A Pennsylvania a mother was forced to go to due process to implement the Independent Educational Evaluation recommendations for her child with severe dyslexia and a written expression disorder. She had to borrow $1,400 to pay the evaluator to testify, and for two days of cross-examination by the school district. The parent prevailed and the child received the reading instruction he needed. Before the Supreme Court’s Murphy decision, the mother could recover her expert fees; after Murphy, she would not.

This story about food inequalities in Chicago reminded me of some research that's been done by Johns Hopkins graduate students in Baltimore. Access to high-quality full service grocery stores is so important for residents' health and nutrition.

"Autism is too big as a whole to attack," said John Sweeney, director of UIC's Center for Cognitive Medicine and the group's brain imaging specialist. "We have to go through the brain bit by bit to find out what's working and what's not. Get the bricks sorted out, and then build the house."

For all the talk about 'kids these days,' these students in Boston are some of our best and brightest - using their words and minds on their way to a successful college career.

"More and more states are recognizing the need to pass this legislation," Stuart Spielman, a policy adviser and counsel to Autism Speaks, told the committee. "Given the severity of autism spectrum disorders for many people, providing comprehensive care is the best way . . . to realize savings down the road."

The Pentagon fears a severe shortage of scientists and engineers at government laboratories could erode the military's technological edge in developing weapons and other projects in coming years, spawning a hiring boom at military research laboratories and an expansion of scholarships, advertising campaigns, and other ways to recruit a new generation of researchers.

"Seconds earlier the man had dared to stand up to the baton wielding men because they had shoved a 14-year-old girl. For his chivalry he got one of the most savage beatings I have ever seen at the hands of four Iranian riot policemen and members of the Baseej, Iran's plain clothed volunteer militia. 'To hell with Iran,' he said as he sat beaten and battered along the sidewalk. 'This is not my government. This is not my country.'"

"A detainee who is not talking cannot provide information about future attacks. Had Khalid Sheikh Mohammad had a lawyer, Tenet wrote, 'I am confident that we would have obtained none of the information he had in his head about imminent threats against the American people.'"

This is a really cool, innovative health care model. The Clinic is trying to serve high-need & poor populations while at the same time providing high-quality care to wealthier client-benefactors who desire more personalized care. I hope it works!

Hyperbaric oxygen is a cutting-edge treatment for many children with autism. Unfortunately, many insurance companies won't cover the cost of the sessions.