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Showing posts with label LDs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LDs. Show all posts

DYSLEXIA GOES TO COLLEGE. An event at Stanford University for college admission deans was intended to help colleges appreciate dyslexic applicants. Organized in part by expert Sally Shaywitz, the event featured speakers who shared their experiences with dyslexia -- Charles Schwab was among those. Also covered: topics such as the effect of dyslexia on the testing and admissions process; accommodations in college; and tips for dyslexic students on choosing the right college. Read more.
COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEM. Research by Autism Speaks notes that more than half of the young people in their registry also show symptoms of either attention problems or of hyperactivity. Researchers noted that the AD/HD symptoms further burden children with autism, and stressed the importance of identifying AD/HD symptoms so that they could be addressed. Read more.
TREATING OCD. An article in Time Magazine noted the effectiveness of a therapy called exposure and response prevention (ERP) in reducing OCD symptoms, especially when used in combination with medication. Among kids in a JAMA-reported study, about 67 percent of kids treated with a combination of medicine and ERP reduced their OCD symptoms by a 30 percent benchmark. Find out more.
GIFTED STUDENTS AND ONLINE LEARNING was the topic of an Education Week online chat this week. Interested persons may find the chat at the Education Week website.
GIFTED ISSUES DISCUSSION FORUM. The Davidson Institute maintains a free public forum for the discussion of gifted issues at http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/. Some of the threads deal with twice-exceptional topics, such as giftedness and AD/HD, or low working memory, or visual processing  issues.
AD/HD AND STIMULANTS. About 2.8 million children  in the United States were prescribed stimulant medicine for AD/HD in 2008, up from previous years. The study covered the years from 1996 to 2008. Usage is higher in boys and children not of color; usage is lower in Western states. Find out more.
BEST STEM HIGH SCHOOLS. Want to find out which high schools rank highest in the teaching of science and math? US News can tell you.
SMARTS AND PROCESSING SPEED. Adolescents become smarter (as measured on intelligence tests) because their processing speed increases, according to a new study. Read more.
BRAIN RESOURCE. Healthline has a cool interactive tool for visualizing the brain. You can turn it, split it, see different layers, identify components, and read about them. Find it.
AND FINALLY, THIS. You can buy your child a pair of $40 sunglasses with a hidden video camera inside. According to a reviewer, the set-up includes  a battery, 128MB of RAM, and a USB port for downloading the video to a computer for viewing and editing. Read the review or go to the vendor's website.

STILL BEHIND but catching up. Here are today's offerings from recent new reports, resources, and websites concerning giftedness, LDs, child development, parenting, and teaching. 
TURNING AD/HD INTO A BOOK. A writer/reporter in California has written a book about AD/HD, her son, and herself. NPR highlighted the book and published an excerpt. Find it.
POLLING ABOUT LDs. A poll taken earlier this year of 1000 adults shows misconceptions about learning disabilities, according to an article in Education Week. For example, most people consider AD/HD to be a learning disability, although it's not. Read more.
EDUCATOR'S RESOURCE. Edutopia offers a free resource guide on strengthening the connection between school and families. Find the "Home to School Connections Guide" at the Edutopia site.
RADICAL ACCELERATION. The Daily Herald, a Chicagoland newspaper, carried an article focusing on several profoundly gifted young people and the way they was accelerated in their education, culminating in some cases in early admission to college. Read the article.
DIAGNOSIS VIA MRI. Two recent news items concerned  the use of MRIs to diagnose various second exceptionalities. One article covered a study that used MRIs to differentiate AD/HD and bipolar disorder; the other covered a study using MRIs to diagnose autism.
RICK RIORDAN ON READING. The author of the Percy Jackson series reflects in a Wall Street Journal blog about four things he's learned about helping children with learning challenges become lifelong readers. The Percy Jackson series began as bedtime stories for Riordan's AD/HD and dyslexic son, now 16. Read the blog.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. Wrightslaw has added to its site a page on assistive technolololgy. The October 19th edition of Special Ed Advocate offers several articles on the topic. If your gifted/LD child needs AT, find out more about the topic.
NEW BOOK ON DIFFERENTIATION. Minnesota educator Richard Cash is interviewed in EdNews.org about his new book Advancing Differentiation, published by Free Spirit Press. In the interview, Cash also touches on topics such as a longer school year, learning styles, and heterogeneous classrooms. Find the interview.