Muscular Dystrophy in the News: Muscle Degeneration May Be Reduced In Muscular Dystrophy By New Vitamin-Based Treatment

[Source: Science Daily]

Boosting the activity of a vitamin-sensitive cell adhesion pathway has the potential to counteract the muscle degeneration and reduced mobility caused by muscular dystrophies, according to a research team led by scientists at the University of Maine.

The discovery, published in the open access journal PLOS Biology, is particularly important for congenital muscular dystrophies, which are progressive, debilitating and often lethal diseases that currently remain without cure. The researchers found that they could improve muscle structure and function in a zebrafish version of muscular dystrophy by supplying a common cellular chemical (or its precursor, vitamin B3) to activate a cell adhesion pathway.

Brain Mapping in the News:  Area of the Brain That Processes Empathy Identified

Pediatric TBI News: Football Safety Concerns Affect Youth Leagues, Causing NFL to Take Notice

Biofeedback in the News: Video Game Helps Kids Control Anger

Early Intervention in the News:  Early Start Denver Model Can Help Regulate Brain Activity In Kids

[Source: Medical News Today]

A new type of early intervention therapy called Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is effective for boosting language skills and cognitive thinking in autistic children as young as 18 months old. It can also help their social skills, decrease their symptoms of autism, and push their brain activity to work in a "normal" manner , according to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

This is the first study of its kind to reveal that early intervention of autism can help "normalize" happenings in the brain.  

Autism in the News:  At Six Months, Development of Children With Autism Like Those Without 

[Source: Science Daily]

Auditory Processing in the Mainstream News:  Excellent NYT Article: The Science and Art of Listening 

Thank You to Loren Shlaes, OTR/L of Pediatric OT for sharing this piece!

[Source: New York Times]

By Seth S. Horowitz

HERE'S a trick question. What do you hear right now?

If your home is like mine, you hear the humming sound of a printer, the low throbbing of traffic from the nearby highway and the clatter of plastic followed by the muffled impact of paws landing on linoleum - meaning that the cat has once again tried to open the catnip container atop the fridge and succeeded only in knocking it to the kitchen floor.

The slight trick in the question is that, by asking you what you were hearing, I prompted your brain to take control of the sensory experience - and made you listen rather than just hear. That, in effect, is what happens when an event jumps out of the background enough to be perceived consciously rather than just being part of your auditory surroundings. The difference between the sense of hearing and the skill of listening is attention.

Balance and Gross Motor Fitness in the News:  Research Finds Kids Who Drank More Milk Have Faster Walking Times And Better Balance As Older Adults 

Starting a milk drinking habit as a child can lead to lifelong benefits, even improving physical ability and balance in older age, according to new research. A new study published in Age & Aging found an increase of about one glass of milk a day as a child was linked to a 5% faster walking time and 25% lesser chance of poor balance in older age. The researchers suggest a "public health benefit of childhood milk intake on physical function in old age" - a finding that has huge potential for adults over 65, a population expected reach more than 70 million by the year 2030, doubling over just 30 years.

Prader-Willi in the News:  A New Way of Looking at Prader-Willi Syndrome  

[Source:  Science Daily]

An Australian study reveals that people with the rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome may have an impaired autonomic nervous system. This discovery opens up a new way of looking at the insatiable appetite experienced by all sufferers, as well as their very high risk of cardiovascular disease.

The autonomic nervous system controls our inner organs, including our gut, heart, liver and blood vessels. It is a finely tuned, dynamic system, responding moment-by-moment to the body's needs.

Language Development in the News:  Road to Language Learning Is Iconic   

[Source:  Science Daily]

Languages are highly complex systems and yet most children seem to acquire language easily, even in the absence of formal instruction. New research on young children's use of British Sign Language (BSL) sheds light on one mechanism - iconicity - that may play an important role in children's ability to learn language.

Physical Activity in the News:  Children Who Swim Start Smarter, Study Suggests    

[Source:  Science Daily]

Children who learn how to swim at a young age are reaching many developmental milestones earlier than the norm.

Researchers from the Griffith Institute for Educational Research surveyed parents of 7000 under-fives from Australia, New Zealand and the US over three years.

A further 180 children aged 3, 4 and 5 years have been involved in intensive testing, making it the world's most comprehensive study into early-years swimming.

Lead researcher Professor Robyn Jorgensen says the study shows young children who participate in early-years swimming achieve a wide range of skills earlier than the normal population.

"Many of these skills are those that help young children into the transition into formal learning contexts such as pre-school or school.

Pinterest Pin of the Week:  "Top Five Ways to Encourage Spontaneous Language" 

Therapy Resource of the Week:  Speech Reward Stickers  

[Source:  Ms. Lane's SLP Materials]

I always forget to tell my clients' parents how great they did at one thing or another.  So I made these little 'speech reward stickers' to remind THEM to tell their parents what they are working on, and what they have done a good job with!

App Review of the Week:  Ready to Print  

[Source:  Notes from a Pediatric Occupational Therapist]

Ready to Print is a pre-writing app that was developed by an occupational therapist with more than 20 years of experience working with children. This app progresses through pre-writing skills in a specific order so that children can master the skills necessary for writing.

Here's a quick breakdown of each skill addressed in this app:
Touch: This activity focuses on basic index finger isolation and visual scanning skills. It contains 16 different levels, with different pictures and varying number of pictures. The size of the items may be changed to match the child's skill level. As seen below, when the child touches the picture, it turns into something else!

Pinterest Pinboard of the Week:  It's The Friday After Thanksgiving and That Means...