Monthly Archives: August 2016

Learning Heroes Releases “Super 5 Back-to-School Power Moves” for Parents

A Learning Hero is someone who truly is engaged in education, either in their child’s education, another young person’s education, or his/her own education.  Learning Heroes has announced the release of the “Super 5 Back-to-School Power Moves,” five simple tips for parents to support their children’s academic success and social-emotional-cognitive well-being. The Super 5 is part of a Learning Heroes’ continuing national public service initiative to partner with Scholastic Inc., National PTA, National Council of La Raza, National Urban League, UNCF, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and others. Parents can find the Super 5 and other tools and resources at www.BeALearningHero.org. Read more ›

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in News
boy alone

How the Immune System Controls Social Behavior

Researchers have found a new mechanism that could explain the link between social dysfunction and immune dysfunction.

A group of scientists recently discovered a two-way connection between the brain and the immune system, one that could have far-reaching implications.

For the longest time, scientists thought that the brain was totally separate from the body’s immune system—recent work has shown that’s not so. In the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, there are lymphatic vessels that can drain fluid and immune cells from the cerebrospinal fluid into the deep cervical lymph nodes, which are located in the neck. Researchers identified these vessels first in mice, then found a “potentially similar structure” in humans. Read more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in News
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Concept

ADHD Medication Reduces Risky Behavior in Children, Teens, Research Finds

New research provides some of the first evidence that medications taken by millions of American children to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) offer long-term benefits.

Based on an analysis of Medicaid claims for nearly 150,000 children diagnosed with ADHD in South Carolina between 2003 and 2013, researchers including Princeton University postdoctoral associate Anna Chorniy found treatment with ADHD medication made children less likely to suffer consequences of risky behaviors such as sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse during their teen years and injuries.

Read more ›

Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in News
telehealth

For Some Rural Teens, Psychiatric Help Is Now Just a TV Screen Away

Many U.S. states are facing a severe shortage of psychiatrists, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). Psychiatrists and mental health advocates say America today needs more than 30,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists, and has only 8,300—and the need appears to keep rising.

Advocates have long scrambled for solutions to the problem: increase funding for clinics; expand loan-forgiveness programs so medical students might be encouraged to go into child psychiatry; increase the number of psychiatric beds in hospitals; and expand telehealth. Read more ›

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in News
siblings

Autism Risk in Younger Children Increases If They Have Older Sibling with Disorder

A Kaiser Permanente study found that the risk of younger siblings developing an autism spectrum disorder is 14 times higher if an older sibling has ASD. The study, which was published in Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, also found the risk level was consistent across gestational age at birth.

The study included Kaiser Permanente members in Southern California and focused on at least two siblings born to the same mother between 28 and 42 weeks of gestation from 2001 through 2010. Researchers examined the medical records of the 53,336 children born during this time, of which 592 were diagnosed with ASD. They found that: Read more ›

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in News
Head-Start

Head Start Benefits Children with Disabilities

Young children with multiple disabilities who are enrolled in Head Start have better literacy, reading and math scores than children who aren’t in the federally funded program, indicates a new study by Michigan State University researchers. Read more ›

Tagged with: , , , , ,
Posted in News
sad boy piano

Hearing Test May Identify Autism Risk

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience have identified an inner ear deficiency in children with Autism that may impact their ability to recognize speech. The findings, which were published in the journal Autism Research, could ultimately be used as a way to identify children at risk for the disorder at an early age. Read more ›

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in News
symbol-of-infinity-of-autism-

Technology May Help Doctors Learn To Address Autism

Many pediatricians remain ill-equipped to identify and support kids with the developmental disorder, but a new approach may help. New research suggests that a series of two-hour videoconferencing sessions may be enough to significantly boost the capability of working pediatricians to better treat those on the spectrum.

Through a program called ECHO Autism, researchers at the University of Missouri evaluated whether practicing pediatricians could be trained to screen for and treat autism in a series of remote training sessions. Read more ›

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in News
department of education

ADHD Is Now Classified as a Specific Disability Under Federal Civil Rights Law

The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines aimed at preventing schools from discriminating against the growing numbers of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The department said schools must obey existing civil rights law to identify students with the disorder and provide them with accommodations to help them learn. Read more ›

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in News
PDF2018-2019 Community Education Classes