April 12, 2013
Weekly Edition 
Issue 11, Volume 6
It's All About the Choices!     
          
Greetings!  Hope you are well and Spring has Sprung where you are!

Please enjoy this week's newsletter!
 
News Items:
  • Rare Primate's Vocal Lip-Smacks Share Features of Human Speech
  • Children with Autism Leave 'Silly' Out 
  • Reducing Pain And Anxiety Among Pediatric Patients Using Robot Therapy
  • Boy with Cerebral Palsy is Life-Changing Inspiration to his Mom   
  • Fetal Exposure to Excessive Stress Hormones in the Womb Linked to Adult Mood Disorders   
  • On the Lighter Side: More U.S. Children Being Diagnosed With "Youthful Tendency Disorder"  - SATIRE! 
  • Young Children Have Grammar and Chimpanzees Don't
  • New Therapy for Fragile X Chromosome Syndrome Discovered

PediaStaff in the News 

  • PediaStaff, Inc to Attend 2013 AOTA Conference with Blue Orange Games  
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • Game Review: Pixy Cubes for a Variety of OT Objectives
  • Book Review: Nurturing Narratives
  • App Review of the Week: Dexteria Jr.  
  • OT Activity of the Week: Simple Origami Tulips Springtime Fine Motor/Following Directions Craftivity   

Articles and Special Features 

  • PT Corner: Hide and Seek  
  • SLP Corner: 7 Wonderful Things Happening Right Now in a Speech Therapy Room
  • Worth Repeating: Toddler Talking Points 
  • Also Worth Repeating: Infant Reflexes: What They Are and When They Are Normal
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Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team





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Comparative Language in the News:  Rare Primate's Vocal Lip-Smacks Share Features of Human Speech

[Source:  Science Daily]

 

The vocal lip-smacks that geladas use in friendly encounters have surprising similarities to human speech, according to a study reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 8th. The geladas, which live only in the remote mountains of Ethiopia, are the only nonhuman primate known to communicate with such a speech-like, undulating rhythm. Calls of other monkeys and apes are typically one or two syllables and lack those rapid fluctuations in pitch and volume.

 

This new evidence lends support to the idea that lip-smacking, a behavior that many primates show during amiable interactions, could have been an evolutionary step toward human speech.

 

 Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog

Autism Research in the News: Children With Autism Leave 'Silly' Out

[Source: Science Daily.com]

 

When a child with autism copies the actions of an adult, he or she is likely to omit anything "silly" about what they've just seen. In contrast, typically developing children will go out of their way to repeat each and every element of the behavior even as they may realize that parts of it don't make any sense.

 

The findings, reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 8, are the first to show that the social nature of imitation is very important and challenging for children with autism, the researchers say. They also emphasize just how important it is for most children to be like other people.


 Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog

Technology in the News:  Reducing Pain And Anxiety Among Pediatric Patients Using Robot Therapy   

[Source: Medical News Today]

 

Pet therapy can help patients cope with the pain, stress, and emotional effects of a serious illness, but access to a companion animal is not always possible. Robotic animals may offer the same benefits, as explored in a fascinating study presented in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free online on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.*

 

  Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Feel Good Story of the Week:  Boy with Cerebral Palsy is Life-Changing Inspiration to his Mom 

[Source:  Your Gazette-Virginian via Special Ed Post]

 

by Tiffany Hudson

 

With a contagious laugh and a personality that can light up any room, 4-year-old Oliver Webber continuously adjusts to his ever-changing life.  

 

And in more ways than one, he is his mother's hero.

 

According to his mother, Chelsea, she had a difficult birth, and Oliver didn't receive the oxygen he needed. He was soon diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Chelsea said her son also has a g-tube in place and suffers from epilepsy.

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Prenatal Care Issues in the News: Fetal Exposure to Excessive Stress Hormones in the Womb Linked to Adult Mood Disorders 

[Source: Science Daily.com]

 

Exposure of the developing fetus to excessive levels of stress hormones in the womb can cause mood disorders in later life and now, for the first time, researchers have found a mechanism that may underpin this process, according to research presented April 7 at the British Neuroscience Association Festival of Neuroscience (BNA2013) in London.

 

The concept of fetal programming of adult disease, whereby the environment experienced in the womb can have profound long-lasting consequences on health and risk of disease in later life, is well known; however, the process that drives this is unclear. Professor Megan Holmes,

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

On the Lighter Side: More U.S. Children Being Diagnosed With Youthful Tendency Disorder   

Editor's Note:  The Onion is a Satire News Organization. Thanks again to Loren Shlaes of the Pediatric OT blog for forwarding it to us!

 

[Source:  The Onion.com]  

 

REDLANDS, CA- Nicholas and Beverly Serna's daughter Caitlin was only four years old, but they already knew there was a problem.

 

Day after day, upon arriving home from preschool, Caitlin would retreat into a bizarre fantasy world. Sometimes, she would pretend to be people and things she was not. Other times, without warning, she would burst into nonsensical song. Some days she would run directionless through the backyard of the Sernas' comfortable Redlands home, laughing and shrieking as she chased imaginary objects.

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

More Comparative Language Development in the News:  Young Children Have Grammar and Chimpanzees Don't    

[Source: Science Daily]

 

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania has shown that children as young as 2 understand basic grammar rules when they first learn to speak and are not simply imitating adults.

The study also applied the same statistical analysis on data from one of the most famous animal language-acquisition experiments - Project Nim - and showed that Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was taught sign language over the course of many years, never grasped rules like those in a 2-year-old's grammar.

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Fragile X in the News:  New Therapy for Fragile X Chromosome Syndrome Discovered     

[Source: Science Daily]

 

Researchers at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Achucarro neurosciences centre have discovered a new therapy for the fragile X chromosome syndrome. This new therapy proposes the modulation of the cerebral endocannabinoid system in order to ameliorate the symptoms of the disease. "Clearly, a cure as such is not going to be achieved, as it involves a disease of genetic origin, but the fact that, by manipulating in a certain way at a cerebral level in order to obtain an improvement in the symptoms of the disease is something highly positive," stated Ms Susana Mato, researcher at the Department of Neurosciences at the UPV/EHU and at the Achucarro centre.

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

PediaStaff in the News:  PediaStaff, Inc to Attend 2013 AOTA Conference with Blue Orange Games      

[Source:  PR Web]

 

Nationwide staffing company focusing on the placement and staffing of pediatric therapists partners with board game company, Blue Orange Games to provide occupational therapy activities for their staff network. PediaStaff will host Blue Orange Games at booth #1022 at the 2013 AOTA Conference.

PediaStaff, Inc. and Blue Orange Games are pleased to announce their attendance at the upcoming AOTA (American Occupational Therapy Association) Annual Conference on April 24th through 28th in San Diego, California. The nationwide staffing company and leader in the placement of pediatric therapists will host educational board game company, Blue Orange Games at the PediaStaff, Inc. booth (#1022) in the main exhibition hall.

 

  Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Game Review:  Pixy Cubes for a Variety of OT Objectives   

Editor's Note:  This article continues PediaStaff's review series on several Blue Orange Games for therapy.

 

by Anne Zachry, PhD., OTR/L  

 

Pixy Cubes is a great game for children ages 6 and up that addresses a variety of skills. It includes 16 colorful geometrically patterned cubes that can be arranged into different mosaic designs and design cards with patterns to copy. I found that the game is appropriate to use with an individual client, as well as a small group. It's great because there are simple cards to copy with fewer color designs, while others are more complex with more colors and detailed patterns. The basic design cards include the outlines of the cubes, but the more challenging cards do not. It's also excellent that the game is  

 

Learn About Pixy Cubes on our Blog

Book Review: Nurturing Narratives 

[Source:  Special-ism.com]

 

Authors Christine Durbin, M.A., CCC-SLP, and Lauren Franke, Psy.D., CCC-SP, through years of work with students with complicated language problems (CLP), have found the right blend of elements needed for a successful intervention and have included them in their new book Coaching Comprehension Creating Conversation: Nurturing Narratives Story-based language intervention for children with language impairments.

 

Read the Rest of this Book Review Through a Link on our Blog

App Review of the Week:  Dexteria Jr.  

[Source: Mama OT]

by Christie Kiley

Hot off the press! The same company who created the go-to fine motor app, Dexteria, is releasing a new app today that is designed for younger kids and tinier hands: Dexteria Jr.'

Dexteria Jr. was created after parents, therapists, and educators provided feedback saying they loved Dexteria but felt it was too advanced for younger kids. Score! We all know it's important for kids to

 

 Read the Rest of this App Review on our Blog

OT Activity of the Week:  Simple Origami Tulips Springtime Fine Motor/Following Directions Craftivity 

[Source: Make and Takes.com]

 

by Amy Anderson

 

Every spring, I love seeing tulips pop up in my yard. It seems like I always forget about them - such a colorful surprise! We made a little ode-to-tulips art project with some super-simple origami paper tulips. With only a few folds, this is a great origami project for young kids and origami novices (like me!).

 

Learn More About this Craftivity on our Blog

Physical Therapy Corner: Hide and Seek

by:  Shelley Mannell, PT, C/NDT

 

We've been playing hide and seek with the topic of muscle tone for a lot of years; I even had one instructor who refused to discuss the topic of tone because we couldn't agree on a definition.  I don't recommend that approach, but I certainly understand her frustration.  So I read with interest a recent research article that discussed muscle tone in children with CP (1).  This study confirmed that it was difficult to distinguish clinically between spasticity and passive muscle stiffness.  This is absolutely what we see as clinicians.

 

Personally, I think that there are at least 3 components of muscle tone: the neurological component, the mechanical component and the dynamic holding component.


Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog


SLP Corner: 7 Wonderful Things Happening Right Now in a Speech Therapy Room

by Erik Raj, M.S., CCC-SLP

 

I believe that sometimes we speech-language pathologists forget how much of a positive difference we make in the lives of those we work together with. In an attempt to remind myself just how special this field is and how we clinicians are helping to create the next generation of beautiful communicators, I have started doing a simple visualization exercise. Every single day at lunch, before I open my water bottle, I take a few seconds to imagine some of the wonderful things that I know are happening, at that very moment, in a random speech therapy room

 Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

Worth Repeating: Toddler Talking Points 

[Source:  ASHAsphere]

by Sherry Artemenko

 

Toddlers are some of my favorite people-they explore with abandon, imitate pirates and fairies, refuse with gusto, stack, dump and search, communicate with persistence, and give enthusiastic hugs with sloppy kisses. So why would we get in their way? One of the most common mistakes I see parents make with their toddlers is to ask too many questions, which actually inhibits their language.

Also Worth Repeating: Infant Reflexes: What They Are and When They Are Normal

Editor's Note:  This article was written for parents and caregivers.  Is it an excellent resource to share with the guardians of your kiddos.

 

[Source:  North Shore Pediatric Therapy]

 

There are a number of reflexes that your infant will exhibit. Some children develop reflexes during gestation and they go away shortly after birth. Other children may not develop until later in their life and the reflexes may remain forever. Reflexes that do not develop on time or reflexes that do not integrate (go away) at the appropriate age may impact your child's development. In addition, it can also be a sign of neurological problems, therefore, it is a good idea to know what they are and when they are considered normal. Below is a list of important early infant reflexes and the time-frame in which you can expect to see them.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog

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