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

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS QUARTERLY. The summer issue of this newsletter is out, and it features an article titled "Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, and Intelligence." The author discusses two case studies of young gifted kids with AD/HD. Find the newsletter. 
REVISITING ADHD AND RITALIN is the title of an interview in the Los Angeles Times with Dr. Lawrence Diller, who 15 years ago wrote the book Running on Ritalin, in which he cautioned against the overuse of stimulant meds. In the interview Diller discusses his new book, in which he interviewed former patients to see  how they turned out and how they felt about the treatment they had received. He also compares the results in "his" kids with those in a study by Russell Barkley. Read the interview.
MISS TEEN SOUTH DAKOTA uses pageants and related appearances to educate about dyslexia, which she has. In an article, she discusses how the condition has affected her and how she copes. Find out more.
SPECT-ACLE. Those of you with an interest in whether SPECT imaging is a valid technique for making a psychiatric diagnosis may be interested in reading Dr. Daniel Amen's account of a recent presentation he made defending his use of the technique. The back story: Dr. Amen has come under criticism from professional colleagues for the way he uses the imaging for a variety of conditions, including to establish a diagnosis of AD/HD. Read his account.
AD/HD, DISRUPTIVE AND QUIET. An article in Education Week covers the characteristics of inattentive versus hyperactive AD/HD, its prevalence in boys and girls, comorbidities, diagnosis, and treatment. It offers teachers tips on how to spot and how to address AD/HD, and it relates how one school uses commercial cognitive software to help its students with AD/HD. Read it.
INCREASING DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES. A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the overall prevalence of developmental disabilities among children increased by 17 percent between 1997 and 2008, with 15 percent of U.S. children – nearly 10 million – having a developmental disability in 2008. The study is in the current issue of Pediatrics, according to a press release from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents were asked to report the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, stuttering or stammering, moderate to profound hearing loss, blindness, learning disorders, and/or other developmental delays. Autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other developmental delays increased, while moderate to profound hearing loss showed a significant decline. Boys had a higher prevalence overall and for a number of select disabilities compared with girls. Read more in the Washington Post.
ONLINE VERSUS HOME SCHOOLING. The Denver Post notes that online schooling may be the reason for a decrease in the number of kids classified as "home-schooled" in Colorado.  On the other hand, some question the accuracy of the numbers. No one, though, seemed to dispute the fact that the number of Colorado students enrolled in online programs increased by 65 percent over three years, to over 15,000 students. Read more. 
RESOURCES FROM IMFAR, the International Meeting for Autism Research, have  been posted online by Autism Speaks. Included are videos from the event as well as blogs devoted to it. If you're concerned with someone on the spectrum, check it out. 
PITTSBURGH SUMMER CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG WRITERS. Young writers 16-21 have the opportunity to compete for full scholarships to the Summer Writer's Conference and Workshop, held July 26-28. There are no residency restrictions; attendees are responsible for their own transportation, lodging, and meals. The deadline is May 31. Find out more. 
GENDER AND THERAPISTS. Most therapists these days are women, a change from the 1970s when the ratio between men and women was equal. The current ratio can present issues, in some minds, when it comes to men looking for a therapist, men who feel that only a male therapist can fully understand male psyches.  Find out more. 
AND FINALLY, THIS. In an attempt to instill fitness in their screen-bound youngsters, some parents are hiring personal trainers for their kids. Sounds frivolous, but it has advantages, evidently. Read 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.

2e IN HARD TIMES. What do educational budget constraints mean for 2e students, students who are perhaps double vulnerable to losing support? 2e Newsletter editor Linda Neumann, in an article just published in Gifted Education Press Quarterly, thinks that some of the things that can benefit 2e learners don't necessarily require money. Find out what she thinks! Also in the issue: an article on empowering gifted students to create their own future -- instead of the one chosen for them -- by 2e Newsletter editorial advisory board member Joan Franklin Smutny. 

 

CYBERTHERAPY. In 2e Newsletter we've written about cyber abuse and cyber addiction; now comes cybertherapy in a variety of forms, according to an article in The New York Times. For example, a patient wearing a headset in which he sees a virtual audience can practice, with a human therapist's guidance, to dispel a fear of speaking. The US military uses the technique to treat PTSD. Virtual confidants can encourage self-disclosure, a crucial first element in therapy, perhaps funneling the confessor into therapy with a human. Researchers can even "insert" a treatment subject into the virtual body of someone who's old or of a different race to increase empathy. (Bully treatment, anyone?) Read the article. 

 

EDUCATION REFORM. If you're interested in the big picture of education reform in the United States, you might be interested in an interview with Arne Duncan, Department of Education head, in the Wall Street Journal. An excerpt sets the tone for his mission: "We're going to confront everybody and have been—including the unions. And everyone has to change, so anyone who thinks that unions are the only challenge is missing the boat. We have to challenge parents; we have to challenge students themselves; we have to challenge school-board members; we have to challenge politicians at the local, state and federal level." Find the article. 


CREATIVITY -- FROM COURTSHIP OR PARENTING? What fosters creativity in human evolution? Researchers hypothesize, based on a an experience such as Disneyland, that it could be a way to help parents bond with their children and to pass on traditions and cultural knowledge. Want to explore that idea? Do so here. 

GIVE THANKS. It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and Edutopia has a way for you to give thanks via Facebook or Twitter to an educator or colleague who has helped or inspired you. Here's what they say: "...we'd like to use this thread as a way for community members to thank another community member, colleague, student, parent, business/organization, administrator..and basically anyone else who's helped you stay in the profession you know and love." Find the thanks-giving page.

MORE ITEMS COMING SOON -- gotta go help with the Thanksgiving preparations. Happy Thanksgiving!

MUSIC AS THERAPY. An article at the Dana Foundation website offers a look at the current state of music therapy as a rehabilitative tool in cases of brain injury, with applications in motor, speech and language, and cognitive rehabilitation. In looking ahead, the article states, "Scientists need to better understand what dosages work best, to pay more attention to research that will benefit children, and to focus on disorders in which neurologic music therapy lacks rigorous study so far, such as autism, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis." Read the article.

RECENT COURT RULING ON LDs AND FAPE. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a federal court decision on March 22nd is "one of the first in the nation on a parent's ability to enforce a federal law that requires schools to identify all children with disabilities and provide them with an appropriate education." According to the ruling, parents may demand a hearing or file suit if a school ignores a student's disabilities. When we find out how this case may relate to twice-exceptional students (as in the case of the Hovem family of Texas, reported in 2e Newsletter last year), we'll let you know. Read the Chronicle article.

TELETHERAPY. A recent study found that therapy via video teleconference was as effective as face-to-face therapy -- and possibly even preferred by patients. The particular study focused on PTSD, but apparently previous studies have also validated the effectiveness of teletherapy. Whether it comes to the point where it can be done via webcam and your PC rather than a formal teleconference setting remains to be seen. Read about the study.

ASPIE COMPUTER GENIUS SENTENCED. Crime paid -- for awhile, anyway, for a Florida computer hacker who was able to break into computer systems of major retailers. He "earned" $2.8 million illegally, but will spend up to 20 years in prison for his efforts. From The New York Times article about the case: "A defense psychiatrist’s report described Mr. Gonzalez as a socially awkward Internet addict with an 'idiot savantlike genius for computers and information technology.'” Read more.

AEGUS has revamped its website, and you might want to check it out, including the section on articles, books, and links for parents and educators interested in gifted underachievers. Find it.

THE ASPIE PARENT is the name of a new blog by "lizpf." In her initial post she points out that the dual meanings of the blog title are intentional and tells why; in her second post she lays the groundwork for future posts by defining terms, including "twice-exceptional." Find the blog.

ABOUT NORMAL. On a listserv we read, a mom wrote of her gifted daughter, "My heart broke for her last night when she said, 'I just want to be normal.'" Another listserv member offered a consoling quote: "Normal is a setting on the dryer." We like that. Until the next post here, let's all go about our business being our own unique, un-normal selves.