Education Learning Issues

EDUCATION, GIFTEDNESS, AD/HD, AND CORTICES. The noted Doctors Eide comment on a recent research report on "cognition without control," control being the function of the prefrontal cortex, which theorizes about why our prefrontal cortices develop somewhat late. The Eides take the interpretation a step further, noting that children who are gifted or have AD/HD typically have later-developing prefrontal cortices. The Eides reflect on the application of the theory to the timing of stimulants for AD/HD, and to education. Find the Eide blog.

EDUCATOR RESOURCE. The National Autism Center has published a manual for educators called Evidence-Based Practice and Autism in the Schools. The Center says that "The manual outlines relevant topics, including the current state of research findings, professional judgment and data-based clinical decision making, values and preferences of families, and capacity building." The 245-page manual is available for purchase or as a free dowload. Find out more.

WHY GOOD KIDS SOMETIMES ACT CRUELLY is the title of a recent NPR show hosted by Diane Rehm. NPR says about the show: "A psychologist and a school principal explain the importance of the pre-teen years in heading off mean behavior. They offer strategies for kids, parents and teachers to deal with teasing, bullying and other bad behaviors." If this is a problem in your home or classroom, check out this program.

THE RAINMAN OF FLATBUSH. The New York Times profiled George Kramer, a developmentally disabled man who has worked in a Brooklyn hardware store for 58 years. George has remarkable abilities of memory, date calculation, and location. Of the thousands of parts in the hardware store, the article says: "George can identify each nut and bolt and screw on sight... and he knows where, exactly, in the store it is kept. He can tell you its cost. And he can tell you the name — and often the phone number — of the company that made it." Read more about George and his life.

ACHIEVING IN SPITE OF AN LD, a shaky home environment, and an "at-risk" label -- it all makes for another good story from The New York Times. A year after deciding to change his attitude, Nazaury Delgado, a high school senior in the Bronx, showed some of his Photoshop-created images to his art teacher. HIs teacher showed the works to colleagues, and, according to the article, "as the teachers looked at the images, they realized that Mr. Delgado should be applying to the top art schools in the nation." Find out what happened, and be sure to check out photos of the artist and his work.

CHALLENGING BRIGHT STUDENTS. Sunday the 10th was trifecta day for The New York Times. Their third winner covered high schools that offer dual enrollment courses "as a way to challenge their brightest students and ward off senioritis once college applications are done." Students can get college courses for a fraction of their usual cost, bypass high-pressure AP programs, and smooth the transition to college. Read the article.

THE ASPERGER'S DIFFERENCE. Personnel from The Center for Spectrum Services in Kingston, New York, produced a film by that name addressing the challenges and gifts of teens with Asperger's, showing the film for the first time recently and offering a DVD version of the piece. The piece centers on interviews with three Aspie teens. Read more. See a trailer for the film.

ASIA/PACIFIC GIFTED CONFERENCE. Jo Freitag's Gifted Resources Newsletter pointed us to information about the 11th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness, to be held July 29th to August 1st in Sydney, Australia. Wish we could be there, but we're betting that our readers in Australia and New Zealand will find this of interest. Find out more. Also from Freitag's newsletter, news of an event in Glen Waverly, Australia, titled "Success in Teaching Twice-Exceptional Children." Find out more at Freitag's website.