AWARENESS UPDATES

First:  a new law requires cameras be placed in classrooms serving students with disabilities upon request:

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In what’s believed to be a first, a new law in Texas will require schools to install cameras upon request in classrooms serving students with disabilities.
The law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month mandates that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in the state employ video cameras if they are requested by a parent, trustee or staff member.
Under the measure, such requests can only be made for self-contained classrooms and other environments where the majority of students are receiving special education services.
“We heard testimony from students with special needs and parents whose lives have been forever changed by mistreatment in the classroom,” state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., who authored the legislation, told Disability Scoop. “It is my intention that the presence of cameras in these students’ classrooms will provide evidence in cases of abuse, and will also protect teachers who face wrongful accusations.”
According to the law, cameras are to be used exclusively “in order to promote student safety.” Cameras cannot be placed inside bathrooms or other areas where students change clothes, but should be able to record video and audio of all other areas of the classroom. The measure includes limits on who may view recordings and the circumstances in which such footage can be reviewed.
Several school districts and groups representing educators had opposed the bill, telling local media they had concerns about cost and the effectiveness of cameras in improving student safety.
Nonetheless, Abbott signed the legislation without comment.
The new law will take effect with the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

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And:  research finds that a rare speech disorder may affect up to 2/3 of kids with autism:

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New research suggests that an otherwise rare speech disorder may affect nearly two-thirds of kids with autism, a finding that’s prompting calls for greater screening.
The condition called apraxia is estimated to affect just one or two out of every 1,000 children, but a study finds that 64 percent of children with autism may also have the speech disorder.
“Children with apraxia have difficulty coordinating the use of their tongue, lips, mouth and jaw to accurately produce speech sounds, so that each time they say the same word, it comes out differently, and even their parents have difficulty understanding them,” said Cheryl Tierney, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Penn State College of Medicine, who led the study published online in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.
Researchers looked at a group of 30 kids ages 15 months to 5 years who were referred for evaluations due to concerns about speech, language or autism. Of the children initially diagnosed with autism, nearly 2 out of 3 also had apraxia, the study found. Meanwhile, among those first flagged with apraxia, 36.8 percent were also found to have autism.
The findings are significant, researchers said, because symptoms of autism and apraxia can both be improved with early intervention, but the techniques used to address the conditions are different, making accurate diagnosis critical.
Tierney said that based on the study findings children diagnosed with autism or apraxia should be screened for the other condition until the time they start talking.