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South Shore school takes individualized approach to helping students with autism

South Shore school takes individualized approach to helping students with autism

Yahoo01-04-2025

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of modern special education. In 1975, Congress passed what's now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
Throughout the year, Boston 25 News is celebrating the achievements of students and educators. We're also highlighting the challenges and barriers that still exist in our state for young people with special needs.
Advocates say the number of students with autism in Massachusetts has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
Schools and school districts are working to understand and meet each student's needs. For students on the autism spectrum, the needs are varied. Some students with autism don't thrive in a typical school setting. Districts work hand-in-hand with area collaboratives for student who might need another option.
Boston 25′s Kerry Kavanaugh recently visited Pilgrim Academy in Plymouth, part of the area collaborative serving the South Shore.
6th grader John Luciano was her tour guide. To say John was proud to show off his classroom would be an understatement.
The markers of success are built into the routine for this classroom of students with autism, visible reminders of what than accomplish even if they make a mistake.
'And feels kind of nice to just know that even if you go down, you can always rise back up,' Luciano told Kavanaugh.
That's an important reminder for any student, especially those who are neurodivergent and, before they landed at Pilgrim Academy, struggled just to get through the day.
'I just couldn't envision myself, like, having a future, at all, if any,' said 11th grader Francisco Kasameyer-Kelly.
He says it was around 7th grade when his typical school setting was triggering anxiety and panic attacks. The right fit for his education was a game changer.
'I can just hold a conversation with anyone randomly,' he told Kavanaugh. 'All these other minor things that other people don't worry about that I used to dread having to do a normal school.'
Francisco told Kavanaugh he has both an autism diagnosis and ADHD.
'It's not just their needs from being on the autism spectrum,' says Lauren Mathisen, Director of Clinical and Therapeutic Services for the Plymouth Area Collaborative.
Mathisen says students often have a variety of needs.
'Students that come from difficult families or who have suffered trauma, who have comorbid disabilities,' she said. 'We have students who also have social emotional difficulties and behavioral struggles.'
But when their needs are met — success is sweet.
'It allows for a great deal of understanding and compassion, as I have experienced very the same struggles that they have at one point or another,' says former student, Dan McMahon. McMahon now works at Plymouth Academy as education support professionals.
So does former student Elijah White.
'It's like being in the middle of a mirror. You see both sides. You see where the adults come from where the students come from,' said White. 'Yeah, there's tough days. Yeah. We push through.'
'I try to let them know that they are not alone,' said McMahon,
And they're not alone in a supportive community. Just ask John Luciano.
'Like if somebody got hurt, somebody can help them up. If somebody is not doing good at work, somebody has to help them with the work,' said Luciano.
As the need for more specialized education grows on the South Shore and across the state, many collaboratives say physical space is in short supply.
'So that's one of our biggest needs, is finding space,' said Mathisen.
The Pilgrim Academy can serve students Kindergarten through Grade 12. Currently Mathisen says they don't have a Kindergarten or Grade 1 cohort because of the current lack of room. Another challenge as communities work to find the best fit for all students.
'Coming to this school and being able to confidently be who I want to be, it's kind of opened up that passageway for me to walk through,' said Kasameyer-Kelly.
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Molecular Partners presents positive data from ongoing Phase 1/2a trial of MP0533 in AML at EHA 2025
Molecular Partners presents positive data from ongoing Phase 1/2a trial of MP0533 in AML at EHA 2025

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Molecular Partners presents positive data from ongoing Phase 1/2a trial of MP0533 in AML at EHA 2025

Three of eight evaluable patients with R/R AML responded after cycle 1 in ongoing cohort 8, including 1 patient with ongoing response beyond 6 months Acceptable safety profile across all cohorts, including in cohort 8 with steeper step-up dosing Data support further dose optimization to maximize therapeutic benefit of MP0533, with dosing in cohort 9 now ongoing ZURICH-SCHLIEREN, Switzerland and CONCORD, Mass., June 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN; NASDAQ: MOLN), a clinical-stage biotech company developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics ('Molecular Partners' or the 'Company'), today announced a poster presentation with positive, updated data from a Phase 1/2a trial of the tetraspecific T-cell engager MP0533 in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), at the 30th EHA (European Hematology Association) Congress, taking place in Milan on June 12–15, 2025. The poster, Updated Results from the Ongoing Phase 1/2a Study of MP0533, a Tetra-Specific Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein (DARPin; CD33 x CD123 x CD70 x CD3), in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory AML or MDS/AML, outlines the impact of accelerated step-up dosing regimen (steeper and faster) of MP0533 on exposure and clinical responses in cohort 8, providing the rationale for further optimization to the dosing regimen implemented in the ongoing cohort 9. Data from cohort 8 show that 3 of 8 evaluable patients (> 30%) achieved a clinical response after the first cycle, with one patient achieving a complete response and two patients a complete response with partial hematologic recovery as best overall response. Two patients maintained a response for more than 3 months and one patient remains on treatment, maintaining a response beyond 6 months at the time of data cutoff (14 April 2025). 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Molecular Partners was founded in 2004 and has offices in both Zurich, Switzerland and Concord, MA, USA. For more information, visit and find us on LinkedIn and Twitter / X @MolecularPrtnrs For further details, please contact:Seth Lewis, SVP Investor Relations & StrategyConcord, Massachusetts, +1 781 420 2361 Laura Jeanbart, PhD, Head of Portfolio Management & Communications Zurich-Schlieren, Tel: +41 44 575 19 35 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including without limitation: implied and express statements regarding the clinical development of Molecular Partners' current or future product candidates; expectations regarding timing for reporting data from ongoing clinical trials or the initiation of future clinical trials; the potential therapeutic and clinical benefits of Molecular Partners' product candidates and its RDT and Switch-DARPin platforms; the selection and development of future programs; Molecular Partners' collaboration with Orano Med including the benefits and results that may be achieved through the collaboration; and Molecular Partners' expected business and financial outlook, including anticipated expenses and cash utilization for 2025 and its expectation of its current cash runway and the expected use of proceeds from the October 2024 offering. These statements may be identified by words such as 'aim', "anticipate', 'expect', 'guidance', 'intend', 'outlook', 'plan', 'potential', 'will' and similar expressions, and are based on Molecular Partners' current beliefs and expectations. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements. 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Most oppose GOP policy bill: Survey
Most oppose GOP policy bill: Survey

The Hill

time2 hours ago

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Most oppose GOP policy bill: Survey

More than half of voters oppose the domestic policy bill that President Trump has pushed Republicans in Congress to pass by July 4, according to a poll released Wednesday. Quinnipiac University's national survey found less than a third of registered voters surveyed support Trump's agenda-setting One Big Beautiful Bill Act, while 53 percent oppose the legislation. Twenty percent had no opinion on the megabill. The bill was overwhelmingly opposed by Democrats (89 percent) and independents (57 percent), while two-thirds of Republicans said they support the bill. The One Big Beautiful Bill includes major cost-cutting reforms to Medicaid that experts say will lead to millions of people losing coverage by 2034. It would force states to implement new work requirements for Medicaid recipients, but supporters of the bill say that will mostly affect people who entered the U.S. illegally and 'able-bodied' adults who should be working. The Quinnipiac poll found overwhelming support for Medicaid, though, as 87 percent of respondents said they oppose cuts to the healthcare program. Just 10 percent said federal Medicaid spending should be cut, while 47 percent said funding should be increased and 40 percent said it should stay the same. 'With Medicaid's future as a healthcare safety net for millions suddenly uncertain, voters make it clear they want the 60-year-old program for those in need to be handled with care,' Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said. Twenty-one percent of Republicans surveyed said they think federal funding for Medicaid should increase, 56 percent said it should stay about the same, and 18 percent said it should be cut. Nearly 70 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of independents surveyed think federal funding for Medicaid should increase, while 2 percent of Democrats and 11 percent of independents think it should decrease. The Big Beautiful Bill narrowly passed the House last month and is under review in the Senate, where some Republicans have argued that it doesn't cut federal spending enough.

Anxiety is the most common mental health problem – here's how tech could help manage it
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Anxiety is the most common mental health problem – here's how tech could help manage it

Anxiety disorders are the world's most common mental health problem. But it isn't always easy to get professional help, with long waiting lists in many countries. Worldwide, only about 28% of people with anxiety receive treatment. The figure is similar for the UK, and in the US about 37% receive a treatment. This is due to a number of factors such as lack of resources, including mental health staff, and stigma associated with mental health problems. But if you're struggling to get help, there are things you could try at home in the meantime – including some novel technologies. To understand how they work, let's first take a look at how anxiety is expressed in the brain and body. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. The symptoms of anxiety are cognitive and emotional as well as physiological. They can include trouble concentrating and making decisions, feeling irritable or tense and having heart palpitations or shaking. Trouble sleeping and feelings of panic or impending danger are also common. These symptoms often start in childhood and adolescence. Sadly, it frequently continues into adulthood, especially if untreated. There are many genetic and environmental factors involved in the development of anxiety. These can include competition and pressure at school, university or work or financial worries and lack of job security. Social isolation and loneliness are also common factors, often a result of retirement, home working or stemming from bullying or maltreatment in childhood. Such experiences may even rewire our brains. For example, our neuroimaging study has shown that maltreatment in childhood is linked to changes in the connectivity of the brain's centromedial amygdala, which plays a key role in processing emotions, including fear and anxiety, and the anterior insula, which processes emotion among other things. Anxiety is commonly associated with depression or other conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder. During the COVID pandemic when the prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25%, people with such neurodevelopmental conditions exhibited more emotional problems than others. According to the Children's Commissioner this is still on the rise with 500 children per day being referred to mental health services for anxiety, more than double the rate pre-pandemic. Researchers are still uncovering new ways for professionals to help treat such people. For example, in our recent study, we noticed that suicidal thoughts and depression were more common in children with anxiety who were also very impulsive. This could impact the treatments they receive. So the science of how to best treat anxiety is constantly moving forward. Unfortunately though, waiting lists for even receiving a diagnosis can sometimes take years. Neurotechnology can, at least in part, help fill the gap before symptoms get worse. There are a number of startup companies in the anxiety space, working on both hardware and software for anxiety management. Technology for managing anxiety is rapidly advancing, offering alternatives and complements to traditional therapies. Moonbird, for example, uses a handheld device that guides users through paced breathing with gentle physical movements. You essentially feel the device move in your hand and breathe along with it. Research has shown that such breathing can help the nervous system to reduce anxiety symptoms. The company Parasym influences brain regions involved in mood and stress regulation. People can use it by wearing a small device that applies mild electrical micro impulses running through the vagus nerve, which runs from the ears and downwards trough the neck and activates a key part of the nervous system. Neurovalens and Flow Neuroscience are exploring non-invasive brain stimulation, such as transcranial 'direct current stimulation (tDCS)'. This can be applied by using electrodes placed on the scalp to deliver a mild, constant electrical current to alter brain activity. These devices ultimately target the prefrontal cortex to support the regulation of emotions. One scientific review of tDCS studies in anxiety has concluded that some research clearly showed benefits of tDCS for treating anxiety symptoms, although larger scale and longer duration studies were needed. How we experience life events and feel or react to them also influences physiological functions such as our heart rate. You will have experienced how having a meaningful conversation creates a special connection between two people. This can actually manifest in the body as increased synchronisation of your heart rates and other functions. This is termed 'physiological synchrony' and is thought to be important for positive social interaction. Unfortunately, in common conditions of anxiety, including social anxiety and postpartum maternal anxiety, heart rate can become less variable and therefore less able to synchronise. Therefore, a device that promotes physiological synchrony would be beneficial. The company Lyeons is currently developing such a device, targeting anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and ADHD. On the digital side, Headspace offers structured meditation and cognitive behavioural therapy based programmes. Similarly, ieso offer typed text-based CBT therapy for mild to moderate anxiety and low mood. These platforms use guided meditation, breathing exercises and behavioural tools to help users build emotion resilience and reduce anxious thought patterns. Other emerging tools also include virtual reality, which is being explored for exposure therapy and immersive stress reduction, in particular. All these technologies have used scientific and medical information to offer diverse options that address both mind and body. If we can halt the trend towards increasing numbers of people suffering from anxiety and find ways to improve access to effective treatments, it will lead to a better quality of life for individuals and their families, improved productivity and wellbeing at work and promote a flourishing society. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. Her research work is conducted within the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Themes. Christelle Langley receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. Her research work is conducted within the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Themes.

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