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Showing posts with label amygdala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amygdala. Show all posts

LANDMARK COLLEGE. Readers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter have heard about Landmark College, a two-year institution in Vermont that caters to students with learning disabilities. The New York Times just published a profile of the college, which also mentions other colleges that focus on LD students. A quote from the article: “We’re dealing with really bright students here,” says Michael Nieckoski, Landmark’s director of educational technology services. “In some ways they may be even smarter than your average undergraduate, because they’ve spent most of their lives trying to either overcome their diagnosis or outsmart everyone.” Find the article. 
AD/HD AND WHAC-A-MOLE. Researchers in the UK used the Whac-a-Mole game to show why kids with AD/HD may have trouble concentrating unless they're doing something that interests them. Evidently these kids have trouble switching off what's called the brain's "default-mode network" (DMM), brain regions involved in mind wandering. However, with either increased incentives or with AD/HD medications, the children were able to switch attention as readily as typically developing kids. Find out more.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. Do you raise or teach a gifted child with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or AD/HD? Assistive technology might help that child comprehend written materials, express  him- or herself, and take tests. The New York Times just published an article on the text-to-speech and speech-to-text technologies. Find it. Separately, a press release made us aware of DynaVox Mayer-Johnson, which provides speech generating devices and symbol-adapted special education software used to assist individuals in overcoming speech, language and learning challenges. The company offers products that let educators create accessible lessons and activities, and products allowing learners to access those lessons on a PC. Find out more.
DEVELOPMENTAL OPTOMETRY BLOG. If vision issues are of concern to you, check out the VisionHelp Blog, with contributors who specialize in the optometric specialty called behavioral/developmental/rehabilitative optometry. Find the blog, where you may also subscribe to it.
WRIGHTSLAW lists their top 10 articles from 2010, along with top 10 topics, top 10 cases, and top 10 blog posts. Find the lists. 
QUALITY COUNTS is the name of the annual Education Week report on the state of education in the United States, and it's just been released. Topics include state report cards, state highlights, how to grade your state using your own rating scheme, trending charts, economic snapshots, and more. Find the report.
AUTISM RESOURCE. The Autism Support Network has posted a worldwide database of resources for those looking for professionals or services to deal with autism-related issues. You may search by country and then by province or state. (2e Newsletter is listed in Illinois.) Find the database.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Not sure if this is cause and effect, but it appears that those with more friends on Facebook have larger amygdalas. And, of course, you know from reading brain articles in 2e Newsletter that the amygdala is involved in the brain's emotional response to stimuli good or bad. Find out more.

On Praise, Thanks, At-Risk Labels, and the Amygdala

DON'T PRAISE INTELLIGENCE in your gifted, high-ability kids. It makes kids want to protect the idea that they're smart, and that can lead to lost confidence, lost interest in challenging tasks, and plummeting performance. So says psychologist Carol Dweck in an interview published in a University of Illinois publication. In the article, Dweck also discusses the fixed mindset versus the growth mindset and how they apply to children and students, among other areas. Find the article.

THANK THAT EDUCATOR OF 2e STUDENTS. The website MyTeacherMyHero.com is offering a way to fund school projects and supplies by posting a video thanking your favorite teacher. By thanking your favorite teacher in a video at the site, you can earn a $25 "Giving Card" from DonorsChoose.org. You can then donate the Giving Card to a project, school, or teacher you want to help -- and multiple videos from friends and colleagues can increase the funding for the project you choose. Find details.

FUNDRAISING IDEA FOR YOUR GIFTED SCHOOL. A private school in Vail, Colorado, is raising money by raffling off a $1.3 million ski home plus cash to pay the income tax on it. And you thought the fruit basket you gave to your school's last silent auction was something -- next time, donate your home. Read more, or enter.

BRAIN SCIENCE, STRESS, AND DISCIPLINE. An article in the Providence Journal tells how a consultant teaches educators how to apply brain science to reduce stress in schools and to help discipline. The article recounts the disruptive effects of stress on education, describes the importance a nurturing relationship with a non-parent adult (eg, a teacher) can have for a child, and describes how ritualized actions and nonverbal gestures can speak directly to the amygdala, calming kids when used properly. Read the article.

DUMPING THE ASPIE LABEL. An opinion piece in The New York Times about eliminating Asperger's as a separate condition in the next DSM and lumping it with ASDs generated lots of letters to the editor. If this issue interests you, check out the letters.

AT-RISK VERSUS AT-PROMISE. Washington Post columnist Jay Matthews writes about how some schools are changing the "at-risk" label to "at-promise." The rationale? Intimations of deficit model versus strength model. Silly? Read the column.

TEEN BRAINS. Are they wired differently? A recent study indicates they might be. From the study: “Our work on the amygdala revealed that the neuronal pathways that carry sensory information to the amygdala directly, bypassing cortex, are more plastic in the juvenile than in adult mice...” This could mean that teens are driven more by subcortical, less rational parts of the brain. Find out more.