May 15, 2015
Issue 19, Volume 8
It's All About the Choices!     
          
Greetings and Happy Friday!

Please Enjoy our Weekly Newsletter!
 
News Items:
  • Baby Talk:  Babies Prefer Listening to Their Own Kind 
  • Cause of Regression in Individuals with Down Syndrome is Identified
  • Dyslexia, Dysgraphia Require Different Types of Treatment
  • Brain & Behavioral Differences Found Boys & Girls with Autism
  • Feds Put Brakes On Special Education Cutbacks
  • Pre-Babbling Babies Prefer Baby Sounds to Adult Sounds
Hot Jobs 
  • PediaStaff Placement of the Week: OT in Greater Austin
  • Hot Job: SLP with Childhood Apraxia of Speech Expertise
  • Hot Job: School Based PT - Ruidoso, NM
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • Activity of the Week: Paper Doll Sticky Wall
  • Sensory Corner: Outdoor Montessori Activities for Sensorial
  • Fine Motor Activity of the Week: Water Play with Eye Droppers
  • SLP Activities of the Week:  For In The Tall, Tall Grass

Articles and Special Features 

  • EI Corner: Boosting Education For Babies And Their Parents
  • Peds Tx Corner: Behavior Management in School for a Student with a Brain Injury
  • OT / PT Corner: Why I Let My Kid Climb Up The Slide
  • SLP Corner: But Why Are Irregulars "Irregular?"
Feel free to contact us with any questions about our openings or items in these pages. Have you discovered our RSS feed? Click on the orange button below to subscribe to all our openings and have them delivered to your Feed Reader!  Don't have an RSS Feed Reader set up? Sign up at Blogtrottr and have our blog posts delivered right to your email.

Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team





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Babies Prefer Listening to Their Own Kind

[Source: Science Daily]
 

Everyone likes to look at young babies. But who wants to listen? Well...it turns out that other babies do. In fact, a McGill University/UQAM research team has discovered that 6-month-old infants appear to be much more interested in listening to other babies than they are in listening to adults. It is an important finding because the researchers believe that an attraction to infant speech sounds may help to kick start and support the crucial processes involved in learning how to talk. The discovery could also potentially offer new avenues to help infants with problems such as hearing impairment that hinder the development of their language skills.

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Cause of Regression in Individuals with Down Syndrome is ID'ed

[Source: Science Daily]
 

Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal disorder in America, can be complicated by significant deterioration in movement, speech and functioning in some adolescents and young adults. Physicians previously attributed this regression to depression or early-onset Alzheimer's, and it has not responded to treatments. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has found that Catatonia, a treatable disorder, may cause regression in patients with Down syndrome. Individuals with regressive Down syndrome who were treated for Catatonia showed improvement, the researcher found.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Dyslexia, Dysgraphia Require Different Types of Treatment

[Source:  Seattle Times via Reading Rockets]

 

By John Higgins
Seattle Times education reporter

 
About 36 percent of the students receiving special education services in the United States have normal intelligence, but struggle with reading, writing, speaking and doing math.

 

Dyslexia is one of the most common of those disabilities and involves problems with reading and spelling words.
 

Dysgraphia is a lesser known disorder that impairs handwriting, and also is characterized by poor spelling, but may not affect reading ability.

 

 Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog

Brain & Behavioral Differences Found Boys & Girls with Autism

[Source:  Psych Central]

 

New research has found differences in the biology of the brains, as well as their behavior, of preschool boys and girls diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

 

Researchers at the University of California-Davis believe their findings may help explain how autism affects a little-studied and poorly understood population of children: Girls.

 

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog

Feds Put Brakes On Special Education Cutbacks 

[Source: Disability Scoop]

 

With a new rule, federal education officials are telling schools not to skimp on funding for special education.

 

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, schools are required to spend at least as much on special education as they did the prior year. Those that fail to maintain or increase their funding for special education from one year to the next without receiving an exemption from the U.S. Department of Education can miss out on federal funding.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Pre-Babbling Babies Prefer Baby Sounds to Adult Sounds

[Source  Medical News Today]

 

A new study that offers insights into early language development suggests babies prefer listening to other babies rather than adults as they get ready to produce their own speech sounds.

Listening to other babies' voices may help pre-babbling infants find their own voice.

 

The study, led by McGill University in Canada and published in the journal Developmental Science, observed the reactions of infants aged from 4-6 months who were not yet attempting speech, as they listened to baby-like and adult-like sounds produced by a voice synthesizer.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

PediaStaff Placement of the Week: OT in Greater Austin  

Congratulations to Anna K, of Ohio!  She is moving to a bedroom community of greater Austin area to work for one of PediaStaff's outpatient clinic clients.

 

She will be working for therapist owned and operated clinic in a fabulous 10,000 square foot center.

 

They serve kids ages birth-18 (primarily school age) with a variety of diagnoses.   Owner believes that solid parent-child-therapist relationships are the key to great results.

 

This will be a fantastic opportunity for you Anna! Congratulations!!

Hot Job: SLP with Childhood Apraxia of Speech Expertise 

A full time Speech-Language Pathologist with their C's and a minimum of three years' experience in pediatrics is needed in a growing, full service pediatric outpatient clinic in the vicinity of Frankfort/New Lenox.  We seek a candidate with a positive, teamwork attitude, a passion for working with children, Autism spectrum disorder experience, experience with Childhood Apraxia of Speech & motor speech disorders, outstanding written and verbal communication skills and  the ability to work independently or as part of a team.

Experience with DIR Floortime experience is an added plus! Clinic hours are 9-6:30 M-TH, but there is flexibility to work on Fridays, come in later if needed, etc.  After school hours are paramount to seeing a full caseload, however. Benefits include paid time off, generous continuing education allowance, and more!    Qualifications: Must hold a Master's Degree in Speech Language Pathology or Communication Disorders; a current state license (or eligible) if applicable.

 

Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog

Hot Job: School Based PT - Ruidoso, NM 

PediaStaff is Hiring immediately in Southern New Mexico.  This is a captivating mountain city with ski slopes and lots of recreational opportunities.  The air runs about twenty degrees cooler than the neighboring desert cities.  We are looking for a School Experienced Physical Therapist for the School Year 2015/16.  The assignment is already in progress and will run until the end of May 2016.  If you are keen on working with the birth to three population, there is a potential to add some of these precious ones to your caseload.  You will drive among your schools and the time to drive is part of your paid day and we offer a stipend for mileage.

 

Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog

Activity of the Week: Paper Doll Sticky Wall  

[Source:  No Time for Flash Cards]
 

Paper dolls are a ton of fun but if you think back to when you were a kid you might remember that they were also tricky to keep clothed. Their outfits are kept on by folding the paper and inserting a teeny tiny tab into the doll. I remember having a lot of naked paper dolls. My mom picked up this super cute paper doll set for my daughter when she went on an Alaskan cruise but after playing with it once the frustration was more memorable than the fun. Then I devised a way to play frustration free!

 

Read the Rest of this Post Through a Link on our Blog

Sensory Corner: Outdoor Montessori Activities for Sensorial  

[Source: Carrots Are Orange]

Maria Montessori believed that educating the senses preceded intellectual development. A child's education of the senses begins at birth. He takes impressions of his world through his senses. Around 2.5 years old he enters a sensitive period for organizing these impressions. Much like the alphabet organizes language, the sensorial work organizes these impressions. This post includes Outdoor Montessori Activities for the Sensorial area of the classroom.

 

Read the Rest of this Article on our Blog

Fine Motor Activity of the Week: Water Play with Eye Droppers  

Water Play with Eye Droppers is a colourful and fun activity that encourages development of the pincer grasp. The pincer grasp enables a child to pick up small items using the thumb and index finger and is important for tasks such as holding writing implements and manipulating items such as zippers, buttons and shoes laces.


 

Water Play with Eye Droppers involves collecting water in the eye dropper from a bowl and transferring the water into plastic bottle top lids. This activity provides an opportunity to explore creatively and promotes the development of coordination and concentration.

 

Learn More About this Activity Through a Link on our Blog

SLP Activities of the Week: For In The Tall, Tall Grass

[Source:  Speech Room News]
 

"In the Tall, Tall Grass" by Denise Fleming is one of my favorite spring books for speech therapy in preschool. You might think that with a caseload of all preschool, lesson planning is pretty easy! 

 

One level - one activity? I wish it was that easy! I'm planning for kiddos who are just turning 3 and non-verbal all the way up to kindergarteners who are in their last month of preschool. Here is a peak of what is in my rolling  cart this week.

 

Check out this Great Post Through a Link on our Blog

EI Corner: Boosting Education For Babies And Their Parents

[Source:  National Public Radio]
 
 

The Harlem Children's Zone is a nonprofit known for its innovative, multifaceted approach to ending the cycle to poverty. It's garnered kudos from President Obama and philanthropists like William Louis-Dreyfus, who recently announced he would donate up to $50 million to the organization.

 

One of the Harlem Children's Zone programs is The Baby College, geared to expectant parents and those with kids up to the age of three. It celebrates its 15th anniversary this spring.


Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog


Peds Tx Corner: Behavior Mgmt For Students with Brain Injury

[Source:  Lash & Associates Blog]
 

by Katherine A. Kimes, Ed.D., CBIS
 

Behavior is ultimately social in nature. Behavior is a form of communication. Behavior problems after a traumatic brain injury or TBI can be difficult to understand.
 

Behavioral issues are prevalent after TBI.   There are various reasons for this.  The first is due to the damage caused by the injury to the brain. Another reason relates to how a student reacts to environmental situations in the classroom.  Behavior patterns typically intensify after an injury.


Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog


OT / PT Corner:  Why I Let My Kid Climb Up The Slide

[Source: Pink Oatmeal]

 
The golden rule of the park is climb up the stairs and slide down the slide.  I guess we are rule breakers around here, within reason.  I let my kid climb up the slide, I even encourage it.  Of course, we don't climb up the slide when others are going down the slide.  We climb the slide when it's appropriate time and place, and not impacting others trying to use the slide.  I even encourage climbing up the slide in my practice as a physical therapist. 

 

Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

SLP Corner: But Why Are Irregulars "Irregular?"

The English language is a glorious bastard child. Like the English themselves, its words and grammar are the result of the promiscuous and incestuous interbreeding that has been going on since the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes decided that they'd like an island vacation rather than sprawl out topless on the beaches of 5th century Europe - just as their current descendants do. Add to the mix the vocabulary of the Picts and Scots, along with a smattering of the ancient Welsh and Irish, and you've got yourself a language that turns out to be more wanton and debauched than a Roman orgy hosted by Caligula in a particularly creative mood.

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