 
ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2010) — A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that teens who slept less than eight hours per weeknight ate higher proportions of fatty foods and snacks than adolescents who slept eight hours or more. The results suggest that short sleep duration may increase obesity risk by causing small changes in eating patterns that cumulatively alter energy balance, especially in girls.
Results show that a shorter mean weekday sleep duration was significantly associated with an increase in the percentage of calories consumed from fats and a decrease in the percentage of calories from carbohydrates. After adjusting for potential confounders such as age, sex and race, teens who slept less than eight hours on weeknights consumed 2.2 percent more calories from fats and 3.0 percent fewer calories from carbs than teens who slept eight hours or more. Further adjustments for body mass index (BMI) had little effect on these associations. In secondary analyses stratified by sex, the results were significant among girls but not boys.
Read in Full:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100901072854.htm
 
ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2010) — Young adults who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night have greater risks of psychological distress, a combination of high levels of depressive and anxious symptoms, according to a study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.
Using an average self-reported nightly sleep duration of eight to nine hours as a reference, the study found a linear association between sleep durations of less than eight hours and psychological distress in young adults between 17 and 24 years of age. The risk of psychological distress increased by 14 percent for each hour of nightly sleep loss, such that those sleeping less than six hours a night were twice as likely to be experiencing distress as average sleepers. A similar association was found between sleep duration and persistent psychological distress; the risk that a person with psychological distress at baseline would be distressed at the one-year follow-up increased by five percent for each hour of nightly sleep loss after adjusting for potential confounders (RR 1.05). Long sleep durations of more than nine hours showed no association with distress at any time point.
“In young adults already experiencing distress, the fewer hours they sleep the worse the outcome across the range of sleep hours,” said lead author Nick Glozier, MBBS, MRCPsych, PhD, associate professor of psychological medicine at the Brain and Mind Research Institute and the Centre for Integrated Research and Understanding of Sleep (CIRUS) at the University of Sydney in Australia.
Read in Full:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100901072910.htm
 
Like the telephone or the TV, email is a technology so embedded in our lives, we think nothing of it. Both help and hindrance, on one hand it’s the internet’s original ‘killer application’ and on the other it’s a spam-spewing slave-driver.
We’re used to hearing about the negative side of the balance-sheet, about email’s addictive nature and the unnecessary stress it injects into the modern worker’s life, but we downplay these problems because it’s so incredibly useful.
Now that email is well into middle age (the first emails were sent in 1965), let’s take stock of what we know about the darker side of email.
1. 59 per cent check email from the bathroom
You don’t need to be an expert on Pavlov’s drooling dogs to work out why email is so habit-forming. Most of it is humdrum, but occasionally we get something exciting and that’s what we’re hoping for when we check our email. In psychological terms email is a ‘variable-interval reinforcement’: we don’t know exactly when the good stuff is coming so we have to keep checking.
It’s no wonder, according to AOL’s 2010 survey, 47% claim to be hooked on it, 25% of people can’t go without email for more than 3 days, 60% check email on vacation and 59% check email from the bathroom.
2. You check more often than you think
Participants in a study by Renaud et al. (2006) claimed to check their email, on average, once an hour. However when the researchers spied on them, it turned out they checked their email every five minutes.
Despite the small sample size in Renaud’s study (6 people), further research has suggested people do set their email program to check their email every 5 minutes (Jackson et al., 2002) as well as significantly underestimating how often they check their email. As a consequence we also underestimate how disruptive it can be.
3. Email eats a quarter of the working day
When Czerwinski et al. (2004) carried out a diary study of people in various different occupations they found that, on average, people spent 23% of their working day dealing with email.
This is because people are not just using email to communicate, they are also using it as a way of tracking tasks—one study has found that workers are managing an average of 65 tasks in 10 different spheres at any one time (Gonzalez & Mark, 2004).
4. It takes 64 seconds to recover from an email
We often react quickly to incoming email, almost like the phone ringing. In one workplace study, Jackson et al. (2002) found that 70% of emails were reacted to within 6 seconds of their arrival, and 85% within 2 minutes.
The problem is that it took participants in the same study 64 seconds to recover their train of thought after an email interruption.
Add this to the fact that Gonzalez & Mark (2004) have found that people spend an average of only 3 minutes on each task before they switch to another, and it’s difficult to see how anyone can achieve the psychological state of ‘flow’ necessary for complex tasks.
5. Stressed emailers
Given the effort we put into email and all the task-switching that’s going on, it’s unsurprising that it generates stress. Of course we each deal with email in different ways, Hair et al. (2005) have identified three types of emailer:
- Relaxed responders treat email almost like snail mail. They refuse to let it control them and get back to people when they feel like it.
- Driven responders try to reply instantly to email and expect others to do the same.
- Stressed responders don’t find email useful, to them it is mostly an irritation.
My survey revealed 57% of people consider themselves relaxed, 32% driven and 11% stressed emailers, but this may well underestimate the actual number of stressed emailers.
Read in Full:Â http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/09/emails-dark-side-10-psychology-studies.php
 
Article Date: 01 Sep 2010 – 3:00 PDT
With summer fading, anxiety is on the rise for some students anticipating the return of school. But it isn’t just the first days of classes that can provoke angst — anxiety in school is seasonal and age dependent, say pediatric psychiatrists.
And, they add, these issues are often predictable and highly treatable. “If parents are aware of the fears that might affect their school-age children at different times of the year, and at certain ages, there is a lot they can do to help,” says Dr. John T. Walkup, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and vice chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College.
“It is about knowing when problems occur, anticipating them, and intervening effectively so that children do not suffer academically or socially,” he says. “Untreated anxiety and depression lead to coping and adaptation difficulties over time — all of which can be prevented by early recognition and treatment.”
Dr. Walkup adds that these anxiety disorders are much more common than parents (and teachers) realize, and while anxiety is a fact of life, many children are impaired enough that they should be assessed and treated. “Behavioral therapy works well for many students,” he says. “Others may need medication.”
Seasons of Anxiety
Culled from his clinical experience with many children with anxiety disorders, Dr. Walkup outlines what he dubs the “Seasons of Anxiety”:
* September: Separation anxiety as school starts. This usually occurs in children under the age of 12 as they anticipate returning to school after a summer spent with their family. With the anticipation of returning to school, these children may have trouble falling asleep, stomach aches in the morning, clingy behavior and apprehension about leaving home and going to school. At school they may go to the nurse with vague symptoms and want to come home.
Although some mild and transient separation anxiety with starting school is common in children ages 4 to 6, separation anxiety in children 7 to 12 is of more concern. Separation anxiety can start abruptly or sharply worsen in this age group. “These kids really worry about separation,” Dr. Walkup says. “They worry something bad will happen to their parents or to them. At home, they often don’t want to be alone, won’t do sleepovers during the school year and often don’t want to go to camp in the summertime. Monday morning is more difficult than Friday for these children.”
Separation anxiety can be treated with behavioral therapy, such as the well-known “Coping Cat” program, in which a trained professional works with the child and family to identify the fears and develop strategies to manage and overcome them, he says. “It is important that children learn to handle their fears and worries at an early age so that when they are older they don’t use avoidance as a coping strategy for routine challenges in living. Kids should be curious about new (safe) situations and experiences, not fearful and avoidant. If they learn they can handle new situations and challenges as an early age they will be more likely to handle challenging situations in adolescence and adulthood. Teens who have had anxiety as children often don’t have the kind of complex and supple coping skills in adolescence and often complain of feeling overwhelmed by even routine stresses.”
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199568.php
 
Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy
HBO’s critically acclaimed “Temple Grandin” told the remarkable real-life story of the bestselling author and groundbreaking agricultural scientist who struggled early in life to learn to cope with autism before the disease was widely known.
On Sunday, the biopic, which had to overcome what was widely perceived in the industry as challenging subject matter to make its way to the screen, claimed five Emmy prizes, including outstanding made for TV movie.
Attired in red and black rodeo gear, Grandin herself became a palpable presence at the ceremony, at one point, rising and excitedly swinging her hand lasso style from the audience. And while standing on stage after the movie had won its top award, she warmly embraced a sobbing executive producer Emily Gerson Saines, who said she found inspiration in Grandin’s life story as her own child had been diagnosed with autism.
“I hope this movie is going to educate a lot of people about autism because there’s a lot of people who don’t understand it,” Grandin said backstage. “Somebody [with autism] might be a Silicon Valley genius, and somebody might be handicapped and non-verbal.”
The biopic turned out to be one of the biggest winners at this year’s Emmys, taking home prizes as well for actress Claire Danes, who portrayed Grandin; supporting actress (Julia Ormond); supporting actor (David Strathairn); and director (Mick Jackson).
During their acceptance speeches, all of the winners paid tribute to Grandin. Danes described her as “the most brave woman I’ve known.” Jackson called her “spunky, smart and vivid,” saying he wanted to make a movie that was “never sentimental.”
Read in Full:Â http://theenvelope.latimes.com/news/la-et-emmy-temple-20100830,0,3760606.story
 
1 September 2010 Last updated at 00:03
Nine out of 10 people in Britain have never had a disabled person in their house for a social occasion, claims a survey from a disability charity.
Scope says the survey shows that disabled people are socially excluded.
While the survey found widespread backing for equal opportunities, in practice few people have any personal dealings with people with disabilities.
The charity’s chief executive, Richard Hawkes, says disabled people are “invisible in day-to-day life”.
The Scope survey, based on a sample of more than 2,000 adults across Britain, suggests public support for the rights of disabled people to be part of mainstream society is not matched by everyday experience.
It suggests people with physical and mental disabilities remain excluded from many people’s social or work life.
‘Fringes of society’
According to the Scope survey, almost two in five people do not know anyone outside of their own family who is disabled.
And only a fifth of people in the survey have ever worked with a disabled person.
According to Scope, about one in 10 of the non-pensioner population is disabled.
Read in Full:Â http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11139534
 
Article Date: 31 Aug 2010 – 1:00 PDT
Canadian teenagers enjoy more freedom than French and Italian peers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescence. The investigation, which examined how parents fashion emotional bonds and exert behavioural control with adolescents, was led by scientists from the University of Montreal, the Universite de Rennes in France and the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy.
Canada, France and Italy were compared because the countries have commonalities: Latin languages, Catholic history and advanced industrialization. Questionnaires were answered by adolescents whose parents were born in their country of residence: 522 Canadians from Montreal (54.8 percent girls; 45.2 percent boys); 336 French from Rennes (65.8 percent girls; 34.2 percent boys); 398 Italians from Milan (47.2 percent girls; 52.8 percent boys). Teens were asked to describe parents according to emotional bonding, communication, frequency of conflict, rules, discipline and tolerance of friend-related activities.
“Parents are perceived as emotionally bonded by teens from all three countries, yet perception of parental control contrasted between Italy and Canada. Of all three countries, Italian mothers and fathers are perceived as using the most constraining practices,” says first author Michel Claes, a University of Montreal psychology professor. “Italian parents are seen as more demanding in rules and authorizations. They take more punitive actions when rules are broken and are less tolerant of peer socialization. They uphold family regulations and require their adolescents to ask for authorizations until a much later age.”
“Our study found Canadian parents to be the most tolerant. They, had less rules and less disciplinary actions,” says Dr. Claes. “Canadian mothers and fathers were seen as less punitive, less coercive and more tolerant than French and Italian mothers.”
The French were found to parent in a moderate style. French fathers, however, were perceived by teens as emotionally distant, rigid and prone to intergenerational conflict. French mothers, for their part, were reported to foster closer bonds as their children grew into adolescence.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199383.php
 
St Albans, Hertfordshire
12:00pm Tuesday 31st August 2010
A MOTHER who claims her disabled son is being neglected by social workers is threatening to take her case to court.
Deborah Bulling claims Hertfordshire’s social services have failed to correctly deliver a care plan promised to her autistic son Daniel O’Connell, leaving him to fend for himself.
Daniel, 21, moved out of the family home in Harpenden last September to a warden assisted block of flats at Ellis House in St Albans, where he is supposed to receive help with basic household tasks, including cooking, cleaning and washing.
But Deborah claims Daniel’s care plan, which includes 25 hours of support a week at a cost of £25,000 a year to the taxpayer, has become virtually non existent.
She told the Review: “I have been over to see my son on a number of occasions to find his kitchen bin overloaded with stinking waste, the kitchen sink filled up with dirty dishes and cups from previous days, dirty laundary all left with wet washing still in the machine from days before and staff not supporting my son with his own care needs.”
Hertfordshire County Council pays contractors Hightown Praetorian and Churches Housing Association to provide care packages for nine of its residents who live independently but require support.
But Deborah says there has only been one member of staff on duty for most of the time in any 24 hour period to support the vulnerable residents.
Deborah said: “When we agreed to Daniel moving in we were told there would be two to three members of staff from High Town to support. Each client needs breakfast and evening meal support which can take up to an hour. Staff are meant to help with all their care plan needs, which can consist of helping with washing, hoovering, cleaning, and food shopping.
“Since Daniel moved in we have had to make so many complaints regarding lack of care, neglect, and incompetence from staff.”
Deborah added: “Physically he’s neglecting himself. He’s become very withdrawn and he’s refused to go out of his flat on a number of occasions.
“The system has let Daniel down. I feel that he should move back home because he will be properly cared for but that wouldn’t be good for him. At the end of the day he needs to be independent.”
Read in Full:Â http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news/8362206.Harpenden_mother___Social_services_have_let_my_son_down_/
Jan
22
 
The Parent Paper
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Increased understanding
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Suzanne Schwartz, the mother of an 11-year-old autistic son in Tenafly as well as a neurotypical 9-year-old boy, says that she always knew something wasn’t right with her son, although others refused to see it. “My brother was autistic, so I knew that something was wrong,” she says. “But everyone, except my father, tried to deny it.” She describes being incredibly isolated because she says, “you go to play groups and you try to make friends but you can’t have the same conversations and you start to withdraw from them. It doesn’t matter what else you have in common.”
Is there a plus side to dealing with these rude reactions? Schwartz says the hurtful comments have made her a more sensitive, helpful person. “You learn what do to help people and make them feel better about themselves.”
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Sometimes, having a special needs child influences a parent’s professional, as well as personal, life. Toby Glick, a special needs consultant and founder of Parentconfidante (www.parentconfidante.com), says that she has worked with parents who have entered new professional fields, such as becoming a special needs teacher or educational consultant, because of a child’s diagnosis. “I have clients who have become incredibly educated in whatever issues their child has,” says Glick. “In fact sometimes they have left high-powered careers to focus on something related to what is going on with their child.”
Parenting insights
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While parents sometimes initially react with guilt to a difficult diagnosis, Glick says it is something they move past when they realize that they have the same kinds of concerns that other parents have. “All parents are fearful for their children’s future and wonder if they are they going to be successful. It’s just that a special needs child’s version of success will be different,” she says. “We all do our best to give our kids the best schooling and upbringing and these parents are concerned about how their children are going to be able to manage.”
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Pat M., from Nyack N.Y., who asked that her surname be withheld to protect her 12-year-old son’s privacy, has been helping him manage for several years with severe anxiety, developmental delay, neurological issues and ADD. She says that her son’s issues have made her more understanding of others. “You have to play to the strengths you have, instead of the strengths you wish you had,” she says. “We all have weaknesses that need accommodating and we should not beat ourselves up or feel guilty for not being perfect or asking for help.”
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Family Changes
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Kathryn Lynard Sopher wrote, The Year My Son and I Were Born (GPP Life, 2010), which details life with her seventh child, who has Down Syndrome. She said that while it was initially difficult for the family to come to grips with a child with a disability that they weren’t expecting, the experience has also taught her children to be more sensitive and understanding. This is particularly important because several family members also deal with depression. “Before my children might hear someone call someone else a ‘retard’ and think nothing of it, now they would correct the person,” she says.
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Schwartz says that both of her children needed to learn to roll with the punches, which is particularly tough for a child with autism. “I had to actively teach my older son to be more flexible,” says Schwartz. “Once I accomplished that, I found my life became a little easier.”
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Patience is also a skill that family members learn when confronted with a special needs person in the household, says Pat M. “I’m sure that my relatives are more patient with all of the kids than they might have been if my son were different.”
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Although parents routinely refer to their struggles with their special needs child as the most difficult challenge they have ever faced, there are also many moments of joy, such as when the child masters a new skill or overcomes an obstacle. These parents also frequently share connections through organizations that support parents of special needs children, which can provide a potent new social network. It’s not uncommon to hear these parents say that they focus on what they have, rather than what sets them apart from the “average” family.
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“This experience has helped me look at the world and appreciate things and stop complaining about what I can’t do anything about,” says Schwartz. “Even with all of the drama, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so much better as a person.”
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Jan Wilson of Hoboken is a writer and mom.
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Discovering your child has special needs can come as a shock and trigger a period of deep reflection and even depression as you attempt to adjust your expectations to meet the new reality. Just like anything else in childrearing, the road ahead is often unclear and may seem solitary. Yet, many parents have found that raising a special needs child can also have unexpected benefits and force constructive changes in their lives.
Increased understanding
Â
Suzanne Schwartz, the mother of an 11-year-old autistic son in Tenafly as well as a neurotypical 9-year-old boy, says that she always knew something wasn’t right with her son, although others refused to see it. “My brother was autistic, so I knew that something was wrong,” she says. “But everyone, except my father, tried to deny it.” She describes being incredibly isolated because she says, “you go to play groups and you try to make friends but you can’t have the same conversations and you start to withdraw from them. It doesn’t matter what else you have in common.”
Â
Dealing with her son made Schwartz learn to be a lot more aggressive in a positive way, she says, advocating for her child “because other people can be very judgmental about autistic children’s behavior. It’s a little easier when the child is very young, but as they get older people are frightened. They think: it’s not the child who needs the help, it’s the parents who need help. They say, ‘you should watch your child better’ or ‘you should take a parenting course.’”
Â
Is there a plus side to dealing with these rude reactions? Schwartz says the hurtful comments have made her a more sensitive, helpful person. “You learn what do to help people and make them feel better about themselves.”
Â
Sometimes, having a special needs child influences a parent’s professional, as well as personal, life. Toby Glick, a special needs consultant and founder of Parentconfidante (www.parentconfidante.com), says that she has worked with parents who have entered new professional fields, such as becoming a special needs teacher or educational consultant, because of a child’s diagnosis. “I have clients who have become incredibly educated in whatever issues their child has,” says Glick. “In fact sometimes they have left high-powered careers to focus on something related to what is going on with their child.”
Parenting insights
While parents sometimes initially react with guilt to a difficult diagnosis, Glick says it is something they move past when they realize that they have the same kinds of concerns that other parents have. “All parents are fearful for their children’s future and wonder if they are they going to be successful. It’s just that a special needs child’s version of success will be different,” she says. “We all do our best to give our kids the best schooling and upbringing and these parents are concerned about how their children are going to be able to manage.”
Â
Pat M., from Nyack N.Y., who asked that her surname be withheld to protect her 12-year-old son’s privacy, has been helping him manage for several years with severe anxiety, developmental delay, neurological issues and ADD. She says that her son’s issues have made her more understanding of others. “You have to play to the strengths you have, instead of the strengths you wish you had,” she says. “We all have weaknesses that need accommodating and we should not beat ourselves up or feel guilty for not being perfect or asking for help.”
Family Changes
Â
Kathryn Lynard Sopher wrote, The Year My Son and I Were Born (GPP Life, 2010), which details life with her seventh child, who has Down Syndrome. She said that while it was initially difficult for the family to come to grips with a child with a disability that they weren’t expecting, the experience has also taught her children to be more sensitive and understanding. This is particularly important because several family members also deal with depression. “Before my children might hear someone call someone else a ‘retard’ and think nothing of it, now they would correct the person,” she says.
Â
Schwartz says that both of her children needed to learn to roll with the punches, which is particularly tough for a child with autism. “I had to actively teach my older son to be more flexible,” says Schwartz. “Once I accomplished that, I found my life became a little easier.”
Â
Patience is also a skill that family members learn when confronted with a special needs person in the household, says Pat M. “I’m sure that my relatives are more patient with all of the kids than they might have been if my son were different.”
Â
Although parents routinely refer to their struggles with their special needs child as the most difficult challenge they have ever faced, there are also many moments of joy, such as when the child masters a new skill or overcomes an obstacle. These parents also frequently share connections through organizations that support parents of special needs children, which can provide a potent new social network. It’s not uncommon to hear these parents say that they focus on what they have, rather than what sets them apart from the “average” family.
Â
“This experience has helped me look at the world and appreciate things and stop complaining about what I can’t do anything about,” says Schwartz. “Even with all of the drama, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so much better as a person.”
Â
Jan Wilson of Hoboken is a writer and mom.
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Source: Â
http://www.northjersey.com/community/101949803_Special_Education.html#
 
Article Date: 28 Aug 2010 – 0:00 PDT
Fear can make you run, it can make you fight, and it can glue you to the spot. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy and GlaxoSmithKline in Verona, Italy, have identified not only the part of the brain but the specific type of neurons that determine how mice react to a frightening stimulus. In a study published in Neuron, they combined pharmaceutical and genetic approaches with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in mice. Their findings show that deciding whether or not to freeze to fear is a more complex task for our brains than we realised.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199051.php