An appalling story appearing on the front page of CNN.com today noting that many schools are still using or have recently used "seclusion" rooms as a means to isolate students with disabilities, inluding autism, when the need to calm them arises.

Sadly behind the times, Texas is garnering an unwelcome spotlight on the national level from the U.S. Justice Department. Texas, as is pointed out, has more patients institutionalized in large patient facilities than any other state in the country.

Some San Antonio parents have run into roadblocks with doctors, reporting that their children have been denied medical care or surgeries because of their autism diagnosis. While it is in a doctor's right to refuse treatment to anyone except in the case of an emergency, medical experts and parents want to see medical professionals learn how to work with our special needs children.

Statewide, parents in Texas are hoping that recent changes to state law will revamp some of the more contentious areas in the state's special education program