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April 13, 2012
Issue 12, Volume 5
It's All About the Choices!
Greetings and Happy Friday!What a busy week PediaStaff and our friends have had! - First we learned that Loren Shlaes' article on Sitting Still got 24,000 hits in one week over at 'Minds in Bloom.' We have the second installment in her series for you here.
- Next we found out that our friend Barbara Smith, OTR/L was honored by NAPPA for her new book 'From Rattles to Writing, A Parent's Guide to Hand Skills.
- PediaStaff was honored to facilitate another article for Parents.com also this week. Please check out our news section to see the fantastic article on '10 Key Things to do for Your Child with Autism,' written by Kaufman Children's Center SLP, Kerry Peterson on behalf of PediaStaff.
- And last but not least, PediaStaff was thrilled to discover that our Pinterest boards are ranked 35th in the world according to the new Pinterest Analytics site, PinReach.com. We have YOU all to thank for that. Thanks so much for your support of our efforts over there.
Please welcome Lisa Geary MS CCC-SLP, of the blog LiveSpeakLove to our guest columnist rolls. Lisa went totally over the top and created a bunch of great activities and games for your Earth Day lessons in the speech room! Enjoy!
News Items: Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources- Resource for Autism Awareness Month: The World Needs All Kinds of Minds
- Tips and Tricks for Following the PediaStaff Blog
- Pinterest Pinboard of the Week: Earth Day Therapy Activities & Treats
- Therapy Resource of the Week: Speech Drive
- App of the Week:: FitQuest Lite
Upcoming Events - Meet PediaStaff at AOTA 2012!
Articles and Special Features
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 Feed My Inbox and have any feed you like delivered to your email inbox! Have a great weekend and Take Care! Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team
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| The AAC Patent Infringement Debate: The Other Side of the Story | |
Last week, we shared a story with you about a girl whose AAC iPad app, may be taken away due to a patent infringement debate between the developer of the app she uses (Speak for Yourself) and the Prentke Romich Company.
The article, that we linked to is largely oriented to the point of view of the girl and her family and the "human toll" on this debate. But what about the rights of intellectual property holders? PediaStaff thought it was important to also present the other side of the story, so we decided to dig a little deeper.
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| Friends of PediaStaff in the News: PediaStaff Columnist, Barbara Smith, OTR/L in the News |
Congratulations to PediaStaff Columnist Barbara Smith, OTR/L for a a great week for herself and her son! Occupational therapist, Barbara Smith's book From Rattles to Writing: A Parent's Guide to Hand Skills (published by Therapro, Inc.) has won a Silver NAPPA award. This award by The National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) is one of the oldest and most respected awards programs in the country. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, they have been continuously celebrated as the "go-to" source for parents and professionals seeking the best products for their children and families.
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| Autism Research in the News: Children With Autism Suffer More Severe Symptoms When Born Either Preterm Or Post-term | |
[Source: Medical News Today]
For children with autism, being born several weeks early or several weeks late tends to increase the severity of their symptoms, according to new research out of Michigan State University.
Additionally, autistic children who were born either preterm or post-term are more likely to self-injure themselves compared with autistic children born on time, revealed the study by Tammy Movsas of MSU's Department of Epidemiology.
Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog
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| Stuttering the News: Stuttering Featured in 'Teen Vogue' Magazine |
Thanks to our friends at American Institute for Stuttering blog for letting us know about this article!
[Source: Teen Vogue]
Stuttering is a communication disorder that makes it difficult for words and sounds to come out fluidly. The exact cause of stuttering is unknown, but about one percent of the population stutters, and it's most common in children. Even actress Emily Blunt stuttered as a pre-teen. Emily didn't find solace in speech therapy, but she discovered that speaking with an accent while doing a class play actually helped her stop stuttering. Emily told New York Magazine: "I had a really amazing teacher at that age, when I was twelve, and he was really kind and helpful and encouraged me to be in the class plays,
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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| SPD in the News: New Study Supports Subtypes of 'Sensory Modulation Disorder' | |
[Source: Comprehensive Psychiatry via The SPD Foundation]
James, K. Miller, L.J., Schaaf, R, Nielsen, D. M. & Schoen, S. A. (2011). Phenotypes within sensory modulation dysfunction. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 52, 715-724.
This study partially supports the new taxonomy proposed by Miller and colleagues (2007). Two of the three Sensory Processing Disorder subtypes were identified in a sample of 94 children. These children were clinically diagnosed by occupational therapists as having Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD).
Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog
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| Autism in the News: Time Magazine: Can Autism Really Be Diagnosed in Minutes? |
[Source: Time Magazine]
A Harvard researcher says he's achieved exceptional accuracy in identifying autism by using just seven online questions and an evaluation of a short home video of the child, instead of conventional, face-to-face exams that can take hours.
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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| Fragile X in the News: Reversal Of Fragile X Syndrome In Mouse Model |
[Source: Medical News Today]
A recent study finds that a new compound reverses many of the major symptoms associated with Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited intellectual disability and a leading cause of autism. The paper, published by Cell Press in the April 12 issue of the journal Neuron, describes the exciting observation that the FXS correction can occur in adult mice, after the symptoms of the condition have already been established.
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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| Resource for Autism Awareness Month: The World Needs All Kinds of Minds | |
Special Thanks to Abby at Notes from a Pediatric Occupational Therapist for sharing this video last week on her blog. We would like to pass it on to you!
I had the wonderful opportunity to hear Temple Grandin speak at an autism conference a few years ago. She provides great insight into the way individuals with autism think. Check out this Ted Talk to hear her describe how her mind works and why the world needs all kinds of minds.
Watch this Great Video oon our Blog |
| Tips and Tricks: For Following the PediaStaff Blog | |
In your work as a pediatric therapist, you know that kiddos have very different learning styles! At PediaStaff, we also recognize that our readers have different reading styles and preferences for staying in touch with us.
Here is a summary of ways you can follow the PediaStaff Blog (and our jobs!)
Read the Rest of this Article on our Blog
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| Pinterest Pinboard of the Week : Earth Day Therapy Activities & Treats | | There are so many great activities that lend themselves to adaptation for therapy activities for earth day. Bloggers, crafty moms and teachers are all getting into the act and sharing a plethora (I love that word) of terrific ideas on Pinterest and on the Internet in general. Come see the over 170 ideas we have collected (so far) for you on our Earth Day Themed Therapy Activities & Treats Pinboard.
Access This Pinboard of Earth Day Ideas Through our Blog
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| Therapist Resource of the Week : Speech Drive | Editor's Note: Special Thanks to 2 Gals Talk About Speech Therapy for this excellent blog post about Speechdrive.net, a great resource for those of you teaching middle and high schoolers.
by: Leah Musgrave and Dean Trout We all have our favorite population with which to work. My personal favorite group is preschool and elementary aged kids. I love their enthusiasm, the way they think and their honesty... brutal as it may be sometimes. For me middle school is the most difficult simply because I have a hard time dealing with the maturation process that is going on. Raging hormones, rolling eyes, and an "attitude" pushes all the wrong buttons for me! Learn More About Speech Drive From Leah and Dean on our Blog |
| App Review of the Week: Fit Quest Lite | |
Your Therapy Source told me about the Free app FitQuest Lite by JogHop, so I downloaded it and then tried to figure out when I would use it.
It actually worked great for 2 kiddos that I work with that are completely different in terms of presentation. One of the kiddos has Developmental Coordination Disorder and we work a lot on timing of movement that is self generated, that is cued, that is reactionary to something happening to the environment as well as the coordination of that movement. The other kiddo has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and we spend a lot of time working on bilateral hand use, standing balance, anticipatory balance control and reaction time.
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog |
| Upcoming Events: AOTA 2012 | |
AOTA 2012 is around the corner (April 26-29th in Indianapolis!) and PediaStaff can't wait to meet you there at our booth #325.
We are extremely excited to announce that PediaStaff will be debuting our very own App of simple but oh so useful Therapy Tools (including an IEP Calculator!) and will be giving it to all the visitors who stop by our booth!
In addition, we will also have a sweet giveaway for everyone from our friends at LessonPix. So be doubly sure to stop by!
Visit The AOTA Convention Page Through a Link on our Blog
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| Occupational Therapy Corner: Why Good Sitting = Good Learning |
Editor's Note: Last week we featured a link to a terrific article on why its so hard for children to sit still, which is the first in a series by PediaStaff columnist Loren Shlaes, OTR/L, being featured on the Rachel Lynette's prominent general education blog, Minds in Bloom.
Well, I guess the readers over there think Loren is onto something, because that article has already received over 20,000 hits to date! Here is the second installment of Loren's series - 'Why Good Sitting = Good Learning.'
by Loren Shlaes, OTR/L
Posture is Critical to Learning and Attention If you walked into your office and saw that the top of your desk was so high that it came up to your chin, and your chair was so tall that your legs were dangling, you would immediately go to human resources and demand that it be fixed. Sitting in such ill fitting furniture would prevent you from being able to work. You wouldn't be comfortable, you couldn't rest your Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog
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| SLP Corner: Lots of Great Earth Day Therapy Activities by Lisa Geary of LiveSpeakLove |
Editor's Note: We are so excited to have another new contributor to the PediaStaff blog. Lisa Geary, a school-based SLP in the Baltimore Public Schools, only recently started her blog, LiveSpeakLove, but she is sure making up for lost time. Lisa really enjoys seasonal thematic activities and has created a dizzying number of speech-language activities for every holiday under the sun!
Speaking of the sun, we asked Lisa if she would create some speech-language games for our readers with Earth Day in mind. As you can see below, she did NOT disappoint. Please welcome, Lisa Geary to PediaStaff, and enjoy your Earth Day! Check Out These Great Earth Day Activities on our Blog
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| Pediatric Therapy Corner: Due Process Witness - What I Learned While Taking the Stand |
by Pam Dahm, MS CCC-SLP
"We're going to call you as a witness in our due process hearing in March", says the attorney on the phone.
Those words were enough to make me tremble in my oh-so-fashionable boots! Those words have appeared before in my worst nightmares, but never in real life.
Those words came true for me last week.
I am no stranger to the words "due process". I spent more than half my career in the educational setting and have spent countless hours writing, reviewing, and revising IFSP's. I have participated Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog
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| Meet PediaStaff: Joleen Fernald, SLP Clinical Coordinator |
Joleen Fernald is a NH licensed, ASHA and Hanen certified speech language pathologist. She has 17 years of experience working with children birth through adolescence. In addition to being a PhD student, Joleen is trained in a number of programs and uses the DIR/Floortime Model with children and families who have disorders of regulating and communicating. In 2008, Joleen partnered with Easter Seals NH to found the Selective Mutism Clinic. This multi-disciplinary clinic is the only one of its kind in the United States. Joleen is a national speaker on Selective Mutism, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and a range of pediatric communication disorders. Read More About Joleen on our Blog
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| Worth Repeating - Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders |
Thanks to our friends at Left Brain Right Brain for blogging about this article
[Source: The Autism Science Foundation]
By Matt Carey
What factors are there that may influence a child being autistic? What might increase or lower the chances that any given child will be diagnosed with autism? These are obviously major questions within the autism stakeholder communities and the autism research community. There have been indications since the 1970s that the prenatal environment might play a key role in some part of autism. The work of Stella Chess pointed to congenital rubella syndrome
Read the Rest of this Article on our Blog
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Also Worth Repeating - What is Joint Attention and Why is it Important for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders?
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[Source: Center for Speech, Language and Occupational Therapy] Joint attention is the shared focus of two individuals on an object or each other . Joint attention on an object is achieved when one individual alerts another to an object by means of eye-gazing, pointing or other verbal or non-verbal indication. An individual gazes at another individual, points to an object and then returns their gaze to the individual (3 point gaze). Each individual must understand that the other individual is looking at the same object and realize
Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog |
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Please Note: The views and advice expressed in articles, videos and other pieces published in this newsletter are not necessarily the views and advice of PediaStaff or its employees but rather that of the author. PediaStaff is not endorsing or implying agreement with the views or advice contained therein, rather presenting them for the independent analysis and information of its readers.
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