October 4, 2013
Issue 33, Volume 6
It's All About the Choices!     
          
Greetings and Happy Friday

Please enjoy our weekly newsletter.  Have a great weekend!
 
News Items:
  • Traumatic Brain Injury and Pediatric Working Memory
  • "For Good Performance Troupe" Gives Actors with Down Syndrome a Chance to Shine
  • Spatial and Math Thinking Likely Improved Simply by Playing with Blocks
  • New Research Offers Hope For Parents of Picky Eaters
  • On the Lighter Side: A Little Early Intervention Humor
  • 'Early Term' Babies at Risk, Despite Healthy Appearance
  • Video Modeling for Gross and Fine Motor Tasks
PediaStaff News
  • PediaStaff Featured Job of the Week:  SLP Maternity Leave / Suburban Minneapolis
  • PediaStaff Therapy Placement of the Week: Congratulations, Sierra! 
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • Fall Fun: Sensory Acorn Craft & Exploration
  • Pediatric Therapy Activity of the Week: Who's Missing?
  • Pediatric PT Activity of the Week: 5 Postural Exercises Using a Classroom Chair

Articles and Special Features 

  • SLP Corner: Cultural Awareness a Must When Helping Others Communicate
  • Occupational Therapy Corner: Independent Living and Young Adults with ASD
  • Physical Therapy Corner: 10 Ideas to Celebrate PT Month in October
  • Worth Repeating: Speech Intelligibility and Childhood Verbal Apraxia in Children with Down Syndrome
  • Also Worth Repeating: How Can You Tell if Childhood Stuttering is the Real Deal?
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Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team





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Pediatric TBI in the News:  Traumatic Brain Injury and Pediatric Working Memory

[Source: Medical News Today]

 

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) during childhood can have long-term effects on cognitive and psychosocial functioning, including poor academic achievement. Pediatric TBI can cause significant deficits in working memory, as demonstrated in a study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.

 

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

Feel Good Story of the Week: "For Good Performance Troupe" Gives Actors with Down Syndrome a Chance to Shine

[Source:  Centre Daily.com via Special Ed Post]

 

by Chris Rosenblum

 

Krista Wilkinson's heart sank.

 

The debut of the For Good Performance Troupe, a local drama company Wilkinson started for children and adults with Down syndrome, had ended, and she was trying to hustle performers off stage so they could return for their bows.

She turned and saw the audience rising from their seats. In her world as a Penn State professor of communication sciences and disorders, that meant one thing: a room quickly emptying.  

 

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

Cognitive Development in the News:  Spatial and Math Thinking Likely Improved Simply by Playing with Blocks   

[Source:  Medical News Today]

 

Playing with blocks may help preschoolers develop the kinds of skills that support later learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), according to a new study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Temple University. And for low-income preschoolers, who lag in spatial skills, such play may be especially important.

 

The study is published in the journal Child Development.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Picky Eaters in the News:  New Research Offers Hope For Parents of Picky Eaters  

[Source: Medical News Today]

 

An intervention developed by UCL psychologists significantly increases consumption of fruit and vegetables commonly disliked among picky young children, new research has found.

The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, showed that in a randomized controlled trial involving 450 young children, a new method of taste exposure significantly increased the proportion of children willing to try new foods and to continue eating them.


Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

On the Lighter Side:  A Little Early Intervention Humor 

You will like this cartoon if you hang out with the toddler set!

 

 Have a Chuckle on our Blog

'Early Term' Babies in the News:  Babies at Risk, Despite Healthy Appearance   

[Source:  Medical News Today]

 

Physicians at the University of Buffalo have reported that while many babies born early (37 and 38 weeks) may look as healthy as full-term babies, sadly some of them are not.

 

The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, hopes to alert health care providers that greater vigilance is needed when caring for these early arrivals.

 

Term pregnancy is defined as one in which 37 to 41 weeks have elapsed since the first day

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Motor Development in the News:  Video Modeling for Gross and Fine Motor Tasks    

[Source:  The Journal of Special Education via Your Therapy Source]

The Journal of Special Education published research on the effectiveness of video modeling for fine and gross motor tasks.  The subjects consisted of 3 individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities and 3 individuals with autism. The results indicated the following:

  • an increase in the number of fine and gross motor tasks correctly performed following the introduction of video modeling.
  • students across both groups performed more gross motor than fine motor tasks independently correct
 Read the Rest of this Abstract on our Blog

Featured Job of the Week:  SLP Maternity Leave Coverage / Suburban Minneapolis   

Our client is a school system in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis.  They are in need of a Speech Language Pathologist who is available full time to work in a school setting. The position is to cover a maternity leave that will start after Winter break (January 2nd) and run through mid February, 6-7 weeks.

The position is split between 2 elementary schools.  Caseload is 46-48 students with varying needs. Rate of pay is based on experience and will range from $39-48/hour.

PediaStaff Placement of the Week:  Congratulations, Sierra!   

Congratulations to Sierra S., on her position with one of our school-based clients in western Indiana!

Sierra will be serving an elementary aged speech and langauge caseload to work from October until late May.   

 

The caseload includes general education, moderate to severe and transitional classes in one location.

OT Activity of the Week:  Fall Fun: Sensory Acorn Craft & Exploration   

Editor's Note:  We have been going through our collection fall activities on our Pinterest boards to find our favorites to share on Instagram for our "#FaveFallTx" share.   This is such a great one we decided to feature it on the blog today!

[Source:  Mom2 Posh Lil Divas.com]

You can't celebrate fall without talking about acorns.   We did a fun sensory craft using coffee and oatmeal to make an acorn.   Coffee and oatmeal both have great textures and a fabulous scent.

 

Learn More About This Activity Through a Link on our Blog

Pediatric Therapy Activity of the Week:  Who's Missing   

[Source:  The Inspired Treehouse]

Have you ever lost one of your kids at the grocery store or the zoo?  Or at the park...or the library...or the science center?  Okay, now I'm showing all my cards.  Yes, I lose my kids.  A lot.  They're lightening quick and super curious, a combination that makes for tons of fun for them and a lot of freak-out moments for me.  Don't worry this version of Who's Missing is a lot less stressful than losing your kid in a hotel elevator (true story).  This fun group game idea would be great for a preschool class that's just getting to know each other.  It would also be a really fun game for a play group, or even a group of cousins.

 

 Read More About this Activity on our Blog

Pediatric PT Activity of the Week:  5 Postural Exercises Using a Classroom Chair   

[Source:  Your Therapy Source]

Print this free hand out on 5 postural exercises that students and adults can do sitting in a classroom chair.  It is from 25 Tip Sheets for School Based Therapists. 

 

 Download this Handout From our Blog 

SLP Corner: Cultural Awareness a Must When Helping Others Communicate

By Patti Murphy

 

An unspoken message accentuated separate conversations I had with three speech-language pathologists (SLPs) this summer: There is universal good in cultural awareness when helping others to find a voice through AAC-augmentative and alternative communication.

 

Not to be confused with political correctness, which has to do with avoiding forms of expression that may be perceived as offensive to or exclusive of a particular group of people, cultural awareness is simply acknowledging, accepting and appreciating cultural differences among us. Clinicians consider it an ethical responsibility, given ongoing demographic shifts throughout the United States and the resulting diversity of our population.

 

 Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

OT Corner: Independent Living and Young Adults with ASD

by Lee Wilkinson, PhD, CCBT, NCSP

 

There has been a dramatic worldwide increase in reported cases of autism over the past decade. The prevalence rates in the US have risen steadily, from one in 150, to one in 110, and now to one in every 88 American children. This represents a 78 percent increase in the number of children identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) over the past decade. The increase in the prevalence of ASD among children indicates that a correspondingly large number of youth will be transitioning into adulthood in the coming years. It is estimated that approximately 50,000

Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog


Physical Therapy Corner: 10 Ideas to Celebrate PT Month in October

[Source: Your Therapy Source]

National Physical Therapy Month in celebrated in October each year.  I have posted in the past about simple ways to promote physical therapy (especially in the schools) but it has been awhile so here is a recap: 1. Think of an activity club that you could start at the school to promote quality of life... maybe an early morning or lunch time walking club? Another way to encourage long term quality of life is to improve posture. Perhaps plan a postural screening day with hand outs on proper posture available.

 

Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

Worth Repeating: Speech Intelligibility and Childhood Verbal Apraxia in Children with Down Syndrome

by Libby Kumin; Source: Down Syndrome Online

Many children with Down syndrome have difficulty with speech intelligibility. The present study used a parent survey to learn more about a specific factor that affects speech intelligibility, i.e. childhood verbal apraxia. One of the factors that affects speech intelligibility for children with Down syndrome is difficulty with voluntarily programming, combining, organising, and sequencing the movements necessary for speech. Historically, this difficulty, childhood verbal apraxia, has not been identified or treated in children with Down syndrome but recent research has documented that symptoms of childhood verbal apraxia can be found in children with Down syndrome. The

Also Worth Repeating: How Can You Tell if Childhood Stuttering is the Real Deal?

[Source: ASHAsphere]

One of the more challenging clinical decisions that confront speech-language pathologists is what to do with a young child who stutters. Do we recommend intervention? Do we wait and see if the child recovers without formal therapy? A recent study published in Pediatrics by Reilly and colleagues has generated a significant amount of press, with headlines declaring that preschool children who stutter will "do just fine."

 

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

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