ADHD in the News: ADHD Linked to Oxygen Deprivation Before Birth

[Source:  Science Daily]

Autism in the News:  Does the Brain Become Unglued in Autism?

Assistive Technology/AAC in the News: Device Helps Children With Disabilities Access Tablets

Pediatric Psychology in the News: Possible Clue to Children's Early Antisocial Behavior

[Source:  Science Daily]

Both nature and nurture appear to be significant factors in early antisocial behaviors of adopted children, a Wayne State University researcher believes.

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Christopher Trentacosta, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recently examined data from 361 linked triads (birth mother, adoptive parents, adopted child) in order to assess externalizing behavioral problems such as aggression and defiance when children were 18, 27 and 54 months of age.

Pediatric Psychology in the News:  Psychological Therapies Improve Life for Children With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Study Suggests

[Source: Science Daily]

Children suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of traumatic events, including child abuse, may benefit from psychological therapies, according to a review published in The Cochrane Library. In the first systematic review of PTSD in young people, researchers found that children and teenagers diagnosed with PTSD showed signs of improvement up to three months following treatment and called for more studies to assess long-term benefits.

Neurobiology the News:  Rhesus Monkeys Cannot Hear the Beat in Music  

Beat induction, the ability to pick up regularity - the beat - from a varying rhythm, is not an ability that rhesus monkeys possess. These are the findings of researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which have recently been published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

Fragile X in the News:  Fragile X Protein Linked to Nearly 100 Genes Involved in Autism  

[Source:  Science Daily]

Doctors have known for many years that patients with fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, are often also diagnosed with autism. But little has been known about how the two diagnoses are related.

Now a collaborative research effort at Duke University Medical Center and Rockefeller University has pinpointed the precise genetic footprint that links the two. The findings, published online in the journal Nature on Dec. 12, 2012, point the way toward new genetic testing that could more precisely diagnose and categorize the spectrum of autism-related disorders.

Brain Development in the News:  Key Gene for Brain Development    

[Source:  Science Daily]

About one in ten thousand babies is born with an abnormally small head. The cause for this disorder - which is known as microcephaly - is a defect in the development of the embryonic brain. Children with microcephaly are severely retarded and their life expectancy is low. Certain cases of autism and schizophrenia are also associated with the dysregulation of brain size.

Pinterest Pin of the Week:  10 Sensory Winter / Christmas Activities   

Here is a blog post of sensory holiday activities that was extremely popular on our Pinterest boards last week.   Please enjoy "Sensory Christmas Crafts & Activities:"

[Source: Wonderbaby.org]

I've always felt that the best way to celebrate any holiday or season is with crafts!

Easter and spring have egg and flower crafts, autumn has natural crafts with colorful leaves and pokey pine cones, but winter and Christmas is the best time for crafts that engage all the senses.

OT Activity of the Week:  Q-Tip Painting with Templates   

[Source:  Therapy Fun Zone]

I have posted about Q-tip painting before, but another therapist has a different twist on it.  She has made some templates to do the q-tip painting, which requires more precision in the painting.

This is a guest post by a therapist,  Tova Stulberger, who made some templates to use when Q-tip painting.

App Review of the Week:  What did Snakey eat? + Card game! 

Therapist Resource of the Week:  Cutting Through the Hype: Essential Social Media Tools for SLPs - A Guidebook  

Editor's Note:   Last week, we published our e-book "Essential Social Media Tools for SLPs, in blog hop format.     Here is the complete PDF of the book.   Please enjoy it with our compliments.  

The social media world is taking the SLP profession by storm.   As you are probably aware by now, Pinterest, Blogs, Twitter, and other social media platforms can be for far more than sharing baby pictures!   Used wisely, these technologies can be an indispensable part of your personal learning network and profoundly impact your effectiveness as a speech-language or audiology clinician.