Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Today, I am begrudgingly breaking a long standing rule on this blog of not talking about politics...
Betsy DeVos
Yesterday a new Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, was confirmed by the Senate. DeVos a wealthy Republican donor who never attended a public school, is not an educator and has spent most of her life promoting charter schools and vouchers is now in charge of almost 100,000 public schools.
Today the government website for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is not responding...
I'm going to go out on a limb and say if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you better start calling your Senators and Congresspeople.
About IDEA from the ADA website
What is IDEA?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that requires states to provide a "free, appropriate public education" to children with disabilities so they can be educated to the greatest extent possible along with all other children. Qualifying children are entitled to special education and related services at no cost to their parents/guardians.
Who is covered?
To receive services under IDEA, a child with with a disability must show that he or she needs special education and related services in order to benefit from education. An evaluation of the child must show that, because of the child's disability, the child's educational performance is harmed. There are three situations in which a child with diabetes might be covered under IDEA:
1. The child has another disability which impacts his or her ability to learn, but diabetes itself does not cause an impact in learning. For example, a child with Down syndrome might have an impact in learning.
2. Both diabetes and another disability combined impact the child's ability to learn. For example, it might be determined that a child's ability to learn is impacted by both autism and diabetes.
3. The child's diabetes, by itself, causes an impact on learning. This is categorized as an "other health impairment" under the IDEA.
While it is most common for a child with diabetes to qualify for IDEA because of having another disability in addition to diabetes, it is also possible that diabetes itself can cause an impact in learning. For example, it is often difficult to learn when blood sugar levels are either too high or too low. If a child with diabetes is having difficulty managing his or her blood sugar level, this may hurt how well the child does in school. Academic progress might also suffer if a child with diabetes misses a significant amount of classroom instruction each day in order to attend to diabetes care tasks.
The Center for Parent Information and Resources describes "Other Health Impairments" like this.
“Other Health Impairment” is one of the 14 categories of disability listed in our nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, a child who has an “other health impairment” is very likely to be eligible for special services to help the child address his or her educational, developmental, and functional needs resulting from the disability.
(i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and
You can read the rest on their website here.
update 9:54am - Dept of Ed says this is not purposeful.
Mary Tyler Moore Dead at 80
Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 33...
NEW YORK (AP) — Mary Tyler Moore, the star of TV's beloved "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" whose comic realism helped revolutionize the depiction of women on the small screen, has died.
Moore died Wednesday with her husband and friends nearby, her publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said. She was 80.
Moore gained fame in the 1960s as the frazzled wife Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." In the 1970s, she created one of TV's first career-woman sitcom heroines in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
She won seven Emmy awards over the years and was nominated for an Oscar for her 1980 portrayal of an affluent mother whose son is accidentally killed in "Ordinary People."
She had battled diabetes for many years. In 2011, she underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor on the lining of her brain.
The entire AP article is here.
Decision Moves Continuous Glucose Monitors One Step Closer to Medicare Coverage
great news from JDRF.org !!
January 12, 2017
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices approved by the FDA for use in making diabetes treatment decisions are durable medical equipment, according to a decision today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). That determination removed a major roadblock to the devices’ coverage under Medicare. Today’s decisions mean that CGMs approved by the FDA for use in making diabetes treatment decisions are eligible for reimbursement under Medicare.
Today’s decision creates a pathway for Medicare coverage for the devices that will bring the nation’s largest insurer in line with the vast majority of the country’s private payers. Although the significant benefits of CGM use have been known since 2008, CMS had previously refused to consider covering the devices under Medicare, saying they did not meet the statutory definitions of durable medical equipment or any other category the agency could cover. Today’s decision removes that impediment.
“JDRF is encouraged by this decision, which will bring us closer to Medicare coverage for continuous glucose monitors,” said Aaron J. Kowalski, PhD, JDRF’s Chief Mission Officer. “I want to thank the tireless JDRF advocates and Congressional champions who have made this progress possible.”
the entire press release can be found here on the JDRF website
Share with your Pediatrician
Poster from the American Academy of Pediatrics...
Share it today with your pediatricians office, save a life. Download the hi-res PDF
Arden's 10th Anniversary JDRF Walk
Arden was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just after her second birthday in August of 2006. That October we participated in our first JDRF Walk.
First Walk 2006, Age 2
Yesterday we walked for the tenth consecutive year...
Arden designed her own walk shirt this year to mimic a softball t-shirt. Big thank you to OmniPod for being cool with us using their Podder logo to make the shirt. It was a great day, the weather was perfect and a ton of Arden's friends and teammates came along in support.
