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October 26, 2012
Monthly Edition Issue 10, Volume 5
It's All About the Choices! Hello and Happy Friday! Please enjoy our newsletter offering! Have a safe and happy Halloween whether its sensory friendly or full of ghouls, ghosts and goblins! See you next week!
News Items:
- Social Judgment Impaired In Children With Autism: They Can Identify Misbehavior But Have Trouble Putting It In Words
- Boys Starting Puberty Earlier, Like Girls
- New Way To Image Brain-Cell Activity Could Shed Light On Autism And Other Psychiatric Disorders
- American Academy Of Pediatrics Weighs In For First Time On Organic Foods For Children
- Are Schizophrenia And Autism Related?
- Feel Good Story of the Week: Jodi DiPiazza, 11-Year Old with Autism, Performs with Katy Perry on Night of Too Many Stars
- Oxytocin Improves Emotion Recognition in Autism
- iPad Band of Students with Autism Post Song on iTunes
- Comedy Central's 'Night of Too Many Stars' Raises $3,718,613 for Autism Programs
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
- Halloween Spatial Directions Activity
- A Parent's Guide to Children's Speech by CASPLA
- Video Resource of the Week: Flummox and Friends
Upcoming Events- Essential Social Media Tools for SLPs - Learning Lab Session, ASHA 2012
Articles and Special Features - OT Corner: Sensory Friendly Halloween
- SLP Corner: The Early Language of Perspective-Taking
- Pediatric Therapy Corner: Pediatric Massage for Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Autism
- Worth Repeating: Halloween Books That Are a Treat for Children
- Also Worth Repeating: Suspect Dyslexia? Here are Some Tips to Prove It
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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Autism in the News: Social Judgment Impaired In Children With Autism: They Can Identify Misbehavior But Have Trouble Putting It In Words
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[Source: Medical News Daily]
Children with autism have difficulty identifying inappropriate social behavior, and even when successful, they are often unable to justify why the behavior seemed inappropriate. New brain imaging studies show that children with autism may recognize socially inappropriate behavior, but have difficulty using spoken language to explain why the behavior is considered inappropriate, according to research published Oct. 17 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Elizabeth Carter from Carnegie Mellon University and colleagues.
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Adolescence in the News: Boys Starting Puberty Earlier, Like Girls
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[Source: Medical News Today]
Boys in the United States are reaching puberty some 6 months to 2 years earlier than a few decades ago, reflecting the trend in girls, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published online before print on Saturday. The study authors suggest more research should now be done to find out why this is happening.
Lots of published evidence shows girls are reaching puberty earlier, and this is now generally accepted, but until now, there hasn't been as much research on whether today's boys are also showing a similar tendency.
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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Neurobiology in the News: New Way To Image Brain-Cell Activity Could Shed Light On Autism And Other Psychiatric Disorders
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[Source: Medical News Today]
A team led by MIT neuroscientists has developed a way to monitor how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as initiating movement or detecting an odor.
The researchers' new imaging technique, based on the detection of calcium ions in neurons, could help them map the brain circuits that perform such functions. It could also provide new insights into the origins of autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other psychiatric diseases, says Guoping Feng,
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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Pediatric Nutrition in the News: American Academy Of Pediatrics Weighs In For First Time On Organic Foods For Children
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[Source: Medical News Today]
Parents know it's important for children to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains. But it's less clear whether spending the extra money on organic foods will bring a significant benefit to their children's health.
To offer guidance to parents - and the pediatricians caring for their children's health - the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has conducted an extensive analysis of scientific evidence surrounding organic produce, dairy products and meat. The conclusion is mixed: While organic foods have the same
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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Autism in the News: Are Schizophrenia And Autism Related?
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[Source: Medical News Today]
At first glance, it seems like schizophrenia and autism are completely different , but a new discovery shows us that they have similar roots, linked with other mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. Comparable traits are seen in both disorders, including a limited ability to lead a normal life and function in the real world, as well as social and cognitive dysfunction.
New research by Dr. Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center has revealed a genetic connection between these two autism and schizophrenia, causing an elevated risk within families.
Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
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Feel Good Story of the Week: Jodi DiPiazza, 11-Year Old with Autism, Performs with Katy Perry on Night of Too Many Stars
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[Source: ABC News and YouTube]
Jodi DiPiazza is 11 and has autism, but she wowed the audience at Comedy Central's "Night of Too Many Stars."
Jon Stewart's bi-annual event to raise money for autism always features a long list of the biggest names around, but the breakout star on Saturday night was little Jodi, who got to perform the hit song "Firework" alongside one of her favorite singers, Katy Perry.
"Hello everybody, I'm going to play 'Firework' by one of my favorite singers, Katy Perry," Jodi proudly said on stage.
Immediately after the performance, Jodi embraced Perry in a big hug as the audience was brought to their feet for a standing ovation.
Jodi was diagnosed with autism shortly before her second birthday.
"What they told us was there's no cure for it. It's a life-long disability and don't expect too much," Tom DiPiazza, her father, told Comedy Central.
Read the Rest of this Article and Watch the Video Through a Link on our Blog
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Autism Treatments in the News: Oxytocin Improves Emotion Recognition in Autism
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[Source: Psychology Today]
Earlier this year I posted on a study showing that oxytocin administration improves ability to detect the emotions people display through facial expressions. The authors of the study suggested that oxytocin may play a role in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) because individuals with ASDs tend to have lower levels of oxytocin on average and more difficulty recognizing emotions. Today at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) conference, Takahaski Yamada from Showa University in Japan looked more closely at the issue. He showed that for people with ASDs, oxytocin administration improves emotion recognition, but only for emotions that are difficult to identify.
Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog
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More Feel Good News: iPad Band of Students with Autism Post Song on iTunes
| [Fox News.com]
They've got the beat.
FoxNews.com broke the news in July of a school band from New York City made up of special needs students using iPads as instruments. After the shoot, we suggested putting their original song on iTunes for the world to hear ... and now they have.
You can jam out to P.S. 177 Technology Band's original single, 4-2-4 Jam by downloading it off of iTunes; the $0.99 download proceeds go to P.S. 177. Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog |
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Fundraising for Autism in the News: Comedy Central's 'Night of Too Many Stars' Raises $3,718,613 for Autism Programs
| [Source: The Examiner.com]
Comedy Central aired "Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together for Autism Programs" Sunday night, an autism benefit concert to raise money for autism education programs around the country. Hosted by Jon Stewart, the concert included numerous celebrity appearances, comedy sketches, live auctions and musical performances. In 2010, "Night of Too Many Stars" raised over $3.1 million in grants to 41 programs in 13 states.
Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog |
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Therapy Activity of the Week: Halloween Spatial Directions Activity
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[Source: Miss Lane's SLP Materials]
This free activity was featured on a terrific new blog, Miss Lane's SLP Materials. Let's see if we can make her blog buzz with traffic!
Access This Activity Through a Link our Blog |
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Therapist Resource of the Week: Parent's Guide to Children's Speech by CASPLA
| Thanks to all our friends on Twitter north of the USA border, about this excellent guide for parents by the Canadian Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASPLA) It features several nice articles and a birth to five communication checklist. Certainly worth sharing and saving!
Access this Resource Through a Link on our Blog |
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Video Resource of the Week: Flummox and Friends
| by Sean Sweeney, CCC-SLP
This post reprinted with express permission of the author as it appeared on the Speech Techie blog
If you follow my posts here, you know I have a strong interest in social learning, and I am always looking for ways to engage my students in developing social cognition. Video is definitely an engaging medium to help students discuss social interactions in context. The problem with finding fun, engaging video is, well, finding it and knowing the timing of clips, etc. The problem with many video modeling products on the market, although there is a good evidence base behind these products, is that they don't engage (especially high-functioning) students very much and....zzzzzzzz.
Read the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
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Upcoming Event: PediaStaff to Host Learning Lab at ASHA 2012
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The ASHA Convention is less than a month away!
This month's ASHA Leader is out, and many of your are furiously setting your schedules for what sessions you will attend.
I would like to invite you and a friend to come check out the Learning Lab session that PediaStaff is sponsoring - Cutting Through the Hype, Essential Social Media Tools for SLPs. The session will take place on Friday, November 16th, 2012 in the main Exhibit Hall from 3:30-4:15 in Learning Lab #1 (Booth #849)
Read the Rest of this Article on our Blog |
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OT Corner: Sensory Friendly Halloween
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Editor's Note: This article is directed at parents, but would a a great resource to share with the caregivers for your sensory sensitive kiddos!
by Jackie Linder Olson and Britt Collins M.S., OTR
My son has always loved Halloween, which was unexpected since he's normally fearful and has had issues with anxiety for as long as I can remember. Every year we carefully pick out a Halloween costume keeping all his sensory issues in mind. It can't be too hot, it can't itch, it can't cover his face...and the list goes on. We've been successful with him being 'Ron' from Harry Potter (2 years in a row), a magician, and most recently a lifeguard.
This Halloween, ditch the sweets and protect your kiddos sensory systems. Below please find these tips on how to make your holiday more sensory friendly from candy to costumes to trick-or-treating!
Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog
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SLP Corner: The Early Language of Perspective-Taking
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By: Kelli Ellenbaum, MS CCC-SLP
Have you ever been in therapy with a child diagnosed with autism, and you ask them "How are you?" and they repeat the question back to you? Maybe you've tried to teach the concept, but find that it is more difficult than you thought? Well, I've been there a time or two....or eight or nine! Echolalia can be tricky!
For those of you who have not experienced this "who's on first" therapy session, echolalia is defined as the automatic repetition of vocalizations made by another person. Although echolalia has its place in typical development, it often overstays its welcome with our kids on
Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog
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Pediatric Therapy Corner: Pediatric Massage for Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Autism
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by Tina Allen | Liddle Kidz Foundation
Nurturing touch is beneficial to almost anyone, but children in particular have an essential need for a regular routine of healthy touch. Receiving professional pediatric massage therapy can be a vital contribution to their growth and development. As much as pediatric massage therapy is considered to be a gentle, noninvasive intervention, care and caution should always be practiced in following all known contraindications, precautions and healthcare provider recommendations. Each child requires a unique approach and not all techniques and adaptations are safe for every pediatric client. Massage therapy is not
Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog
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Worth Repeating: Halloween Books That Are a Treat for Children
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[Source: Scripps News Service via the Seattle Times and Reading Rockets]
Thanks Reading Rockets for recommending this article to us!
by Karen MacPherson
Celebrate Halloween with some of these great new kids' books:
* Mouse has seven pumpkins to decorate and he's up to the challenge with a little help from his friend Dog in "It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!" (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, $6.99, ages 1-3). Author Laura Numeroff shares her popular character from the "If You Give a Mouse a ..." books with the youngest readers in this board book illustrated by Felicia Bond.
Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog
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Also Worth Repeating: Suspect Dyslexia? Here are Some Tips to Prove It
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Editor's Note: This article was written for parents, rather than educators. We reprint it here as a resource for the families and guardians of your kiddos.
[Source: Special Education Advisor]
You've suspected it since your child was three. You were quite sure of it when your child was five and now your child is in school and you are convinced and unwavering about it. The school is not quite as convinced and they are slow to react to your suspicions. Be prepared; the road to the diagnosis may not be easy or cheap, but in the long run it will be worth it. The steps to diagnosis below make the assumption that you have done your research about dyslexia and you understand the symptoms. If you are still at that stage, you can visit www.interdys.org for more information.
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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