Autism Treatments in the News:  Oxytocin May Make the Brain Take Notice of Faces in Autism

Technology in the News: Researchers Create Device to Aid Parents of Children with Autism With Toilet Training

[Source: The Autism News]

Psycho-Social Development in the News:  The Will to Win Forms at the Age of Four   

[Source:  Medical News Today]

A team of researchers from the University of Warwick and University of Salzburg found most children under 4 did not have a developed understanding of other people's perspectives - specifically, of the fact that what someone intentionally does depends on their take on the situation.

Johannes Roessler, from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, and his co-authors Beate Priewasser and Josef Perner from the Department of Psychology at the University of Salzburg, tested 71 children aged between 3 and 5 years old.  

Feel Good Story of the Week:  With Facebook Support, Teen With Down Syndrome Lands Photo Shoot  

An aspiring model, Karrie Brown started a Facebook page earlier this month in the hopes of gaining the attention of the clothing retailer Wet Seal.

Stuttering in the News:  'Wait and see' for Preschoolers Who Stutter Not Best Approach 

The majority of preschool children who stutter will grow out of it, but a wait-and-see approach can harm those who ultimately don't recover and set them back academically and socially, say Purdue University speech experts.

Cochlear Implants in the News:  Next-Generation Cochlear Implants on the Horizon   

A healthy ear is much better at detecting and transmitting sound than even the most advanced hearing aid. But now researchers reporting in the Biophysical Journal, a Cell Press publication, have uncovered new insights into how the ear - in particular, the cochlea - processes and amplifies sound. The findings could be used for the development of better devices to improve hearing.

Inspiration to Start Your School Year:  Do You Believe in Me?    

This video has been going around the internet for a few years now, but it is a great message for any teacher - especially a teacher who works with disadvantaged or special needs children - to start his or her new school year.  If you haven't seen it, you are in for a treat.

Watch this 9 year old student, Dalton Sherman, grab the attention of 20,000 adults and hold them in the palm of his hand in 2008.   Contrary to popular myth, the speech was not written by Dalton, but his delivery continues to inspire teachers none-the-less.

Pediatric Psycho-Social Development in the News:  Preschoolers Given Choice Increase Their Sharing Behavior     

[Source: Medical News Today]

Getting kids to share their toys is a never-ending battle, and compelling them to do so never seems to help. New research suggests that allowing children to make a choice to sacrifice their own toys in order to share with someone else makes them share more in the future. The new findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

PediaStaff Therapy Placement of the Week:  Congratulations to Jeannine D!   

Congratulations to Jeannine D., on her new position as a school-based SLP for the 2013/2014 school year with a PediaStaff client in Ohio.   She will be working in a part-time for a charter school serving children from K-8th grade.

Have a great school year, Jeannine!!

Featured Job of the Week:  Contract School SLP - Columbia River, OR   

PediaStaff has an outstanding full-time contract available for an SLP to work with K-2 and 6-8.

• Located on the beautiful Columbia River near the Oregon coast
• Local job at 2 schools, no long drives
• Caseload is about 60-65 and includes 2.5 days/wk licensed SLPA support
• You'll be part of a great team that embraces contract staff

Pinterest Pin of the Week:  Bubblewrap Paintbrushes   

Speech-Language Game Review:  Word A Round   

App Review of the Week:  Conversation TherAppy App for Expressive Language Skills   

Therapy Idea of the Week: Articulation Twister  

[Source:  Speech Language Pirates]

Today, I laid out the Twister mat on the floor and grabbed a random Super Duper artic deck (/ch/).  We put one card on each circle on the Twister board.

Then, I spun the spinner and gave them a 2 step direction with a lot of qualifiers to pick up a card.  For example, "Use your right hand to pick up a card from a blue circle."  FYI - I didn't have them pick up cards with their feet.  If it landed on left/right foot, I just said hand.