


Archive for January, 2011
 
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- Dominik Kurek, OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF
- Jul 30, 2010 – 12:47 PM
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Some 100 teachers are back in Oakville classrooms this week, but they are not there to teach, but to learn themselves.
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The teachers are at Emily Carr Public School, each one learning one of three possible programs offered at the school. The programs are a few of the 70 or so provided province wide by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario at its 2010 Summer Academy.
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The local programs began Tuesday and concluded Thursday.
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The three programs offered locally are:
• One aimed to develop an understanding of how students with learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder, can better function within a classroom setting in order to learn best.
• Another focused on the use of technology and the integration of art and literature in mathematics.
• And lastly how to teach, plan and manage a combined-grades classroom and successfully balance literacy and numeracy programs and engage Grades 1-4 students.
The majority of the teachers are local, however, some have traveled from beyond the Greater Toronto Area to take part in one of the aforementioned programs.
Teacher Sue MacVicar-Stewart, who is instructing the special education class, said she has about 25 teachers in her class.
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“The real strength of this is that it’s teachers who are actually providing the in-service,†she said. “So, it’s teachers that are in the classroom and are providing their experience and sharing their expertise. Also, the teachers get to choose their topics.â€
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MacVicar-Stewart is a teacher at the Toronto District School Board. She said because teachers can choose the topic they learn, they can pick the one better suited for their, or their school board’s, needs.
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“I’m looking at students who have autism, ADHD and learning disabilities and better understanding that learner and the needs in the classroom and what instructional strategies we can use, what we can actually do in the classroom to help those students learn better.â€
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Source:Â

Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 29, 2010
Researchers believe a new study suggests a particular sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson’s disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed.
Scientists used Mayo Clinic records to identify 27 people who experienced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder for at least 15 years before developing one of three conditions: Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies or multiple system atrophy.
Multiple system atrophy is a disorder that causes symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.
People with REM sleep behavior disorder often act out their dreams with violent movements, such as punching, which can injure themselves or bed partners.
The research is published in the July 28, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/29/rem-sleep-disorder-as-early-warning-of-neurologic-impairment/16180.html

Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 29, 2010
Researchers believe a new study suggests a particular sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson’s disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed.
Scientists used Mayo Clinic records to identify 27 people who experienced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder for at least 15 years before developing one of three conditions: Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies or multiple system atrophy.
Multiple system atrophy is a disorder that causes symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.
People with REM sleep behavior disorder often act out their dreams with violent movements, such as punching, which can injure themselves or bed partners.
The research is published in the July 28, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/29/rem-sleep-disorder-as-early-warning-of-neurologic-impairment/16180.html
 
Article Date: 29 Jul 2010 – 5:00 PDT
Two powerful new tests developed by psychologists at Harvard University show great promise in predicting patients’ risk of attempting suicide.
The work may help clinicians overcome their reliance on self-reporting by at-risk individuals, information that often proves misleading when suicidal patients wish to hide their intentions. Both new tests are easily administered within minutes on a computer, giving quick insight into how patients are thinking about suicide, as well as their propensity to attempt suicide in the near future.
“Experts have long sought a clear behavioral marker of suicide risk,” says Harvard Professor of Psychology Matthew K. Nock, an author of two papers describing the new assessments of suicidal behavior. “The current approach, based on self-reporting, leads to predictions that are scarcely better than chance, since suicidal patients are often motivated to conceal or misrepresent their mental state. We sought to develop more sophisticated, objective measures of how psychiatric patients are thinking about suicide. Our work provides two important new tools clinicians can use in deciding how to treat potentially suicidal patients.”
Nock and colleagues report on the tests in two papers, one in the current Journal of Abnormal Psychology and a second published in Psychological Science. Unlike many previous efforts focused on biological markers of suicidal behavior, their work identifies two behavioral markers: subjects’ attention to suicide-related stimuli, and the extent to which they associate death or suicide with themselves.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196234.php
 
Article Date: 29 Jul 2010 – 5:00 PDT
Two powerful new tests developed by psychologists at Harvard University show great promise in predicting patients’ risk of attempting suicide.
The work may help clinicians overcome their reliance on self-reporting by at-risk individuals, information that often proves misleading when suicidal patients wish to hide their intentions. Both new tests are easily administered within minutes on a computer, giving quick insight into how patients are thinking about suicide, as well as their propensity to attempt suicide in the near future.
“Experts have long sought a clear behavioral marker of suicide risk,” says Harvard Professor of Psychology Matthew K. Nock, an author of two papers describing the new assessments of suicidal behavior. “The current approach, based on self-reporting, leads to predictions that are scarcely better than chance, since suicidal patients are often motivated to conceal or misrepresent their mental state. We sought to develop more sophisticated, objective measures of how psychiatric patients are thinking about suicide. Our work provides two important new tools clinicians can use in deciding how to treat potentially suicidal patients.”
Nock and colleagues report on the tests in two papers, one in the current Journal of Abnormal Psychology and a second published in Psychological Science. Unlike many previous efforts focused on biological markers of suicidal behavior, their work identifies two behavioral markers: subjects’ attention to suicide-related stimuli, and the extent to which they associate death or suicide with themselves.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196234.php
 
Article Date: 29 Jul 2010 – 0:00 PDT
Heterosexual women bear the brunt of narcissistic heterosexual men’s hostility, while heterosexual men, gay men and lesbian women provoke a softer reaction, according to psychologist Dr. Scott Keiller from Kent State University at Tuscarawas in the US. This is likely to be due to women’s unparalleled potential for gratifying, or frustrating, men’s narcissism. They are crucial players and even gatekeepers in men’s quests for sexual pleasure, patriarchal power and status. Dr. Keiller’s findings are published online in Springer’s journal Sex Roles.
Research to date has shown that narcissists’ low empathy, feelings of entitlement, and perceptions of being deprived of ‘deserved’ admiration and gratification can make them prone to aggression and vengeance.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196133.php
 
Article Date: 29 Jul 2010 – 0:00 PDT
Heterosexual women bear the brunt of narcissistic heterosexual men’s hostility, while heterosexual men, gay men and lesbian women provoke a softer reaction, according to psychologist Dr. Scott Keiller from Kent State University at Tuscarawas in the US. This is likely to be due to women’s unparalleled potential for gratifying, or frustrating, men’s narcissism. They are crucial players and even gatekeepers in men’s quests for sexual pleasure, patriarchal power and status. Dr. Keiller’s findings are published online in Springer’s journal Sex Roles.
Research to date has shown that narcissists’ low empathy, feelings of entitlement, and perceptions of being deprived of ‘deserved’ admiration and gratification can make them prone to aggression and vengeance.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196133.php
 
 We trawl the world’s journals so you don’t have to:
Developing flexible and adaptive leaders for an age of uncertainty (Consulting Psychology Journal: Research and Practice).
Computational models of the brain (NeuroImage).
In Memoriam: Stewart H. Hulse – one of the founders of research on animal cognition (Learning and Motivation).
The future of emotion research (Emotion Review).
Disasters and their impact on child development (Child Development).
Animal models of amnesia (Neuropsychologia).
 
 We trawl the world’s journals so you don’t have to:
Developing flexible and adaptive leaders for an age of uncertainty (Consulting Psychology Journal: Research and Practice).
Computational models of the brain (NeuroImage).
In Memoriam: Stewart H. Hulse – one of the founders of research on animal cognition (Learning and Motivation).
The future of emotion research (Emotion Review).
Disasters and their impact on child development (Child Development).
Animal models of amnesia (Neuropsychologia).
 
July 29, 10:29 PM
Newark Autism & Parenting Examiner
Christina Dagnelli
Bed time routines are a very important part of your day with your child on the autism spectrum if you want to have any time to yourself and you want to teach your child how to relax. Following a regular routine every night makes bedtime less anxiety provoking and more peaceful because your child knows what is coming next.
A routine can be made up of a few activities such as a bath, story, and quiet play time. One of the most important aspects of the routine is to fill it with activities that work for your family and to allow enough time for the child to wind down.
 Sample of Five Steps to Bed
- Begin the bedtime routine at least 2 hours before the targeted time you want your child to be asleep if you have a very restless child. If your child does get to sleep more easily then set the clock according to what works.
- Allow your child to have a light snack to keep blood sugar from crashing in the middle of the night. Choose snacks that are not high in sugar.
- Prepare a relaxing bath time with lavender soaps and lotions.
- After dressing for bed its story time, let you child pick a short story from a few books you select.
- Some people wind down by watching TV, others are more wound up, this same philosophy needs to be applied to the final activity you allow your child to participate in before bed. They can play quietly, watch TV or listen to the radio in their room for a set period of time.

