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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.
LANDMARK COLLEGE, a 2-year school in Vermont that focuses on educating students with LDs, was featured in an article and video by USA Today. Besides academics -- or, rather, as a foundation for them -- Landmark teaches organizational and compensatory skills. Landmark can serve as a springboard to attendance (and graduation from) a four-year college. Go to USA Today. THE EDUCATORS GUILD NEWSLETTER for October is out and posted on the DITD website. In it are an article by Jim Delisle on the peer relations of gifted students; gifted news; and news about DITD. Find it. THE SENG VINE newsletter is also out, including articles on GT kids and behavior, the role of a pediatric doctor in caring for gifted kids, and more. Find it. PRODIGY: WHAT NEXT? In Deborah Ruf's October Talent Igniter newsletter we found a pointer to a story on a young prodigy, now 13, who at age 9 got perfect 5's in five AP math and science tests. From the article: "When he's not in class, he's working through a stack of books at home; he keeps a list of everything he has read. He's absorbed 52 textbooks on science and math: read the physics lectures of Richard Feynman, and books on robot programming, systems biology, immunobiology, fractals, Latin (a new passion), music theory and the work of Fibonacci, René Descartes, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, among others." Read more. EDUCATOR'S RESOURCE. Adobe offers a free curriculum and resources for educators to "create breakthrough learning experiences for young people." Find out more. AD/HD AWARENESS EXPO. During AD/HD Awareness Week, visitors may attend a free online Awareness Expo. Find out more. NO TV FOR KIDS UNDER 2 -- That's what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. On the other hand, this current recommendation is evidently less restrictive than the AAP's prior issuance on the topic. Got an almost-toddler? Read more.
AD/HD AWARENESS WEEK is this week, October 10-22. At the AD/HD Awareness Week site you can find resources concerning the condition. In the meantime, the American Academy of Pediatrics has just updated its guidelines on diagnosing and treating AD/HD in younger children and in adolescents. Emerging evidence, says AAP, makes it possible to diagnose and manage AD/HD in children from ages 4 to 18 (previous AAP guidelines covered ages 6 to 12). The new guidelines describe the special considerations involved in diagnosing and treating preschool children and adolescents. They also include interventions to help children with hyperactive/impulsive behaviors that do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for AD/HD. Find out more. To help parents understand the new guidance on AD/HD, the AAP has published a detailed and updated consumer resource book entitled “ADHD: What Every Parent Needs to Know.” Parent information is also available at www.healthychildren.org/adhd. MORE ON AD/HD. The New York Times has initiated a discussion on AD/HD, posing the questions, "Are Americans More Prone to AD/HD?" along with "Do the American and educational systems inflate the numbers?" So far the discussion has generated seven pages of posts. Read or contribute. AUTISM DOCTOR DISCIPLINED. Parents of autistic children are often desperate to find treatments that will help their children. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has filed a complaint against an Illinois doctor who used methods such a chelation, hormone modulation, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, stating that "none... has been proven to influence the course of autism." Read more. SCHOOL AVOIDANCE was the subject of an article on HealthDay recently -- and we're betting that many 2e kids have the desire to avoid school because they might not fit in one way or another. Find the article, along with a pointer to AAP information on the topic. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR WRITING. Education Week covered a variety of assistive technologies for kids who have problems writing, including a list of free resources. Got a student or offspring with this problem? Find the article. FOR IDEA WONKS. CEC has released a side-by-side comparison of updated IDEA regulations and those from 1999. If IDEA is a big part of your life, check it out.