Autism and Vaccines in the News:  New Major Study Finds No Link Between Autism and Childhood Vaccines

Sleep Habits in the News: Kids' Sleep Deficits Can Increase Body Fat, Obesity

[Source: Psych Central] 

Emerging research suggests sleep deficits during infancy and early childhood can increase body fat and obesity for children by as early as age seven.

As noted in the journal Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) investigators found that insufficient sleep during any period of childhood can influence obesity.

"Our study found convincing evidence that getting less than recommended amounts of sleep across early childhood is an independent and strong risk factor for obesity and adiposity," said Elsie Taveras, M.D., M.P.H., chief of General Pediatrics at MGHfC and lead author of the Pediatrics paper.

Memory for Language in the News:  Vocabulary Held Together in Memory by Keywords  

[Source:  Medical News Today]

Much like key players in social networks, University of Kansas scientists have found evidence that there are keywords in word networks that hold together groups of words in our memory.

In a study published in the Journal of Memory and Language, Michael Vitevitch, KU professor of psychology, showed that research participants recognized these keywords more quickly and accurately than other words that were like the keywords in many respects except for their position in a network of 20,000 similar-sounding English words that he and colleagues created in 2008.

The Mind Body Connection in the News:  Study Probes How Emotions Affect Immune System 

Editor's Note:  This is so fascinating.   While it is now widely believed that emotions do affect a person's ability to fight off illness and inflammation, the mechanisms of it were not at all understood.  This study provides a glimpse of how genome-wide activity can be specifically altered by the emotional state of loneliness.   

[Source: Psych Central]

Researchers have long known that emotions can affect health. But it hasn't been clear exactly how feeling stressed or lonely could lead to aches and pains.

The problem has been explaining how the process works at the level of the nervous and immune systems.

For many years, experts in psychoneuroimmunology have searched for the explanation. Now, Steve Cole, Ph.D., from the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the University of California, Los Angeles, has uncovered at least part of the mystery.

In his studies, Cole uses genome-wide transcriptional analysis to observe broad patterns of gene expression in cells. This has led to a series of published studies on the link between negative mental states (such as stress or loneliness) and the behavior of the immune system,

Feel Good Story of the Week:  Young Adults With Autism Find New Source for Job Interview Advice 

[Source:  The Wall Street Journal]

A Computer Program Coaches Applicants on Giving Better Answers

Researchers are developing a new program, named "Molly," to help young autistic adults train for jobs critical for helping them get some independence. Shirley Wang reports on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero.   Photo: Simmersion.

Knowing what an employer wants to hear can make all the difference during a job interview.

For adults with an autism-spectrum disorder, those answers can be harder to come by. And without work, they face the prospect of a much less independent life.

But early evidence suggests some job-training programs geared for these individuals appear to improve interview skills and self-confidence.

Dyslexia Resarch in the News:  Reading Experience May Change the Brains of Students with Dyslexia  

[Source:  The New York Times, Motherlode Blog]

Among the many challenges faced by children with dyslexia (and by their parents and teachers) is the nagging fear that their difficulties with reading are entirely hard-wired: predetermined by their genes and impossible to change. Recent research offers a balm for that fear. It suggests that experience plays a big role in dyslexia, both in exacerbating reading problems and, potentially, in easing them.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in the United States, affecting more than 10 percent of the population. Its cause has remained a mystery, however, and over the years scientists have advanced many theories about the biological mechanism leading to dyslexic people's struggles with reading. Recent research has moved us closer to an understanding of where dyslexia starts and how it develops, illuminating the nature of reading itself along the way.

PediaStaff Hot Jobs of the Week: Phoenix, Arizona!  

SLPs AND OTs NEEDED - Come join the PediaStaff team! Our client is interviewing now for a wonderful school district position in the Phoenix area. They are looking for a two full-time Speech Language Pathologists and an Occupational Therapist to work 40 hours per week for the 2014-2015 school year. 

The therapist would service students from Kindergarten through 8th grade with a wide variety of disabilities. There will be very minimal travel involved.  School experience is strongly preferred. The school district is ready to interview now so apply today! 

PediaStaff Therapy Placement of the Week:  Bilingual SLP in Austin  

Congratulations to Alejandra Delgado, CCC-SLP.  She is moving to Austin to work for one of PediaStaff's pediatric home health clients there.

She will be working part-time to start 20-25 hours per week and will build her caseload quickly to full time.  She will be working closely with both children and native Spanish speaking parents in this bilingual speech-language position.  She will be primarily serving Travis County, but will occasionally travel beyond.

�Enhorabuena, Alejandra!

Autism Resource of the Week: Summer Break Social Story  

Product Recommendation of the Week:  Easy Hole Punch  

Instagram Post of the Week:   SLP Real Life Chuckle  

Maybe this is why most SLPs when asked, say they are "speech therapists!"   LOL

Thank you @asobimizu90 on Instagram for today's belly laugh!

Therapy Activities of the Week:   Crazy About Frozen  

Activities in the Printables pack from Over the Big Moon include:

Prewriting Practice Sheets, Cutting Practice - Which one is different? - Finish the Pattern Sheet - Size Sequencing Sheet - Frozen Movie Strip Puzzle - 4-piece Puzzles - Sorting Practice -Counting Practice Cards - Color Olaf -  2-Part Vocabulary Cards - Shadow Matching - Letter Ff Identification - Letter Ee Identification - Letter Aa Identification - Frozen Matching - Letter Aa Sorting Page - Letter Maze - Character Word Tracing - Character Letter Tracing - 1-10 Number Tracing - Do A Dot/Magnet Sheets