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Showing posts with label media use. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media use. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIAL SERVICES. In raising or teaching a twice-exceptional child, one basic consideration is whether the child is eligible for special services, for example under IDEA. The current edition of Wrightslaw's Special Ed Advocate provides answers to three questions regarding eligibility: who determines it; what the law says; and what the school must do before determining a child is not eligible. Read the newsletter. 
AUTISM SPEAKS now has over a million fans for its Facebook page; check it out. 
SPOTTING AUTISM DEVELOPMENT. Researchers have found significant differences in brain development in infants as young as six months old who later develop autism, compared with babies who don’t develop the disorder. The imaging study, by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of North Carolina, and other centers suggests autism doesn’t appear abruptly, but instead develops over time during infancy. Read more. (From materials provided by Washington University.) 
GAME ADDICTION can be real, according to a researcher who studied more than 1,000 8- to 18-year-olds and compared their behaviors to those common to any addiction. The behaviors are: "excessive use that impedes other aspects of life, increasing tolerance in order to obtain the 'high,' withdrawal symptoms, and a willingness to sustain negative consequences in order to maintain the habit." Got a bright gamer kid? Read more. 
TEXTING AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. Text more, lose some linguistic ability. That's the conclusion of a study comparing university students who text more or less frequently. The study author suggests that "reading traditional print media exposes people to variety and creativity in language that is not found in the colloquial peer-to-peer text messaging used among youth or 'generation text.' She says reading encourages flexibility in language use and tolerance of different words. It helps readers to develop skills that allow them to generate interpretable readings of new or unusual words." Find out more.  
MORE TO WORRY ABOUT. Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found. The researchers said the study is the first to link genetics and epigenetics with exposure to a flame retardant chemical. Read more at the UC Davis press release, from which this item was taken.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

IQ NOT CONSTANT? Recent research indicates that IQ can change significantly during adolescence because of changes in the structure of the brain. The research involved comparing the results of testing and imaging done four years apart. Performance on the tests changed by as much as 20 points during that time. Imaging showed changes in certain brain areas that were associated with changes in verbal and non-verbal IQ scores. Read more, or visit NPR to hear a piece on the topic.
PREDICTING RITALIN'S EFFECTIVENESS. Some kids respond to Ritalin (methylphenidate) and some don't. The reason may be variations in genes affecting the transport and reception of dopamine in the brain. No mention of whether cheap-and-easy DNA tests are available to help spot this difference (we'd guess not), but you can find out more from ScienceDaily.
RITALIN FOR TODDLERS. A New York Times article discusses the pros and cons of medicating preschoolers for symptoms of AD/HD. The article is in response to the AAP's recent change in stance on AD/HD treatment. Does your bright, active preschooler have AD/HD, or is he or she just healthy and normal? And what, if anything, should you do? Read more.
iPADS FOR TODDLERS? The AAP recommends no TV for kids under two. How about the iPAD? Experts give varying opinions. Read them.
BY AND FOR AUTISTICS. A Chicago-area man with autistic traits has written three books featuring characters with autism. His latest is titled Teddy Turbine: A Quarterback with Autism. Find out more.
APPS FOR ASPERGER'S. A pediatric psychologist has developed an app for youngsters who have difficulty with social situations, as with Asperger's. One feature: a "What Did That Mean" program where a user can enter a hard-to-understand phrase like "go jump in the lake" to find out what it means. Find out more.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

GIFTED PRESS QUARTERLY. The summer issue of this electronic newsletter is out, and it features an article on giftedness combined with AD/HD. The author points out "masking," commonalities among giftedness and AD/HD that can confound diagnosis, and AD/HD risk factors. The author, an Israeli, also includes two case studies. And, if you like, you can follow a link to the article as it appeared in Hebrew. Find Gifted Press Quarterly.

YES I CAN! Nominations are open for CEC's 2012 "Yes I Can!" awards, which honor young people with disabilities who excel in areas ranging from academics to arts to technology. Nominations close October 21 of this year. Find out more.

ASD IN COLLEGE. The Salt Lake City Deseret News noted an increase in students on the spectrum at the Utah universities. The article profiles one of those students and also explains what the universities do to help them. Read the article.

SOUTH JERSEY SCHOOL. A Quaker school in Riverton, New Jersey, offers appropriate education to 24 kids at varying grade levels who have sensory issues and language-based learning issues. The tuition is $35,000, according to a news article on the school, but home public school districts may pay some of that. The goal: to get the kids back to their original schools or into college. Find out more.

DIFFERENT GENES, DIFFERENT AD/HD TREATMENT. Researchers have discovered how various AD/HD-related gene variants affect dopamine reception in the brain, and that certain variants allow effective treatment with stimulants while others do not. Read about the study.

MEDIA BASHING. Research indicates that those who watch television an average of six hours a day (!) may be shortening their lives by as much as five years because of the effects of that sedentary behavior. Now, kids think they're immortal and wouldn't likely care about this research -- but responsible adults should care for them (and for themselves). Read more. (The research was done on adults 25 and older, but habits take hold early, right?)

AND FINALLY, THIS. From the U.S. Census Bureau's back-to-school press release of facts and figures: 52 percent of students 12 to 17 "were highly engaged in school (children reported as liking school, being interested in school and working hard in school) in 2006, up 5 percentage points from 1998. For 6- to 11-year-olds, the respective increase was from 56 percent to 59 percent." These stats beg the question, what about all those other students? Read more statistics.


From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

HOW TO LAND YOUR KID IN THERAPY is the title of an article in the July/August issue of Atlantic. It's written by a psychologist and parent, and it's about parenting, with lots of input from other mental health professionals. The impetus for the article was the number of patients she was seeing who felt empty, or anxious, or unhappy -- and who seemed to have no reason to feel that way, who claimed to have had good parents and a good upbringing.  The author's thesis is clarified near the end of the article: ".. by trying so hard to provide the perfectly happy childhood, we’re just making it harder for our kids to actually grow up." But along the way the author offers many things for today's parents to think about, including:
  • How much effort to make to protect a child from "reality"
  • The amount of choice a child is entitled to
  • How and how much to try to build a child's self-esteem.
AUTISM AND AUTHORITY. We once wrote about a gifted young boy with Asperger's who got into trouble at school because those in authority did not know how to deal with an Asperger's child who has trouble with authority and authoritarian ways. Now, according to the Akron, Ohio, Beacon Journal, a police officer with an Aspie son is teaching other law enforcement officers about those on the spectrum -- how to identify them and how to deal with them in various law enforcement situations. Read the article.
AUSTISM AND GIFTED ED. A Berwyn, Illinois school is making an effort to include bright Aspie kids in gifted ed classes instead of placing them in special ed, playing to their strengths rather than their challenges. Read about how the school adapted to these kids and how the kids responded. 
TEACHER-PARENT COMMUNICATION is the topic of an article in Education Week's Teacher. The article offers tips such as being proactive, how to deal with angry or abusive communications, and more. Parents would probably be well-served to read this article to see things from the teacher's point of view; after all, effective communication is especially important when parents and educators must discuss disabilities, accommodations, and challenges as well as gifts. Find it.
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON THE INTERNET. It's different, perhaps rewired. That's the conclusion of a recent study reported in Scientific American. Does your gifted young person spend too much time online?  Find out more. 
AND FINALLY, THIS. Got a near-sighted kid? It could be the result of too much time spent indoors in artificial light. At least, that's the thesis of an article in Scientific American. Read more.

Lots of good items today...
STEPHEN HAWKING ON DISABILITY. Scientist/cosmologist Stephen Hawking was profiled and interviewed in Wednesday's New York Times. In the interview, Hawking, who has Lou Gehrig's disease and communicates using a computer-generated voice, covered his daily life, his condition, his works, and -- most interesting to us -- his advice on disability. He said, "My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with." Find the article.
2e-FRIENDLY SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT? A member of the 2e community who is moving her family to Connecticut is looking for a 2e-friendly school there for her 6YO son. If you can help, please sign up at the 2e Newsletter Network on Ning.com (http://2enewsletter.ning.com/?xgi=5fRjVktrpoYhb5) and respond to her query in the Forum, or else contact us directly to relay your referral. Thanks!
MATT COHEN ONLINE. Special ed attorney Matt Cohen, who has contributed to 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, offers a column of legal advice at LDOnline.org. In May's column he covers a number of issues of interest to parents of 2e kids, among them: how schools are required to use peer-reviewed, scientifically-based programs, when possible, to help students; whether a school can deny an IEP because of academic success; the assumption that colleges are required to comply with 504 plans; whether a school counselor may suggest medication; and the extent to which a school must accept an evaluation from an independent professional. Find the column.
WRIGHTSLAW. On the  topic of education law, in the current issue of Special Ed Advocate, the Wrights comment on Compton v. Addison, where a school allegedly failed to evaluate a student for disabilities and is being sued for negligence. They also cover the Child Find Mandate, meant to identify children who might need special ed services. Find the issue.
MOMS WITH AD/HD was the topic of a recent NPR program. NPR interviewed the writer and the subject of a recent Washington Post article on the topic. Read about the mom's discovery of AD/HD and what it means to her and her family (which includes an AD/HD son).
NCLB AND GIFTED CHILDREN. Education Next discussed the issue of whether gifted kids in the U.S. have been shortchanged by NCLB. Members of the discussion noted, among other things, that top-performing 17-year-olds in the U.S. perform no better now than 20 years ago, and that the U.S. is 41st out of 56 participating countries in one measure of advanced mathematical achievement. Find the discussion.
BIOMARKER FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION. A study by scientists at Wayne State University has revealed a new way to distinguish children with major depressive disorder (MDD) from not only normal children, but also from children with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).The study found different patterns of cortical thickness for patients with MDD versus OCD. Researchers call the results "an exciting new way to identify more objective markers of psychiatric illness in children." Read an abstract of the journal article announcing the study. Read an article based on the press release by Wayne State. Separately, an Oxford University study of depression finds that "overgeneral memory" -- where past events are recalled in an overly broad manner -- is linked to depression. Studies are underway to determine whether overgeneral memory in teens foretells later depression. Read about it.
PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SCREEN. Parents of twice-exceptional children often notice that many kids are able to pay tremendous amounts of sustained attention to those glowing screens. A recent article on the topic explains a variety of views on why this might be so -- video games as self-medication; video as an ameliorative for poor social skills, etc. Read more.
THE BEST BOOKS MONEY CAN BUY. The American Coal Foundation got caught spreading its "clean" view of coal to school kids by paying Scholastic Corporation to write materials for 4th-graders called "United States of Energy." Three advocacy groups took note of how the materials seemed to fail to mention the negative effects of coal and are drawing attention to the collaboration between Scholastic and the foundation. The larger issue is, how many "educational" materials produced and distributed to students are similarly biased. Read more.
AND FINALLY, THIS. If your 16-year-old kid's only out-of-school activity is reading books, know that your child has a better than average chance of becoming a manager or professional later in life, according to an Oxford University study. No other studied activities had such a correlation. Reassuringly, however, the study also found that computer gaming did not decrease a child's chances for later managerial or professional status. Read about the study.


KID-INSPIRED RAGE. Did you ever spank or slap your kids? Ever think about it? In an op-ed piece in the NY Times, Katherine Ellison, author of "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention," reflects on violence in the home, a reflection precipitated by a horrific event in the news. Find it. 
NAGC WEBINARS. On a list of upcoming NAGC "Webinars on Wednesdays," we notice that on April 27th the topic is "Twice Exceptional: The Curious Dilemmas that Occur at the Intersection of Gifted and Special Education" The presenter is Shelagh Gallagher, of Engaged Education in Charlotte, North Carolina. Find out more about "WOW."
AD/HD COACHING. Another recent article on the topic is at the Seattle Times website, featuring thoughts from coaches and "coachees." Read the article which mentions the Edge Foundation, "a Seattle-based nonprofit that matches ADHD students with coaches who, through weekly meetings by phone or Skype, teach them the skills to make college worth the money and time."
FREE SPIRIT PUBLISHING. If you're a fan of this company's offerings on topics such as giftedness and self-help for young people, be aware that the company now offers many titles as e-books. Find out more. 
KID-SAFE SOCIAL NETWORK? A new site, www.WhatsWhat.me, purports to offer safe social networking for kids 13 and under. The subscription-based site uses technology such as biometric facial recognition technology; the computer's webcam is used to verify that the person logging in is actually the child who is registered for the site. If your young person is longing to get involved online, you might check out the site at the site's parent resource center.  
STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION. The stress hormone cortisol is abnormally high in some children with behavior problems, abnormally low in others. Now researchers think the difference is caused by the length of time the children have experienced problems, and that the stress response can be blunted over time. This leads them to suggest that interventions should begin as soon as behavior problems begin. Read more.
ENERGY DRINKS: A CAUTION. Energy drinks may pose a risk for serious adverse health effects in some children, especially those with diabetes, seizures, cardiac abnormalities or mood and behavior disorders. A new study, “Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults,” in the March issue of Pediatrics, determined that energy drinks have no therapeutic benefit to children, and both the known and unknown properties of the ingredients, combined with reports of toxicity, may put some children at risk for adverse health events. You may read an abstract of the article on the Pediatrics site; you may read another report about the research here. 
AND FINALLY, THIS. Scooby-Doo had dissociative identity disorder. That's the conclusion of a writer in Wired Magazine who analyzes the characters in this early cartoon series. Find out how he diagnoses Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and others.

WE'RE WAAAY BEHIND. We took a two-week vacation, intending to post while we were gone. But good intentions did not translate to action. We'll post often until we catch up.
MENSA FOR YOUR GIFTED CHILD? USA Today carried an article noting that Mensa has members of all ages, including more than 1300 under the age of 18. One young member was quoted: "I have the coolest group of friends, and that's only grown over the years. I've learned so much. Not the type of academic learning we're used to in school, but learning though conversation, interacting." Find out more. 
BASHING MEDIA USE. A British study indicates that more than two hours a day of TV or computer games may lead to a 60 percent higher risk of psychological problems in children. Concerned about media use in your gifted or 2e child? Read more. Separately, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy statement on media use. The Academy encourages pediatricians to ask at least two questions related to media use in each patient visit. Read the updated policy statement.
DYSCALCULIA. LD Online has posted information about math-related LDs, including strategies to overcome math difficulties, how the brain processes math-related information, and resources to remediate dyslcalculia. Find the information.
IMPULSIVITY -- CAUSE AND CONTROL. According to Science Daily, a research team has pinpointed the area of the brain that controls impulsive behavior and the mechanisms that affect how impulsive behavior is learned. Furthermore, the team trained rats to control impulsive responses until a signal was presented. The findings may help 2e kids with AD/HD and OCD. Read more.
MENTAL PROBLEMS IN ADOLESCENTS. Anxiety is the most common disorder in adolescents, according to NIMH researchers, followed by behavior disorders, mood disorders, and substance use disorders. Forty percent of those with one disorder had a second, comorbid disorder. Overall, disorders are suffered by about one child in five, 22 percent. Read more. 

KIDS SAY THE DARNEDEST THINGS. And Monday's "Metropolitan Diary" feature in The New York Times featured a couple of cute items involving four- and five-year-old girls expressing their opinions. Find the feature.

THE $320,000 KINDERGARTEN TEACHER. If you followed the link in our post of July 30th to read about the impact of a good kindergarten teacher, you might be interested in the follow-up letters the article generated. Find them.

THE INTERNET AND DEPRESSION. Here's something else to worry about regarding media. A new study indicates that "normal" young people who use the Internet excessively could have a greater risk of depression later in life -- or at least, nine months after their classification as pathological users of the Internet. Find a write-up of the study.

NO FLASH IN THE PAN. Sports Illustrated did a follow-up story on the autistic young basketball enthusiast and high school team manager who after being inserted into a varsity game for the first time scored six three-pointers in four minutes. The young man, now 21, serves as assistant basketball coach at several schools and programs, has appeared on Oprah, has a memoir out (The Game of My Life: A True Story of Challenge, Triumph, and Growing Up Autistic), and has served as inspiration to parents and athletes alike. Read the article.

PBS KIDS WRITING CONTEST. The "Kids Go" writing contest sponsored by PBS has announced the 2010 winners. The contest was for children in grades K-3. If you have a bright young writer in your home, check out the winners.

NEW MEDIA: BLESSING OR CURSE? Worried about what new media is doing to your children's brains? To yours? A Newsweek blog contains a review of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, a book by Nicholas Carr. The book's thesis is that the Internet is changing the way we think (for the worse), and making us distracted and even less empathetic. Interestingly, a recent New York Times op-ed piece by Steven Pinker took exactly the opposite stance, claiming that "new forms of media have always caused moral panics" and that "experience does not revamp the basic information-processing capabilities of the brain." In what has to be a direct rebuttal to Carr, Pinker concludes, "Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart." Find Pinker's op-ed piece.

MORE ON MEDIA. How about your child and video games? A recent metastudy notes several interesting things. First, the popularity of video games has not led to an overall increase in behavior problems or violence among children. Second, whether video game violence causes aggression in a particular child depends on the child's personality. And third, researchers have found that video game play can have a number of positive uses. Read more.

WHEN TO LITIGATE WITH SCHOOL. Suppose your twice-exceptional child is not getting the services you feel he or she needs at school. When do you stop requesting, advocating, cajoling, or threatening... and move to legal remedies to try to get what you think is best for your child? Wrightslaw's Special Ed Advocate from June 8th contains several articles dealing with this difficult decision, as well as one exemplifying the challenge of taking on the school system. Find Special Ed Advocate. (For another article on this topic, see "Fighting for FAPE" on the 2e Newsletter website.)

SUSAN BAUM ON THE MOVE. The peripatetic Susan Baum, director of professional development at Bridges Academy and member of the 2e Newsletter Advisory Board, is presenting a free workshop in Salt Lake City on June 17th, 7-8:30 pm. The title: "The Enigma of the 2e Child: Dispelling the Myths." The workshop is by the Utah Parent Center and Granite School District. For more information, call Michelle at 385.646.4190 or go here.

DABROWSKI FANS may be interested in The Ninth International Congress for the Institute for Positive Disintegration in Human Development, to be held in St. Charles, Illinois, this July 22-24. Organizers call it "An interdisciplinary conference on Dabrowski’s theory of Positive Disintegration, drawing from education, psychology, religion, philosophy, counseling, spirituality." Dabrowski is noted in the 2e community for his writings on "overexcitabilities" as they apply to gifted young people. And, FYI, positive disintegration is not necessarily a contradiction in terms. Find out more about the conference.

MORE ON THE MEDIUM WE LOVE TO BASH. Science Daily reports a "shocking" study showing that television exposure at age two forecasts negative consequences for kids, ranging from poor school adjustment to unhealthy habits. The article quantifies negative effects such as decreased activity, classroom engagement, and victimization by classmates. Read it.

SORRY, MOZART LOVERS -- NO "TWO-FERS." A recent study finds no evidence that listening to the music of Mozart can lead to cognitive enhancements. The "Mozart effect" is evidently just a legend. So just listen to the music for its own sake. Read about the study.

AD/HD MEDS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. According to a study reviewed this month by David Rabiner in Attention Research Update, AD/HD medication treatment over an extended period "is associated with significant gains in children's academic achievement." Rabiner notes caveats -- the gains were modest, for example, and the AD/HD classifications were not based on diagnostic evaluations. When the study is posted at Rabiner's site, it should be here.

DOES YOUR SCHOOL SUPPORT YOUR CHILD? The University of Michigan polled parents across the U.S. to see what parents thought of the way their children's public schools provided children with support for behavioral, emotional, or family problems. In the poll results, thirty-seven percent of parents gave primary schools an A for supporting for children with issues ranging from AD/HDHD to depression to bullying. Parents were less satisfied with behavioral/emotional support than with educational services. Find the report.

MEDIA USE AND GRADES. A Kaiser Family Foundation study shows that young people are now engaged with media almost 8 hours a day. About grades and media use, the Foundation news release says, "While the study cannot establish a cause and effect relationship between media use and grades, there are differences between heavy and light media users in this regard. About half (47%) of heavy media users say they usually get fair or poor grades (mostly Cs or lower), compared to about a quarter (23%) of light users. These differences may or may not be influenced by their media use patterns." Find more information.

REMEDIATING READING BUT ATTRACTING THE GIFTED. Jay Mathews of the Washington Post published a letter from a teacher who describes how she "disguised" her remedial reading class. Some students with reading problems had to come to her resource room, an adjunct of the media center; for others, it was voluntary. The teacher writes, "I found that the kids released from regular class most often were the really bright and those with great difficulties. And they worked well together." Mathews calls her venture "a free-form gifted non-program." Read the letter.

GOT A KID IN AN AP COURSE? The Post's Jay Mathews shares a secret: you can request an Advanced Placement Grade Report for your high school, a report showing student scores on spring AP exams. So what? According to Mathews, "The reports take you beyond the school course guide. They suggest which courses might be best for you and your family members. They are puzzles that, for the first time, everyone has a chance to solve." Read more.