Lanuage Development in the News: Language Learning Begins in Utero, Study Finds; Newborn Memories of Oohs and Ahs Heard in the Womb  

[Source:  Science Daily]

Newborns are much more attuned to the sounds of their native language than first thought. In fact, these linguistic whizzes can up pick on distinctive sounds of their mother tongue while in utero, a new study has concluded.

Research led by Christine Moon, a professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, shows that infants, only hours old showed marked interest for the vowels of a language that was not their mother tongue.

"We have known for over 30 years that we begin learning prenatally about voices by listening to the sound of our mother talking," Moon said. "This is the first study that shows we learn about the particular speech sounds of our mother's language before we are born."

ADHD in the News:  Impact of ADHD Symptoms on Children with ASD

Down Syndrome Research in the News:  Research on Muscle Weakness in Down Syndrome

Autism Research in the News: Excessive Protein Synthesis Linked To Autistic-Like Behaviors

[Source: Medical News Today]

Autistic-like behaviors can be partially remedied by normalizing excessive levels of protein synthesis in the brain, a team of researchers has found in a study of laboratory mice. The findings, which appear in the latest issue of Nature, provide a pathway to the creation of pharmaceuticals aimed at treating autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that are associated with diminished social interaction skills, impaired communication ability, and repetitive behaviors.

"The creation of a drug to address ASD will be difficult, but these findings offer a potential route to get there," said Eric Klann, a professor at NYU's Center for Neural Science and the study's senior author. "We have not only confirmed a common link for several such disorders, but also have raised the exciting possibility that the behavioral afflictions of those individuals with ASD can be addressed."

Autism in the News:  New Information On Autism and Genetics

[Source: Science Daily.com]

Research out of the George Washington University (GW), published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals another piece of the puzzle in a genetic developmental disorder that causes behavioral diseases such as autism. Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and physiology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and director of the GW Institute for Neuroscience, along with post-doctoral fellow Daniel Meechan, Ph.D. and Thomas Maynard, Ph.D., associate research professor of pharmacology and physiology at GW SMHS, authored the study titled "Cxcr4 regulation of interneuron migration is disrupted in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome."

Pediatric Brain Research in the News:  University of Rochester Uses Sesame Street to Study Children's Brains   

[Source:  WHEC.com]

Call it your brain on Sesame Street. Researchers at the University of Rochester are using the popular show to learn more about how the brain develops.

University of Rochester researchers are calling their findings a major breakthrough . Researchers say this study could one day help them diagnose and treat learning disabilities and a host of other ailments.

The findings of this study were just released tonight. Over the past three years experts at the University of Rochester had 27 children and 20 adults watch Sesame Street while undergoing a functional MRI scan.

Pediatric TBI in the News:  Second Impact Syndrome: A Devastating Injury To The Young Brain  

Essay on Autism in Public Schools:  Article on the Atlantic.com: 'How My Autistic Son Got Lost in the Public School System'  

by Amy Mackin

The waiting room was loud and chaotic. Toddlers were stacking blocks, then squealing with excitement as they knocked them over and watched them fall. Baby toys were chiming and buzzing. A cartoon was blaring on the television mounted above us.

My son Henry (not his real name) was not playing with the other children. He was nestled in my lap, quietly leafing through a picture book. My winter coat partially enshrouded him from the bedlam encircling us.

When we were finally called in, our pediatrician examined Henry physically and declared him a healthy 15-month-old. Then she began to ask me a lot of questions about his behavior.

"What words does he say?" She asked.

Feel Good Story of the Week:  Boy with Dyslexia Writes Book to Understand his Disability   

Editor's Note:  From time to time, we receive an email that it "takes too many clicks" to read an article we are sharing on our blog/newsletter.   This article is one example of one of those times when we must add a little extra work to your enjoyment of this story, so I thought it would be timely to explain why this must occasionally be.   The Southland Times of New Zealand, published this local story that was picked up by Special Ed Post.   Since PediaStaff became aware of it "but for" Special Ed Post's great reach, it is only right that our blog link to the Special Ed Post article so that they might receive the rightful web traffic they are due before passing you on further to the local news piece. 

[Source:  the Southland Times, via Special Ed Post.com]

by Gwyneth Hyndman 

Albert Einstein. Walt Disney. Winston Churchill.   These are just a few famous people rumored to have had dyslexia - and now Invercargill pupil Xavier Thompson can add his name to that list, since the release of his first book How Dyslexics Think.   

Published by Craigs Design and Print in Invercargill last month, the partly autobiographical book has been a popular item at St Joseph's School, where Xavier is a student, and is now for sale at the Te Hikoi Museum in Riverton during the holidays.

SLP Resource of the Week:  Working Speech & Language into Bedtime Routine    

If you're like most parents of children with speech and language delays, you would probably love to work on your child's communication skills more but don't have the time.  Here are some fun ways to work speech and language skills into the bedtime routine you do every day.

Free Book:  Redefining Stuttering by John Harrison (2011 Edition)    

John Harrison is a recovered person who stutters who lived with the problem for roughly 30 years. He s also a 30-year member of the NSA and one of the first people to join the organization.

In the mid-80s, John came up with a new model, or paradigm, for stuttering that was inclusive enough to answer all his questions. He called this model the Stuttering Hexagon, and this book is a distillation of everything that John found out. This book is a fascinating presentation of a new way to look at stuttering. The book explores many different facets of stuttering. You'll find dozens of stories and articles including many ahah! moments written by and about people who developed significant insights into themselves and their speech.

App Review of the Week:  First-Then Visual Schedule 

The First Then Visual Schedule was the very first app I purchased for my son, who has autism. And it changed our lives. (Results may or may not be typical, but that hardly matters since kids with autism aren't typical.)

We had been having problems getting our boy to eat, take a bath, etc. And then I created a visual schedule on this app that illustrated the steps of his night time routine. That includes tubby time, dinner time, video game time, and bed time. He was a happy "go with the flow" kid in no time. First Then helped my son to understand that if he cooperated and did what we wanted he could play Need 4 Speed or Mad Skills Motocross as a reward for that good behavior.