A Rave Review for a New Book

Life After High School: A Guide for Students with Disabilities and Their Families has been "highly recommended" by Library Journal, “the oldest and most respected publication covering the library field."

The enthusiastic review of this new book from our own Susan Yellin, Esq., Director of Advocacy and Transition Services here at the Yellin Center, and Christina Cacioppo Bertsch, former head of Disability Services at Fordham University, speaks for itself:

Yellin, Susan & Christina Cacioppo Bertsch. Life After High School: A Guide for Students with Disabilities and Their Families. Jessica Kingsley. Sept. 2010. C.272p. index. ISBN 9781849058285. pap. $19.95. ED


There are myriad accommodations that colleges and, to a lesser extent, work sites are required to make for people with disabilities, yet navigating the process can be daunting. Here, Yellin, attorney and founder of the nonprofit Center for Learning Differences, and Bertsch (former director, disability svcs., Fordham Univ.) provide students with disabilities and their parents an outstanding and highly readable guide to preparing for and transitioning to life after high school. They start by examining the legal landscape and cover defining a disability and creating a paper trail to document the disability and previous accommodations. They move on to college-entrance exams, how to select a college, and the admissions process, and then discuss the transition to full-time work. There is also a chapter devoted to dealing with medical issues without mom. The book ends with a useful list of resources, organized by topic, for further information. VERDICT An excellent resource for students with disabilities and their families; at this price, within reach for most people and libraries. Highly recommended.—Mark Bay, Univ. of the Cumberlands Lib., Williamsburg, KY

Library Journal, "considered to be the 'bible' of the library world," is in its 133rd year of publication and is presently published in both print and online versions. The review of this newly published book will appear in both versions and be available to "over 100,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries" reached by Library Journal.

Cornerstone Literacy

Cornerstone Literacy is an exciting national initiative that works in partnership with school districts to provide "a combination of research-based practices, direct in-school supports and intensive year-round training."  They are currently working in 50 schools, 25 in Muscogee County, Georgia and 25 in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Originally a program of the New York Institute for Special Education, whose Board of Directors includes Dr. Paul Yellin, Cornerstone is in the process of becoming an independent non-profit under the dynamic direction of its President, Victor Young. Its staff includes former teachers and principals, all of whom are grounded in the Cornerstone Literacy model, which works with six "cueing systems" or "avenues" to access texts. Some members of the Yellin Center team got to meet these dedicated professionals when Dr. Yellin was invited to speak at a Cornerstone Literacy retreat in July of this year.

What has us particularly excited about Cornerstone's important work is that for the next year it will be headquartered right here -- Cornerstone Literacy has become our new neighbor! While the organization finishes the process of "spinning off" from the New York Institute and seeks a permanent home here in Manhattan (it was formerly headquartered in Philadelphia, although its teams do much of their work on-site in the schools it serves), Cornerstone is utilizing temporary space in our building. 

We welcome our new neighbors, with whom we hope to find opportunities to collaborate, and are delighted that they have found a temporary home while they settle down here in New York City! 

Walking to School

Researchers at the State University of Buffalo in New York have released the results of a study confirming what parents have always suspected -- that walking to school is good for kids. James Roemmich, MD, PhD and his research team looked at 40 children in good health who were not presently walking to school on a regular basis. They had half of their subjects walk on a treadmill for just under a mile, carrying a backpack that was about 10% of their body weight. The other subjects sat in a chair. Both groups looked at screens that showed a pleasant view of sites one would see while walking to school.

As reported in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the short term results were clear; cardiac stress was less in those students who walked, as compared to those who sat, measured by blood pressure, perceived stress, and heart and pulse reactivity.

What is less certain is how long the stress reduction will last during the school day and what the long term effects into adulthood will be for students who regularly walk to school. But in the meantime, while researchers follow up on these preliminary results, parents might do well to forgo the car pool where walking to school is practical. And, as with many things, you can always tell your child, "It's for your own good..."

Photo credit: flickr.com

Experiential Learning

A walk along Boston's Freedom Trail recently reminded us of the importance of learning by experience. This is something that can benefit young people -- and their parents -- in a number of ways. Walking through Independence Hall in Philadelphia on a hot summer's day can help a history student imagine what the Founding Fathers must have felt like when the heat of their debates was matched by the heat of their meeting place.

Have you ever visited a science museum where they helped children extract their own DNA from a cheek swab, using a test tube and chemicals? As the DNA comes together to form a distinctive form within the tube, the concept of this individual building block becomes very real. Looking inside an early space capsule at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. gives a real sense of how the first astronauts must have felt in their tiny home in space.

But it's not just museums and historical sites that allow young people to enjoy experiential learning. Travel to any new place -- or a deeper exploration of a familiar location -- can bring ideas to life. Even a trip to a supermarket, equipped with a list and a budget, can give children experiences in fields ranging from mathematics to nutrition to reading.

Some schools have already opened for the year. Others will open in the next several weeks. But as we leave behind the slower pace of summer, perhaps your family can still find the time for short trips, or more local experiences, that can bring learning to life in very practical ways. And, if you are on the Freedom Trial, do try the pastries at Mike's in Boston's North End!

Ramapo: A Special Program

We are often reluctant to write about a program that is very small, or hasn't been around very long. But we are making an exception for a unique program for young people 18 and up who are struggling to take the next step to college or the workplace.

The Staff Assistant Program at Ramapo for Children is only a couple of years old, although Ramapo for Children  was founded in 1922. The mission of the larger organization is  "to serve children with a wide range of emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities in a dynamic and stimulating outdoor environment ... with adventure-based, experiential learning programs that promote positive character values, build social and learning competencies, and enhance self-esteem." During the summer, the camp program has several sessions of one, two, and three week programs. During much of the school year the camp is used by a variety of schools, public and private, for retreats that teach skill building and leadership skills to students of all ability levels.


The Staff Assistant Program operates from March through November on a rolling admissions basis. Young people and their families need to make a minimum 12 week commitment. The Staff Assistants function as assistants to counselors and other employees of Ramapo, all the time being mentored on a one-to-one basis by a skilled professional staff that really "gets it". The Staff Assistants are paid a weekly stipend (which comes out of the fees paid by their families; the only drawback to this program is that it is expensive, with annualized costs similar to attendance at a top college). They learn the nuts and bolts of managing their lives, working on everything that has tripped them up in their past endeavors -- time management, social interactions, budgeting, working skills -- yet they also have the chance to work with youngsters whose needs generally exceed their own. When the summer program is not in session, the Staff Assistants have more time to work on additional skills -- taking a course at the local community college, learning to drive, working at a part-time job in town, or participating in a community based organization, such as community theater. 


This all sounds pretty basic, but for young people who have graduated from high school and haven't been able to succeed in college or in the workplace choices can be very limited. And a place where these young adults can work with extraordinary staff and learn to help themselves by helping others can be a key step to their future success. 

Tools to Consider

Two software packages that we sometimes recommend to the students we see can be useful tools for organizing writing and other tasks. Although neither is free, they both offer 30 day free trials, so it might be worthwhile checking them out and trying one or both to see if they are worth your time and money.

The first, which has been around for a number of years, is Inspiration, which we have written about in the past. It is recommended for students in grades 6-12, but may have wider appeal. This software also has a version for younger students in grades K though 5, called Kidspiration.The Inspiration software helps students organize their thoughts into outlines and to create linkages between ideas to best structure a writing assignment or project. It switches easily from a diagram view to an outline, and back again. Once a student gets the hang of things (and it is easy enough that even your blogger was able to master it) he or she can brainstorm ideas, linking and moving each idea, concept or topic to another and creating subcategories where needed. Colors, shapes, and linking lines help keep thoughts in groups, and let students get their ideas on paper and then move them around to build the best written product.

Mindjet Mind Manager is a more complex program which can be used to manage tasks and projects in both an individual and business setting. It does not have a version for younger users, and is substantially more expensive than Inspiration, but can offer significant support for project planning, especially when working in teams, and may be of interest to students in college and post-secondary environments.

As the new school year approaches, you might want to check out both of these tools, download a free trial, and see how they work with your learning needs, or those of your child.

Link Roundup

Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book (NY Times)

10 Tips for Women Students in Science Fields (U.S. News & World Report)

Getting the Best out of Boys (Teaching Pre-K-8)

A Good Night's Sleep for the New School Year (Science Daily)

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Photo by Jorge Quinteros