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Archive for January, 2011

 

Savoring ‘Islands of Genius’ is a true no-brainer



 

July 21, 5:48 PMLA Special Education ExaminerDiana DeCoster

Autism spectrum disorder ( ASD) is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive and restricted behavior, which becomes apparent before the age of three. 

As the term “spectrum” indicates, no two children affected by ASD behave in exactly the same way.  The degree of help a child with ASD needs is dependent on that particular child, not the diagnosis of ASD. 

For example, a child with type of ASD called Asperger Syndrome may have a much better vocabulary than his age-mates, but be obsessed with making model airplanes and have no friends at school due to an inability to read social cues.  Another child with ASD may not have any language at all, may not be able to toilet independently, and may react to frustration by biting himself on the arms. 

Frequently, children with ASD of various degrees of severity attend general education classrooms, despite special education eligibility.  This is termed “inclusion,” or “mainstreaming.”  KidsTogether, an inclusion-based program, describes inclusion in the following way: “Inclusion in school requires a shift in the paradigm, instead of getting the child ready for the regular class, the regular class gets ready for the child.”

Read More …  http://www.examiner.com/x-59948-LA-Special-Education-Examiner~y2010m7d21-Autism-in-the-classroom–The-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-inclusion



 

 

July 21, 5:48 PMLA Special Education ExaminerDiana DeCoster

 

Autism spectrum disorder ( ASD) is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive and restricted behavior, which becomes apparent before the age of three. 

 

As the term “spectrum” indicates, no two children affected by ASD behave in exactly the same way.  The degree of help a child with ASD needs is dependent on that particular child, not the diagnosis of ASD. 

 

For example, a child with type of ASD called Asperger Syndrome may have a much better vocabulary than his age-mates, but be obsessed with making model airplanes and have no friends at school due to an inability to read social cues.  Another child with ASD may not have any language at all, may not be able to toilet independently, and may react to frustration by biting himself on the arms. 

 

Frequently, children with ASD of various degrees of severity attend general education classrooms, despite special education eligibility.  This is termed “inclusion,” or “mainstreaming.”  KidsTogether, an inclusion-based program, describes inclusion in the following way: “Inclusion in school requires a shift in the paradigm, instead of getting the child ready for the regular class, the regular class gets ready for the child.”

 

Read More …  http://www.examiner.com/x-59948-LA-Special-Education-Examiner~y2010m7d21-Autism-in-the-classroom–The-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-inclusion



 

You’ve got a GED. Are you ready to homeschool?



 

You’ve got a GED. Are you ready to homeschool?



 

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — Childhood physical abuse is associated with significantly elevated rates of heart disease in adulthood, according to new findings by University of Toronto researchers, published in this month’s issue of the journal Child Abuse & Neglect.

“Individuals who reported they had been physically abused as children had 45 per cent higher odds of heart disease than their peers who had not been abused, despite the fact we had adjusted for most of the known risk factors for heart disease,” says Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, who holds the Sandra Rotman Chair at U of T’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Department of Family and Community Medicine.

The childhood abuse and heart disease link persisted even after controlling for health behaviours such as smoking, obesity and physical activity level, as well as other adverse childhood experiences such as parental addictions, adult income and education level, diabetes, self-reported stress and a history of high blood pressure and mood disorders.

These findings were based on data from a 2005 representative community survey conducted in two Canadian provinces. Of 13,000 respondents, seven per cent indicated they had been physically abused as children and four per cent reported they had been diagnosed with heart disease by a health professional.

Co-author John Frank, director of Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy, notes, “This finding, if replicated in other studies, suggests that patients known to have experienced child abuse or neglect should have their cardiovascular risk factors managed somewhat more aggressively than other persons, since they are at greater risk.”

Frank believes that future research is needed to study the potential mechanisms through which childhood physical abuse is associated with heart disease. “Like many previous studies linking early life characteristics and experiences with late life serious disease, this study does not explain precisely how such links operate, biologically; further research will be required to understand that process.”

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100722102043.htm



 

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — Childhood physical abuse is associated with significantly elevated rates of heart disease in adulthood, according to new findings by University of Toronto researchers, published in this month’s issue of the journal Child Abuse & Neglect.

“Individuals who reported they had been physically abused as children had 45 per cent higher odds of heart disease than their peers who had not been abused, despite the fact we had adjusted for most of the known risk factors for heart disease,” says Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, who holds the Sandra Rotman Chair at U of T’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Department of Family and Community Medicine.

The childhood abuse and heart disease link persisted even after controlling for health behaviours such as smoking, obesity and physical activity level, as well as other adverse childhood experiences such as parental addictions, adult income and education level, diabetes, self-reported stress and a history of high blood pressure and mood disorders.

These findings were based on data from a 2005 representative community survey conducted in two Canadian provinces. Of 13,000 respondents, seven per cent indicated they had been physically abused as children and four per cent reported they had been diagnosed with heart disease by a health professional.

Co-author John Frank, director of Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy, notes, “This finding, if replicated in other studies, suggests that patients known to have experienced child abuse or neglect should have their cardiovascular risk factors managed somewhat more aggressively than other persons, since they are at greater risk.”

Frank believes that future research is needed to study the potential mechanisms through which childhood physical abuse is associated with heart disease. “Like many previous studies linking early life characteristics and experiences with late life serious disease, this study does not explain precisely how such links operate, biologically; further research will be required to understand that process.”

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100722102043.htm



 

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — Blood tests have been extremely important tools aiding doctors in making medical diagnoses and in guiding the treatment of many diseases. However, psychiatry is one area of medicine where there are few diagnostic blood tests.

New scientific fields may someday generate blood tests that can be used for these purposes. Some of the areas under increasingly intensive study are genetics, the study of variations in the genes (DNA) that can be extracted from blood cells, and genomics like proteomics, the measurement of the levels of specific proteins in the blood, and gene expression profiling, which measures the levels of RNA produced from DNA as an indication of the level of the “activity” of particular genes.

Using the latter approach, Dutch researchers evaluated blood gene expression profiles in healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, or MDD. They identified a set of seven genes in whole blood that was able to distinguish un-medicated MDD patients from healthy controls.

“This is a first, but major step in providing a molecular diagnostic tool for depression,” explained Dr. Sabine Spijker, corresponding author of this study. Although psychiatry already has specific criteria for diagnosing mental health disorders, this type of diagnosis would be unbiased and particularly valuable for those with whom it is more difficult to have a conversation. It may also eventually assist in reducing the stigma associated with mental health problems.

“It is far too early to be confident that gene expression profiling will lead us to diagnostic or prognostic tests for depression. However, the objective of this line of research is extremely important,” cautions Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. “In the past, many types of tests have been explored as potential diagnostic markers, but they all have failed to have sufficient sensitivity and specificity to guide doctors in making psychiatric diagnoses or choosing between treatments. I look forward to seeing whether the patterns of gene expression profiling are replicable and diagnostically specific as multiple groups report their findings.”

Most importantly, the authors hope that this study is a stepping stone for finding markers that might predict treatment outcome and recurrence.


Journal Reference:

  1. Sabine Spijker, Jeroen S. Van Zanten, Simone De Jong, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Richard van Dyck, Frans G. Zitman, Jan H. Smit, Bauke Ylstra, August B. Smit, Witte J.G. Hoogendijk. Stimulated Gene Expression Profiles as a Blood Marker of Major Depressive Disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 2010; 68 (2): 179 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.03.017

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100722092330.htm



 

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — Blood tests have been extremely important tools aiding doctors in making medical diagnoses and in guiding the treatment of many diseases. However, psychiatry is one area of medicine where there are few diagnostic blood tests.

New scientific fields may someday generate blood tests that can be used for these purposes. Some of the areas under increasingly intensive study are genetics, the study of variations in the genes (DNA) that can be extracted from blood cells, and genomics like proteomics, the measurement of the levels of specific proteins in the blood, and gene expression profiling, which measures the levels of RNA produced from DNA as an indication of the level of the “activity” of particular genes.

Using the latter approach, Dutch researchers evaluated blood gene expression profiles in healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, or MDD. They identified a set of seven genes in whole blood that was able to distinguish un-medicated MDD patients from healthy controls.

“This is a first, but major step in providing a molecular diagnostic tool for depression,” explained Dr. Sabine Spijker, corresponding author of this study. Although psychiatry already has specific criteria for diagnosing mental health disorders, this type of diagnosis would be unbiased and particularly valuable for those with whom it is more difficult to have a conversation. It may also eventually assist in reducing the stigma associated with mental health problems.

“It is far too early to be confident that gene expression profiling will lead us to diagnostic or prognostic tests for depression. However, the objective of this line of research is extremely important,” cautions Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. “In the past, many types of tests have been explored as potential diagnostic markers, but they all have failed to have sufficient sensitivity and specificity to guide doctors in making psychiatric diagnoses or choosing between treatments. I look forward to seeing whether the patterns of gene expression profiling are replicable and diagnostically specific as multiple groups report their findings.”

Most importantly, the authors hope that this study is a stepping stone for finding markers that might predict treatment outcome and recurrence.


Journal Reference:

  1. Sabine Spijker, Jeroen S. Van Zanten, Simone De Jong, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Richard van Dyck, Frans G. Zitman, Jan H. Smit, Bauke Ylstra, August B. Smit, Witte J.G. Hoogendijk. Stimulated Gene Expression Profiles as a Blood Marker of Major Depressive Disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 2010; 68 (2): 179 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.03.017

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100722092330.htm



 

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 22, 2010

New research may help parents when they write the monthly check for music lessons.

After a review of a wide range of scientific literature, Northwestern University scientists believe the facts support a link between musical training and learning.

According to the experts, musical practice improves skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion.

The review is presented in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience and includes findings from labs all over the world comprising a variety of scientific philosophies and research approaches.

The explosion of research in recent years focusing on the effects of music training on the nervous system, including the studies in the review, have strong implications for education, said Nina Kraus, lead author of the Nature perspective, and director of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.

Scientists use the term neuroplasticity to describe the brain’s ability to adapt and change as a result of training and experience over the course of a person’s life. The studies covered in the Northwestern review offer a model of neuroplasticity, Kraus said.

The research strongly suggests that the neural connections made during musical training also prime the brain for other aspects of human communication.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/22/long-term-benefits-from-musical-training/15885.html