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Showing posts with label scholarhips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scholarhips. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

BRAIN RESOURCES from SharpBrains. The organization has released its May eNewsletter. In it are two articles that might be of interest to those who raise, educate, and counsel gifted kids with learning challenges:
  • "AD/HD: Brain training Neurofeedback, Diet, and More"
  • "Neuroplasticity in the Brain of Children with Neurological Disorders," dealing with Tourette's
EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS NEWSLETTER. Deborah Ruf has issued her June newsletter. In it are a number of pointers to useful things: an article on why gifted girls may not be as confident as they should; a list of top-10 gifted education blogs; a list of top-10 open education resources; and more. Find the newsletter. 
EDUCATOR RESOURCE FOR SUMMER. If you're a teacher of the gifted or twice-exceptional, you might be interested in Edutopia's current issue, which contains ideas for summer relaxation and learning. We notice, however, that one of the articles is titled "The Myth of Summers Off." Go to Edutopia. 
SCHOLARSHIP FOR KIDS WITH AN LD. An Alabama Internet consulting company, Lumin, has established a $2000 scholarship for a young person with an LD who is going to college. The company's founder says her mom suggested the idea and also suggested that "the scholarship be made available to students with learning disabilities. This came as no surprise since she and I spent countless hours looking for available scholarships when I was in college. (Yes…I have a learning disability…two in fact.)" Find out more, and good for Lumin Consulting!
SENG SUMMIT EARLYBIRD DISCOUNT EXTENDED. You can still save money with an earlybird discount to the July SENG conference in Seattle, but only through June 10th. Thinking of going? Check it out.
COMPETITIONS FOR GIFTED MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS. A discussion on LinkedIn has elicited opinions on the most valuable competitions for gifted middle-school students. Responses include Destination Imagination, Odyssey of the Mind, Science Olympiad, Lego Robotics Challenge, National History Day, and more. Join in -- free registration is required, and then you can continue to participate in the group, Gifted Talented Network. 
FILE THIS UNDER "NEXT YEAR." PBS and Adobe have sponsored a competition whereby selected teen documentary filmmakers receive grands for their projects, along with mentoring. This year the competition received 250 applications and awarded 15 grants. Read more at Yahoo. 
DAVIDSON INSTITUTE. Don't forget the DITD "Tips" section, which offers collections of tips on various gifted-related topics such as acceleration, AD/HD, advocacy, depression,  and lots more. Find it.
AD/HD: THE BAD NEWS. "Analysis of data from two long-term studies of the impact of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) on the development of psychiatric disorders in young adults confirms that AD/HD alone significantly increases the risk of cigarette smoking and substance abuse in both boys and girls." Read more from this report.
AND FINALLY, THIS. A father and his dyslexic son collaborated on a fantasy novel that will be published next week. According to the Biloxi, Mississippi, Sun-Herald, "The story involves a young, idealistic, inspirational kid who decides he’s going to save his kingdom, which has been taken over by goblins. There’s a princess who escaped by chance the night the palace fell and learned magic. She watches what is going on and makes him a magic sword, which completely transforms him. He becomes a great a hero." Read more.


JACK KENT COOKE YOUNG SCHOLARS. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has a Young Scholars Program which provides financial assistance and other help to high-achieving eighth-graders and high-schoolers who have financial need. Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development is assisting in building awareness of the program, and has established a web page of information about it. The application deadline for the 2011 year is April 25th. Find out more.
TEACHER'S RESOURCE. E-School News reports on a service called VuSafe to assist educators in finding relevant, safe YouTube videos for use in the educational process. Find the article.
SMART KIDS WITH DISABILITIES. This organization publishes an e-newsletter. In January's edition, you may read articles on tackling writing problems, teaching your child about friendship, and a profile of Olympian Greg Louganis, who had childhood difficulties with reading and speech. Find the newsletter.
THE DANA FOUNDATION has a "neuroeducation" page that contains "news, events, and commentary on bridging neuroscience and education." We are sure that you, O Inquisitive Ones, will find it interesting. Go there.
CO-MORBID WITH AD/HD. Kids with AD/HD are prone to other issues as well. Research evidently reported in Pediatrics indicated that nearly 70 percent of kids with AD/HD have one or more other co-morbid mental or physical problems. The issue is not posted on the Pediatrics website, but WebMD has a long article on the research; find it.
SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION. We don't like to think about this topic when it comes to gifted kids, but twice-exceptional kids sometimes have behavior issues that can get out of control. (Remember the elementary school boy whose school filed police charges after his Aspie outburst?) The current Special Ed Advocate from Wrightslaw deals with behavior problems and the rights of kids in this area. Read the newsletter. 
THERAPY DOGS AND AUTISM.  The website of television station KSDK has an article and video about an autism specialist who uses a therapy dog to relax her young patients  Find it.
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS TRAINING apparently works, improving not only attitudes and behaviors but also academic performance -- this according to a study reported by the Ivanhoe Newswire. Read more.
AND FINALLY, THIS. We've blogged often about the adolescent brain and how it differs from the adult brain. The National Institute of Mental Health website contains a report of a study of the difference in functioning of adolescent versus adult rats in a learned task involving a reward. The twist -- researchers tracked the firing of individual neurons. At the moment of reward, there was less inhibition in certain neurons in the adolescent brain -- meaning neuronal activity was stronger. Here's what the researchers concluded: "The reduced inhibition they saw in adolescents suggests that they may respond more intensively than adults to reward. These more powerful responses may help explain the increased vulnerability of adolescents to the rewarding effects of alcohol and drugs. In addition, findings of differences in the regulation of neuronal firing observed in adolescents may ultimately help explain why schizophrenia—a disorder thought to represent an imbalance in inhibitory and excitatory activity in the brain—so often has its onset during adolescence and early adulthood. The exaggerated balance of excitatory and inhibitory activity in the brain observed in this work, superimposed on a genetically determined vulnerability to schizophrenia, might be a factor tipping someone towards illness." The original study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience this year. Go to the NIMH site.