Latest Posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ATTORNEY/ADVOCATE MATT COHEN recently posted a rather impassioned plea for -- well, lots of change in the way we educate our children and in the ways we treat learning challenges. Cohen, a special ed attorney who has written for 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, begins with five examples of how "different" kids could -- and should -- have been served better at school. The examples range from dealing with bullying to acknowledging that a bright kid with Asperger's might need some help; each example is drawn from a client served by Cohen. The attorney then begins a litany of "we must's" that represent his imperatives for improving the educational system for all involved. If you're concerned with educational reform -- or just with good education -- read Cohen's blog posting from May 14. (A bonus: His preceding post is titled "Myths, Legends and Realities -- Legal Rights of Kids with AD/HD at School.")
OPTOGENETICS is a technology that combines light and genetic engineering to allow the control of selected neurons. By changing cells in a particular neural circuit to be sensitive to light, and then implanting optical fibers to stimulate those cells, scientists were able to make anxious mice behave in a less anxious manner. One of the researchers discussed the specificity of the treatment, compared to flooding the brain with psychotropics: “Psychiatric disorders are probably not due only to chemical imbalances in the brain. It’s more than just a giant bag of serotonin or dopamine whose concentrations sometimes are too low or too high. Rather, they likely involve disorders of specific circuits within specific brain regions.” The technology is seen as a way to investigate -- and, eventually, to treat -- a variety of mental problems. Read more.
COMPETITIONS. The winners of the 2011 Siemens "We Can Change the World" competition have been announced. Go to the competition website to see what kind of environmental solutions competition entrants from high school, middle school, and elementary school came up with.
ARE YOU HAPPY? Is your child happy? Psychologist/author Martin Seligman's book "Flourish" defines five crucial elements of well-being: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Seligman has consistently urged his colleagues to focus on more than mental illness; this book is one result of his belief in "positive psychology." Find an interesting article about Seligman's ideas.
ARE YOU DEPRESSED, MOM? Successfully treating depression in mothers benefits her children as well. According to a Wall Street Journal article, about half of kids whose mothers are depressed will develop depression. The article quoted a Pediatrics study: "As early as two months of age, the infant looks at the depressed mother less often, shows less engagement with objects [and] has a lower activity level." Researchers are looking into the link between depression in fathers and kids as well. Read the article. 
GENETIC PATTERNS VERSUS DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS. Sometimes they don't coincide -- that's the suggestion in a Scientific American article on using  CNVs (copy number variations), deletions or repetitions of stretches of DNA on chromosomes. For example, it turns out that people with one particular CNV deletion may be diagnosed with schizophrenia, autism, or AD/HD. The author's contention: "...it may be that these diagnostic categories are just describing particular symptoms of certain genetic disorders." Read more.
AD/HD DRUGS may present no risk for heart problems in kids, according to a study reported in HealthDay. Find it.
AND FINALLY, THIS, today's story from Storypeople.com: "There are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter & noise."

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

2e AND AP. A mother at the 2e Newsletter Network at Ning.com is looking for input from others on "successful scaffolding for a 2e student taking AP classes."  If you have experience in this area, consider sharing at the "Forum" section of the online 2e Newsletter Network. Free registration is required at http://2enewsletter.ning.com/?xgi=5fRjVktrpoYhb5, but you may use a screen name rather than your real name.
BULLYING AND THE BRAIN. Being bullied can actually alter the molecular chemistry of the body, according to a recent study. According to one of the researchers, "We found that chronic social stress affects neuroendocrine systems that are paramount for adaptive mammalian social behaviors such as courtship, pair-bonding and parental behaviors. Changes in components of these systems have been implicated in human disorders, such as social phobias, depression, schizophrenia and autism." Read more.
MRI-ASSISTED NEURO-FEEDBACK. Researchers have discovered that providing real-time, fMRI-based feedback to subjects engaged in a task allowed them to better control their thoughts and perform the assigned task. The study results may have implications for improving everyday life, says the writeup, and also for the clinical treatment of conditions such as depression, anxiety, and OCD. Find out more.
IF MOM'S HAPPY, KID'S HAPPY. A British study of over 40,000 UK households has found that children's satisfaction with their lives is closely linked to the mother's happiness. Researchers found that "the happiest children are those living with two parents... with no younger siblings, who do not argue with their parents regularly, who eat at least three evening meals per week with their family and whose mother is happy in her own relationship." Got that, June? Got that, Beav? Read more.
RESILIENT KIDS. A final study reported recently may explain why some kids are more socially resilient. The study involved kids with "problem parents," those less available than "regular" parents. Kids with a specific gene variant were more likely than their siblings without the variant to have better relationships with those problem parents. Read about the study.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Are you a political liberal? You might have a larger anterior cingulate cortex than that political conservative you know or married, who, in turn, might have a larger amygdala than you do. No kidding -- we read it on the Internet, so we know it's true. Actually, says a report on the study, "Based on what is known about the functions of those two brain regions, the structural differences are consistent with reports showing a greater ability of liberals to cope with conflicting information and a greater ability of conservatives to recognize a threat." Okay, if you don't believe us, read it for yourself.

FIRST AID FOR ANXIETY ATTACKS is the headline on a RedOrbit piece today. The piece mentions:
  • The fact that at any given time around 13 percent of Americans may have a type of anxiety disorder
  • An organization called Mental Health First Aid, which we had not heard of, that provides a 12-hour certification enabling non-professionals to respond to several mental health issues, including depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, and substance abuse disorder, before professional help is involved.
The MHFA program originated in Australia but has been exported to other countries. Find out more information about it at the organization's website.
ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE. The February issue of this e-newsletter has been posted, and in it David Rabiner reviews a study of children's perspectives on living with AD/HD. Among the interesting conclusions in the study was one that indicated the youngsters with AD/HD may feel better about their quality of life than their parents perceive them as having. In addition, very few (23 percent) of the subjects regard AD/HD as an illness. Find out more.
AAEGT ANNUAL CONFERENCE. The 14th Australian National Conference on Giftedness and Talent is scheduled to be held in Adelaide, South Australia from July 12th to 15th, 2012. The theme of the conference is "Equity and Excellence for All." The event is sponsored by the Australian Association for the Education of Gifted and Talented (AAEGT) whose website is here. 
MINNESOTA GT FORUM. The third annual Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Education Symposium, scheduled from June 12-16, is billed as "an opportunity for educators, counselors, administrators and parents to gain greater understanding of the unique needs of gifted and high potential learners." Held in Austin, Minnesota, the event features an opening night reception at the SPAM Museum. Presenters include several familiar to readers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, and some of the sessions deal with twice-exceptional topics. Session descriptions are posted at the conference site.
JAY MATHEWS offered an interesting column in Sunday's Washington Post about a family in which the parents did not let the kids know their SATs, and who pointedly did not pressure the kids achievement-wise. Oh, and while the kids evidently have LDs such as AD/HD, all three seem to be thriving. Mathews brings up the family's situation as a counterpoint to "Race to Nowhere," the movie about pressure and achievement we mentioned in this blog a bit ago. Find the column.
AND FINALLY, THIS -- ON HAPPINESS. We read about a Gallup poll that tries to measure the components of a high-quality, happy life. Gallup has identified certain traits that seem to be associated with happiness, and The New York Times asked Gallup to do a composite of "the happiest person in America." According to the polling company, "he’s a tall, Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year." Right, we thought; good luck finding that person. Well, The New York Times did -- except maybe for the tall part -- and he evidently is really happy. Read more.