www.special-ed-law.com

Practice limited to special education and related matters

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LD ONLINE LD OnLine is a service of The Learning Project at WETA, Washington, D.C., in association with The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities. It offers a host of information and links concerning all areas of learning disabilities and special education.

U.S.ACCESS BOARD The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, created in 1973, has served the nation as the only independent federal agency whose primary mission is accessibility for people with disabilities. The Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards are now on this site.

THE OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE The Office of Compliance was established to implement and enforce the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. Known as the CAA, the Act generally extends the rights and protections of 11 employment and labor laws to covered employees in the legislative branch of the federal government.

REFERENCES ON WEB ACCESSIBILITY The emergence of the World Wide Web has made it possible for individuals with computer equipment to interact as never before. For people with disabilities, the Web holds great promise. But as with any new technology, new barriers can arise in place of the old. The Web Accessibility Initiative at the World Wide Web Consortium addresses accessibility in partnership with the many other organizations around the world.

LAW LISTS INFO The "Law Lists" is divided into three parts: an introductory section that provides background information about the "Law Lists" document itself and the use of law-related electronic mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups in general; an alphabetical listing of e-mail lists; and an alphabetical listing of Usenet newsgroups. The lists contain translations into several languages. Law Lists includes electronic discussion groups run by mailing list management software (listserv, listproc, majordomo, mailbase, etc.), newsletters, journals, etc. The Law Lists guide is intended to facilitate person-to-person networking, legal research, and exchange and dissemination of legal information worldwide.

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Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.

Concepts and Issues in Universal Design for Learning Founded in 1984, CAST is an educational, not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities.

WebABLE! Part of an international awareness campaign for information accessibility, this website acts as a voice for and a practical application of the mandate of the Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation, dedicated to bringing together workers from a broad spectrum of disciplines to stimulate research and development of technologies which will enhance access to information of all kinds. The website also contains a database of access and disability related issues.

New Jersey Permanent Statutes Database. Complete listing of the Statutes of the State of New Jersey, including Title 18A, Education Laws.

EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES Links to helpful employment sites, as well as other disability issues.

Also see the Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) information resource for students, parents, and guidance counselors.

And see EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS, whose mission is the planning, implementing, and evaluating SSA programs and policies related to the employment of SSDI and SSI beneficiaries with disabilities.

BIPOLAR DISORDER AND Manic-Depressive Bipolar disorder-which is also known as manic-depressive illness, is a mental illness involving episodes of serious mania and depression. The person's mood usually swings from overly "high" and irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, with periods of normal mood in between. Bipolar disorder typically begins in adolescence or early adulthood and continues throughout life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people who have it may suffer needlessly for years or even decades. Effective treatments are available that greatly alleviate the suffering caused by bipolar disorder and can usually prevent its devastating complications. The Bipolar Information Center and Manic-depressive Association web sites above may be helpful.

Schizophrenia . Approximately 200,000 individuals with schizophrenia or manic-depressive illness are homeless, constituting one-third of the estimated 600,000 homeless population (total homeless population statistic based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services). These 200,000 individuals comprise more than the entire population of many U.S. cities, such as Hartford, Connecticut; Charleston, South Carolina; Reno, Nevada; Boise, Idaho; Scottsdale, Arizona; Orlando, Florida; Winston Salem, North Carolina; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Abilene, Texas or Topeka, Kansas. This web site, the Schizophrenia Home Page, is an excellent resource.

AUTISM First described and named by Leo Kanner in 1944, the mysterious disability of autism is characterized by a peculiar emotional and intellectual detachment from other people and the common human world. In autistic children, an impaired capacity for communication and human relationships and a severely restricted range of activities and interests become evident before the age of three. Although the symptoms vary in nature and severity, language and the capacity for a normal social life are always seriously affected. Two to four out of 10,000 children are autistic; 75% of them are boys. The Families for Early Autism Treatment web site is an excellent guide to this illness.

DYSLEXIA The word dyslexia is derived from the Greek dys, difficulty with, and lex (from legein, to speak), having to do with words. We encounter words in their many forms when we speak, read, spell, write, in mathematics, and in organizing, understanding, and expressing thought. The definition, based on information from neuroscientific and linguistic research, is difficulty in the use and processing of linguistic/symbolic codes - alphabetic letters representing speech sounds, or numeric symbols representing numbers or quantities. This is an aspect of the language continuum which includes spoken language, written language, and language comprehension. Children and adults with dyslexia have failed to master the basic elements of the language system to their culture despite traditional classroom teaching. Since language is the necessary tool upon which subsequent academic learning is based, people with dyslexia often encounter difficulty in all educational endeavors.

Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation OCD can start at any time from preschool age to adulthood (usually by age 40). One third to one half of adults with OCD report that it started during childhood. Unfortunately, OCD often goes unrecognized. On average, people with OCD see three to four doctors and spend over 9 years seeking treatment before they receive a correct diagnosis. Studies have also found that it takes an average of 17 years from the time OCD begins for people to obtain appropriate treatment. OCD tends to be under diagnosed and under treated for a number of reasons. People with OCD may be secretive about their symptoms or lack insight about their illness. Many healthcare providers are not familiar with the symptoms or are not trained in providing the appropriate treatments. Some people may not have access to treatment resources. This is unfortunate since earlier diagnosis and proper treatment, including finding the right medications, can help people avoid the suffering associated with OCD and lessen the risk of developing other problems, such as depression or marital and work problems. The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation web site offers direction for persons interested in this illness.

Center for Independent Living . The Center for Independent Living (CIL) is a national leader in helping people with disabilities live independently and become productive, fully participating members of society.

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