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Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

SPECTRUM U. A blog devoted to college choices for those on the spectrum offers information on what's offered at over 200 schools, plus tips on choosing a school, connecting with others, and how to thrive at college. It looks as if information is updated frequently. Find the blog. (Thanks, Liz!)
REACTION to the article "The Upside of Dyslexia" has been posted at the New York Times site; we blogged about the article last week. Two readers who respond remind us of "the down side" of dyslexia. Another says, "It is imperative that we keep these learning advantages in mind, and provide students with a flexible and multisensory education that highlights both their strengths and weaknesses." And a fourth respondent suggests "It is time for the federal Department of Education to recognize dyslexia as a specific diagnosis instead of using the broad and misleading diagnosis of learning disabled." Find the reactions.  
TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION. Our January/February issue of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter focused on A.T. for 2e kids. An article in the news today about a school in North Carolina that issues Apple laptops to all students in grades 4-12 portrays the school as a leader in increasing test scores, boosting attendance, and lowering the drop-out rate. Read the article. 
SUMMER PROGRAMS. NAGC offers resources for those looking for a summer program for their gifted children. One resource is the NAGC Resource Directory. Another is an upcoming Internet "radio" program. Here's NAGC's blurb on the event: "Tunein live to EducationTalk Radio on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 11:30 a.m. (Eastern) for 'A KickStart to Summer Camps.' The segment features NAGC member Bob Schultz, fromthe University of Toledo, discussing summer enrichment options for high-abilitylearners. The segment shares the same title of the article Schultz is writingfor the spring 2012 edition of Teaching for High Potential. If you can'tmake it next Thursday, you can listen to an archive on the Education Talk site here." 
SCHOOL FINDER. A web-based service called FindTheBest offers, among other things, a tool for finding a public or private school based on factors such as location, school type, size, and student-to-teacher ratio. We haven't tried it, but it looks as if it could be useful. If you try it, let us know what you think. Find the site.  

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.

THE GIFTED DEVELOPMENT CENTER, in its latest newsletter, brings the news that Center stalwart Betty Maxwell has retired, and features an interview with Maxwell, who assessed and worked with gifted learners and was particularly interested in visual/spatial learners. Find the newsletter.
AIMEE YERMISIH ONLINE. Aimee is offering two no-cost online events this month on the topic of "Cleared for Launch -- What's After High School" for gifted or 2e kids. Dates: 9/11 and 9/25. Find more information. Aimee also writes a blog at WordPress on "intelligence, creativity, psychology, education, and whatever else comes to mind" -- find it. 
FROM DUMMY CLASS TO PULITZER. The opinion piece starts out this way: "I was well into middle age when one of my children, then in the second grade, was found to be dyslexic. I had never known the name for it, but I recognized immediately that the symptoms were also mine." In the opinion piece, the writer describes his difficulties with words as a child, including his difficulties in reading and in processing spoken language. But he willed himself to read, found that he had a "voice," and later won a Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Read more. 
DOES TECHNOLOGY HELP IN THE CLASSROOM? An article in The New York Times gives plenty of information about how technology is used in one tech-savvy school district, but notes that test scores in the district have not risen. Find the article. (Whatever the outcome in "ordinary" classrooms, we could contend that the right assistive technology can greatly help the right 2e and LD kids.)
AND FINALLY, THIS. A survey by VTech, a maker of "play experiences" for kids, found this: "Equality in parenting is still a pipe dream. Nearly half (48%) of working moms say they spend more time each day parenting than on their careers, more than double that of working dads (19%)... Because moms are picking up so much slack at home AND at work, most moms agree 'me time' is nearly extinct. Nearly 70% of working moms have an hour or less to themselves each day. And more than 20% report that they have less than fifteen minutes.When parents were asked to add up how many hours they spend parenting each day, moms beat dads hands down. Moms average nearly 7.5 hours per day spent on parenting tasks, while dads clock an average of 4.3 hours per day. Over a year, that difference adds up to an extra 1150 hours of parenting duty for moms!" We say, remember this next Mother's Day (or next Father's Day).

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

LD IN COLLEGE: ADVANTAGE? That's the thesis put forth by a writer for U.S. News. The rationale:
  • Colleges look for diversity. [And 2e kids are certainly diverse!]
  • Knowing about an LD may help the college put other application factors in perspective.
The author offers advice on how to present the learning disability during the admissions process, and offers questions to help ascertain whether the school can properly accommodate an LD. Parents of college-bound 2e kids will be interested in this article. Read it. 
2e FRANCISCANS? The New York Times' Dan Barry profiled identical twins who, long ago, became Franciscan brothers and were inseparable for most of their lives; they died recently, on the same day, at age 92. According to Barry, the brothers were workers, not scholars, at St. Bonaventure University in New York, and considered shy, obedient, and guileless. Apparently bright and observant as youngsters, says Barry, the brothers did not do well in school and may have been dyslexic. Read the article to find out, however, what the twins were able to teach their better-educated superiors as the years went on. 
A CANADIAN COMEDIAN recently discussed his mental health issues (AD/HD and OCD) at the Banff World Media Festival. Howie Mandel described what it was like growing up with the disorders and how they have affected his career. Read the article. 
AUTISM AND GENETICS. Scientific American has pubished an article titled "Autism's Tangled Genetics Full of Rare and Varied Mutations." The article describes recent studies and the complexity of the genetic component of autism. Read more. 
THE GIFTED DEVELOPMENT CENTER has issued its June newsletter, featuring its Director of Research Frank Falk, a speech by Annemarie Roeper, and reflections on the 1st International Symposium on Adult Giftedness. Read it. 
GOT A GIFTED KID WHO LIKES TO WRITE? Maybe he or she should be a member of the Scholastic Kid Press Corp, kids 10 to 14. Read about one such reporter. 
WORKING MEMORY TRAINING may help kids who need it, facilitating problem-solving skills and abstract reasoning. Read more. 
AND FINALLY, THIS. June 13-19 is Gifted Awareness Week in New Zealand. Find out more at the website of the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

EDUCATION WEEK has made available a special report called "Diplomas Count: Before High School, Before Baccalaureate" that explores alternatives to the standard four-year degree. Among the parts of the report is one called "College for All Reconsidered." Find the report.
WRIGHTSLAW offers strategies for finding summer programs and camps in its current edition of Special Ed Advocate. One article is on a social skills boot camp for teens with ASD. Find the newsletter.
LEARNING: TOP-D0WN VERSUS BOTTOM-UP. Education in school traditionally is based on learning rules, then applying them. Researchers are looking into the effectiveness of a method called "perceptual learning," which uses the brain's pattern-recognition skills to provide an intuitive grasp of a principle. From an article on the topic: "...there is growing evidence that a certain kind of training — visual, fast-paced, often focused on classifying problems rather then solving them — can build intuition quickly." Read the article and see if you think it might benefit your twice-exceptional student.  
THE HEADLINE TELLS SOME OF THE STORY: "Push for A's at Private Schools is Keeping Costly Tutors Busy." But you have to read the article to find out how much some parents are willing to spend for grades and academic achievement -- and it's a lot.  Read more.
OUTLET FOR CREATIVITY. We recently became aware of a website called Xtranormal.com, where visitors can create their own animated video by choosing characters, entering text to be spoken by those characters, and controlling other aspects of the animation. Some users have had videos "go viral" on YouTube. Find the site. (A caveat; this site is for teens. The site wants no users under 14 and asks minors to have their parents give permission. Furthermore, a sample video there was slightly risque, so check it out first and then use your best judgement. If you don't think it's suitable for your kid, maybe you'll have a good time creating your own animations.)
EDUCATION REFORM. If you're interested in this topic, check out an article in Fast Company magazine from a while back. The mag solicited 13 radical ideas on how to use $100 million "to really save education." The article isn't about gifted ed or education for 2e students, just education in general. Find it. 

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

THE EDUCATORS GUILD NEWSLETTER, May edition, has been released by the Davidson Institute. In it are tips and resources for teachers of gifted students; and updates on various aspects of the Davidson Institute, such as Educators Guild presentations available, Davidson Fellows Scholarship applications, and Young Scholar applications. Find the newsletter.
ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE, May edition, has been posted by David Rabiner. The subject of the issue: how girls with AD/HD view their social competence. (Hint: They overestimate it.) Find out more.
OCD FLIP-FLOP. A recent study says that OCD behaviors may be precursors to obsessive fears rather than the other way around. The rationale: fears stem from the brain's attempt to justify the behavior. Read more.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH AD/HD. The Edge foundation and Shire are offering 25 scholarships for next school year for AD/HD college students. Along with the scholarships will go a full year of AD/HD coaching services. Find out more at the Edge site.
ADVICE ON COLLEGE WITH LD. The University of Rhode Island recently held a conference in which high school seniors could receive advice from older students on how to handle college in addition to the challenges such as dyslexia and Asperger's. Also presented: sessions on avoiding some of the risks associated with various disabilities, as well as workshops on topics such as personal finance. Read more.
EPIGENETICS AND THE HUMAN BRAIN is the title of a new article of the Dana Foundation website. What is the field of epigenetics and why should we care? From the editor's note at the beginning of the article: While our genetic code determines a great deal of who and what we are, it does not act alone. It depends heavily on the epigenome, an elaborate marking of the DNA that controls the genome’s functions. Because it is sensitive to the environment, the epigenome is a powerful link and relay between our genes and our surroundings. Epigenetic marks drive biological functions and features as diverse as memory, development, and disease susceptibility; thus, the nurture aspect of the nature/nurture interaction makes essential contributions to our body and behaviors. As scientists have learned more about how the epigenome works, they have begun to develop therapies that may lead to new approaches to treating common human conditions. Read the article.
SAVED BY A SIXTH GRADE TEACHER. Here's how a man, now presumably in his 40's, described his days in elementary school: "I showed up each day, sat in my seat, stared at the chalkboard, and didn’t learn a thing." Suffering from attention issues, poor working memory, and graphomotor issues, his life was turned around by one teacher to whom he says he owes his success. (He graduated magna cum laude from college and is a successful businessman.)  Find the article.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ASPIES IN COLLEGE. NPR aired a story on how some colleges are helping students with Asperger's survive and thrive. Colorado State University, for example, has a program called "Opportunities for Post-secondary Success" that involves mentoring and other services. Find the story.
ON TV: LD GOING TO COLLEGE. ABC interviewed an educator who provided advice on steps to take when heading for college with an LD. No transcript, but embedded video is at this site.
EXERCISE BALLS AS CLASSROOM SEATS. Some schools have good results allowing students to sit on exercise balls to increase attention, fitness, and even handwriting. Read more about the experiences of some schools and educators.
HOW GENIUS WORKS is the title of a "culture special report" in Atlantic. Various creative minds -- TC Boyle, Paul Simon, Frank Gehry, Grant Achatz, and more -- explain the how and the process of creation. Find it.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Anyone who's argued with a toddler has likely tried to figure out techniques to shorten the discussion process. A charming video of a father negotiating with his son brought back to us memories of such negotiations. Watch it and laugh. 

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR AD/HD, LD STUDENTS. ADDitude has published a list of scholarships for kids with AD/HD and other LDs. Find out more.
PEER PRESSURE, ADOLESCENCE, AND THE BRAIN. In a study of young people from ages 10 to 13, researchers found that development of a specific area of the brain helps adolescents resist risky behavior and peer pressure. The brain area, the ventral striatum, is associated with reward processing. Read more. 
BABY MEDIA may not work, says HealthDay, reporting on recent research. Babies apparently learn words from their parents, but not from the screen because they are unable to connect what's going on on-screen with real life. Read the article, and be happy with the amount of genius your baby already displays. 
TOURETTE'S, ASPERGER'S, AMERICAN IDOL. A talented contestant on "American Idol" has Asperger's and Tourette's, according to an article in USA Today. The article relates the contestant's feelings about his situation, and also briefly profiles two other young people with Tourette's. Find the article.
THE PRES ON BULLYING. At a conference on bullying, President Obama spoke of his own experience as the target (as a kid, not as President), according to the Associated Press. "With big ears and the name that I have, I wasn't immune," said the President, throwing his support behind the anti-bullying movement. Read more.
AND FINALLY, THIS. A Zits cartoon from this week highlights how applying for college is different than it used to be. Find it, and maybe be glad you're not 18 again.

IN THE OSCARS TELECAST last weekend, those watching saw one winner with a wider range of gifts and talents than most, a one-time semi-finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. Read more about Natalie Portman and her straight-A average.
CHILDHOOD MENTAL ILLNESS. On March 1st, the Chicago Tribune hosted an online chat on the topic, featuring a couple noted practitioners in the field. The pair fielded questions from their audience, addressing topics that included AD/HD and PDD-NOS. The chat is available online. 
PRESSURED AND LOSING SPIRIT. At the Huffington Post, a Harvard grad who for years interviewed applicants to the school offers stories of those interviews illustrating the pressure and even self-deceit that some of the high-achieving applicants showed. The author, a family therapist, writes about rote responses, activities chosen only for how they'd look on a transcript, and kids whose spirits were beaten out of them at the same time they (and their parents and educators) packaged them for success. The advice offered at the end of the article -- don't frighten them; encourage a natural sense of wonder; and more -- applies to that gifted (and LD) child you raise or teach. Find the article. 
CONTINUING ON THAT HAPPY THEME, a reader jerked our chain by asking if we know about the film "Race to Nowhere." One of the partners at 2e Newsletter did; the other evidently spends too much time writing these blogs. From the film's website: "Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, "Race to Nowhere" points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired." Sounds like a film to see. Thanks, Catherine, for the email. (Catherine said in her email, "I had the opportunity to see a screening of it last weekend, and it was very informative and thought-provoking.")
RTI ENTHUSIAST? An Education Week article covers how RTI, which began as a way to help struggling learners, is being applied for all students. Find the article. 
AD/HD AND SLEEP. Losing even an hour of sleep a night affects AD/HD kids poorly, according to a study reported at Nurse.com. Find out more.
iPAD TECHNOLOGY FOR AUTISM. The Chicago-area Daily Herald ran an article on applications that can help not only young people with autism but also those with other learning challenges.  Among the challenges addressed by iPad apps: the need for structure; communication skills; and social skills. Read the article.  
SENG WEBINAR ON MARCH 24TH. "You Can't Make Me Do It," on the topic of encouraging "motivation from the inside," is to be presented by Cheryl Franklin-Rohr. The event starts at 7:30 pm Eastern time and costs $40. Find more information.
GOT THOSE DUE-PROCESS BLUES? Check out tips and advice from Wrightslaw in Special Ed Advocate. 
AND FINALLY, THIS. Dr. Seuss' birthday is today, March 2nd; he would be 107. According to The Baltimore Sun, his 60+ books sold over 222 million copies, even more than a good issue of 2e Newsletter. So today remember your favorite Seuss book or stanza, 'coz they entertained adults and kids alike. Read more. 

DIET AND IQ. Diet in early childhood can affect later IQ, according to a study reported in Science Daily. In a longitudinal study of kids born in 1991 and 1992, the type of diet at age 3 -- processed, traditional, or health-conscious -- resulted in a a few points of difference in IQ at age 8 and a half. Find out more, and then either flagellate or congratulate yourself for the way you fed that toddler.
KID ON FACEBOOK? Now your gifted kid can use a Facebook app to tell how likely he or she might be to get into a particular college. Find out more.
THINKING ABOUT E-LEARNING for that bright, homeschooled kid? Be prepared to be very involved as parent. That's the message in an Education Week article. Find it.
INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION? Education Week has published a newsletter called Digital Directions, billed as "trends and advice for K-12 technology leaders." Read an issue.
EDUCATION NEWS.ORG. Michael Shaughnessy interviews a school psychologist about the nature of gifted kids and the challenges they face in school -- such as peers, bullying, and emotional issues. Find the interview.
PARENTING BOOKS. In 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, we routinely review books we feel will be of use and of interest to the 2e community. In the Newton Patch, a "hyperlocal" news outlet for Newton, Connecticut, we encountered this paragraph that piqued our interest: "Whether a child is 'spirited,' 'difficult,' 'indigo,' learning disabled, out of the box, food sensitive, hyperactive, obsessive/compulsive, 'explosive,' un-focused, gay, speech-delayed, spiritual, sensitive, 'out of sync,' shy, coping with a parent’s divorce, gifted, or unmotivated -- there is a book available." The writer provides descriptions of some of her favorite parenting books encountered over the years, including titles such as The Edison Trait -- Saving the Spirit of Your Nonconforming Child. Find the list, see if you agree, and  maybe let us know if you have favorite books our community should know about.
AN UPSIDE TO AD/HD. New research indicates that adults with AD/HD are more creative. The researcher attributes it to "a different way of thinking." Read more. 
COLOR AND MOOD. In the decor of Waldorf Schools, first established by visionary Rudolph Steiner in 1919, color plays a very important and intentional part. Now a writer for St. Louis Today interviews a color expert from the Paint Quality Institute on "color psychology." What color should your child's bedroom be? Find out which colors have what effects. Here's a hint: red is probably not the first choice for a child's bedroom.
AND FINALLY: OVER THE TOP? BabyFirst, a cable and satellite channel, has announced the launch of BabyU, which they call "the most comprehensive online learning destination for babies and toddlers under age three." You can find out more at the BabyFirst site. Looks like it's subscription-based.

ASPERGER'S IN COLLEGE. The Brownsville Herald had an article on the topic of college for high-functioning autistic kids, including a profile of one young man about to graduate from high school. The article names some universities that provide support for students with high-functioning autism, and mentions the organization Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities (AHEADD). Find the article.

SENG NEWSLETTER. The January issue of  SENG Vine, a newsletter from the organization Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted, is out. It contains an article on dealing with existential depression in gifted young people, based on content from the SENG Model Parent Group. Also in this issue, an interview with Professor Jean Sunde Peterson of Purdue University on social and emotional issues in gifted kids. Find the newsletter.

SPEAKING OF DEPRESSION: A recent study links omega-3-deficient diets with mood disorders such as depression -- in mice, at least. Significantly, intra-uterine development characterized by a lack of these fatty acids may influence emotional behavior in adulthood. Read about the study.

SPEAKING OF NUTRITION: Worry about those energy drinks your kids or students consume? We do. An article in The New York Times explains possible ill effects. Find it.

GIRLS AND VIDEO GAMES. ABC News notes a study showing that girls who played video games with their parents "behaved better, felt more connected to their families, and had better mental health than those girls who did not play video games with their parents." We're not talking Grand Theft Auto, but age-appropriate video games like Mario Kart, Mario Brothers, Wii Sports, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero. The effect did not extend to boys. Read more.

RTI: PART OF THE EVALUATION but not a substitute for the entire comprehensive evaluation for specific learning disabilities. That's the message in an Education Week blog "On Special Education," which discusses the contents of a recent memo on the topic from the federal Office of Special Education Programs.  Find out more.

SMART KIDS WITH LDs. The 2011 Smart Kids with LD Youth Achievement Award is open for nominations. It's given to "a student 19 or younger who has demonstrated initiative, talent, and determination resulting in a notable accomplishment in any field," according to the organization. The entry deadline is only two weeks away. Find out more.

AND FINALLY, THIS. We were intrigued by an ad in a newspaper this morning announcing the Fall, 2012, opening in New York City of a school for children 3 to 18. "Avenues," billed as a rigorous "world school," will eventually have campuses in 20 major world cities and will prepare students for global life, emphasizing cultural studies and language. Find out more at the school's website.

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.

LD GOES TO COLLEGE. US News provides eight steps for students with LDs who want to attend college: Start preparing early; experiment with technology; be creative; put the student in charge; and four more. Find the article. (The article says that 3 percent of teens are diagnosed with LDs, a figure that sounds low to us.)
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION WEBINAR. Compass Learning is offering a complimentary, one-hour, on-demand webinar on differentiated instruction. You may find more information and register here.
WAR: OPHTHALMOLOGY VERSUS DEVELOPMENTAL OPTOMETRY. We've run articles in 2e Newsletter about developmental optometry and the use of vision therapy for reading problems. In the second of two articles in the St. Louis Beacon, titled "Ophthalmologists express skepticism about vision therapy," you can get a look at what appears to be a dispute between two professional organizations concerning the use of vision therapy. Find it. Read the first article, the one presenting the point of view of developmental optometrists, here.
BOOK DEAL. Until December 10, Prufrock Press offers 20 percent off the cover price of Beverly Trail's new book Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children. Find out more.
AUTISM MARKER? Yale School of Medicine researchers may have found a fMRI pattern that could characterize a predisposition to ASD. The study included kids 4 to 17, and discovered three distinct "neural signatures. Read more.
SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE MEETING HIGHLIGHTS. Glen Close and Representative Patrick Kennedy both addressed the annual meeting on the topics (respectively) of the stigma of mental illness and brain research. You may view their presentations here.
PARADE MAGAZINE ON TEEN BRAINS. Last Sunday, Parade ran an article characterizing the teen brain and why it's like it is -- and what we can do about it. Find it.
CULTURAL NEUROSCIENCE is the topic of a podcast and brief article at the Scientific American site. Neural responses to similar situations differ across cultures. For example: "Scientists found that when American subjects viewed a silhouette in a dominant posture (standing up, arms crossed) their brain’s reward circuitry sparked. Not so for Japanese subjects. For the Japanese, their reward circuitry fired when they saw a submissive silhouette (head down, arms at sides)." Find out more.     
FOLLOWUP ON CYBERTHERAPY. A Scientific American writer comments on a New York Times article we blogged about recently concerning therapy by machine.The writer brings up the "Dodo effect," which (if you're heavily into therapies) you can read about here.
STUDY IN SPAIN, FLY FOR FREE. But the offer is restricted, of course. It applies to high school students enrolling in a particular Spanish-language immersion program and flying from Los Angeles to Madrid on Iberia Airlines. The deal is supposedly to mark the resumption of non-stop service by Iberia between the two cities. None-the-less, if your bright young person happens to need to learn Spanish next summer, check it out. 
APP FOR HEALTH CARE. An emergency-room physician has developed an app for iPhones that helps parents track various aspects of a child's care, helping to coordinate providers, keep food diaries, provide medication alerts, schedule appointments, record therapists' recommendations, chart sleep habits, and more. Originally developed to help the physician's wife care for their autistic child, the free app may help manage a variety of chronic conditions. Find out more.
LITERATE AND DYSPRAXIC. A young woman in the UK who has strengths in written and verbal communication writes about her dyspraxia, a condition characterized by difficulties in motor coordination which can also manifest itself with other challenges. Read more.

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION. The New York Times ran a column the other day that wasn't about giftedness, or LDs, or even about the nuts and bolts of education. It was about power and politics versus accountability and coherent management -- in education, specifically in the New York City school system. The occasion was the departure of Joel Klein as chief of that system, and the venue was a column by a business writer for the Times. We have generally ignored the New York City schools as we have blogged and published the newsletter over Klein's tenure; little of what we read seemed relevant. The Times column, however, gave a different perspective to how we can look at education, and  at how a leader who believed "in the transformative power of education" (and who took the job with no preset ideas) could try to fix a broken system. Some of the lessons mentioned do apply to the education of that twice-exceptional child you know. You may find the column at the Times site. 
PARENTS' STRESS -- EFFECT ON KIDS. While parents may think that the stress they undergo has little or no effect on their children, offspring of those parents will indicate that they notice, and that the stress bothers them. About one-third of the chldren surveyed reported stress symptoms themselves as a result of parental difficulties, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Read more, and don't underestimate the effect of your problems on your children.   
UNIVERSITIES RANKED. The website StateUniversity.com has listed the top 2000 universities. The top three are MIT, Standford, and California Institute of Technology. Some of the ranking factors that might be relevant to 2e applicants include ACT/SAT scores of attendees, student retention, and student/faculty ratio. You may find the ranking and information about how the schools are scored at that website.
GIFTED ATHLETE, GIFTED STUDENT. A pre-med student at Stanford who got straight A's last spring is also the only two-way (offense and defense) starter in Division I college football. His coach, former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh, describes Own Marecic as "the football player I always wanted to be," according to an article in The New York Times. While  his parents worry about the possibility of concussions, Marecic says that he's having "the time of his life." Read the article.
BRAIN CONNECTIONS IN AUTISTICS. Autism Speaks has funded research into brain research on autism, and the results of one of those studies, recently published, indicates that the brains of autistic persons show differences in the way neurons and axons connect different parts of the brain. In autistic brains, some neurons branch more by way of axons, leading to more "local" connections as opposed to "long-distance" connections to other parts of the brain. Read more about the findings and a  hypotheses stemming from the study.

LDs AT HARVARD. Most of us would admit that Harvard University students are likely to be pretty bright. But, like students everywhere, some of them have LDs and other conditions that affect academic performance. And, like other universities, Harvard has an office that helps those students succeed. An article in the Harvard Crimson profiles some of the 250 students who take advantage of the office. Read the article. Separately, the Monterey County Herald highlighted several area colleges that "enable the disabled"; find the article. 
NAGC CONFERENCE COMING UP. The annual convention of the National association for Gifted Children takes place Novembef 11-14 in Atlanta, Georgia. The audience consists primarily of educators, but the conference also features a Parent Day. Plenty of sessions usually are relevant to raising and teaching twice-exceptional children. More information.
DAVIDSON INSTITUTE. The 2010 Davidson Fellows received their awards in a ceremony in Washington, DC, in September. In her blog "Gifted Exchange," Laura Vanderkam profiles some of the Fellows. The Institute has also announced that applications for 2011 Davidson Fellows Scholarshipse are available, as are applications for the 2011 THINK Summer Institute. Find out more at the Institute site.

TEACHING BRIGHT FUTURE ENGINEERS? NASA has initiated a competition where high school teams will design software to program small satellites as a part of MIT's Zero-Robotics investigation. The first 100 teams to register by September 10th will be selected and then deliver proposals. Twenty of those teams will compete. Find out more.

NAGC IS MOVING. If you interact with NAGC, know that they'll be moving August 27th and back in business in their new location the following Monday. New address: 1331 H Street NW, Suite 1001, Washington, DC 20005.

SENG WEBINAR COMING UP. They're calling it a "SENGinar," and it will feature Jane Hesslein discussing "What Your Kids Want You To Know: Perspective for Parents and Teachers." The content is based on insights from gifted fifth-graders. Find out more.

COLLEGE ADMISSION AND LD. The Washington Post offered a blog on "navigating admissions with a learning disability," in which the president of Dean College provided seven pieces of advice for parents of college-bound kids with learning difficulties. Find the blog.

GIFTED STUDENT, GIFTED ATHLETE. A former high school co-valedictorian with a 3.55 grade average at Stanford is also the team's star quarterback. The interesting thing: the quarterback, Andrew Luck, is an architectural design major, presumably dependent on good visualization skills, and the job of quarterback would also seem to depend on a talent for analyzing visual patterns on the field. That's our interpretation, anyway. Read more about this athlete/scholar.

"ASPIRE" FOUNDED BY ASPIE. A UK young man with Asperger's, frustrated at not being able to use his degree in journalism in a mainstream job, has launched a magazine titled Aspire which is "specifically written by and for people on the autistic spectrum. Aspire provides a platform for the autistic community to discuss issues which affect them, their supporters and friends," according to an article about the publication. Read more.

DEPRESSION IN PRESCHOOLERS is the topic of a long article in the New York Times Magazine section last weekend. If you want one more thing to worry about in your young person, read the article.

READING PROBLEMS AND SELF-ESTEEM. A retired teacher in Canada who now runs a reading center describes the link between reading problems and self-worth, noting how the end result is often "acting out." Read the article.

We find items for this blog from our own reading, from press releases, and also from aggregators such as CEC SmartBrief, Science Daily, and EdNews.org.