March 16, 2018
Issue 11, Volume 11
It's All About the Choices!     
          
Greetings and Happy Friday

 Please enjoy our weekly newsletter!
 
News Items:
 
  • Medical Schools Adding Focus On Developmental Disabilities
  • Study Finds Brain Network That Controls Theory of Mind Has Formed by Age 3
  • Autism Drama 'The Good Doctor' Awarded New Season
  • New Research Shows Why Babies Need to Move in the Womb
  • ABA in the News
  • How Medicaid Became A Go-To Funder For Schools
PediaStaff News and Hot Jobs 
  • Hot, New Job: School Psychologist - Tillamook, OR
  • Hot, New Job: School-Based SLP - Rockford, IL
  • Hot, New Job: School Nurse - Medinah, IL
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • 10 Simple Activities to Improve Grip Strength in Children
  • Spring Play Dough Activities
  • Transportation Speech and Language Activities
  • Game Review: Tickety Toc Chime Time
Articles and Special Features 
  • School Psych Corner: How One District is Spreading Social Emotional Learning Throughout its Schools
  • SLP Corner: The Speech-Language Pathologist's Role in Diagnosing Dyslexia
  • Peds Therapy Corner: Understanding Auditory Processing Disorder
  • OT Corner: Accepting a "Weird" Pencil Grasp
  • PT Corner: Ideas to Target the Core
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Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team
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Medical Schools Adding Focus On Developmental Disabilities
[Source:  Disability Scoop]

An innovative new program is aiming to ensure that the next generation of doctors is far more prepared to treat the needs of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A half-dozen medical schools across the country are already part of the effort dubbed the National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine. Led by Dr. Priya Chandan at the University of Louisville, the group will ultimately expand to include 12 schools that will each design and implement their own curriculum covering communication and clinical skills.

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
Study Finds Theory of Mind Formed by Children as Young as 3
[Source:  Science Daily]

Humans use an ability known as theory of mind every time they make inferences about someone else's mental state - what the other person believes, what they want, or why they are feeling happy, angry, or scared.

Behavioral studies have suggested that children begin succeeding at a key measure of this ability, known as the false-belief task, around age 4. However, a new study from MIT has found that the brain network that controls theory of mind has already formed in children as young as 3.

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
Autism Drama 'The Good Doctor' Awarded New Season
[Source:  Disability Scoop]

With sky-high ratings, network executives are green-lighting a second season for a prime-time drama centering on a physician on the spectrum.

ABC said this week that "The Good Doctor" will be back for the 2018-2019 season.
The hourlong drama stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, a surgeon with autism and savant syndrome who is medically gifted, but struggles to connect with those around him.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
New Research Shows Why Babies Need to Move in the Womb
[Source: Medical X-Press]

Scientists have just discovered why babies need to move in the womb to develop strong bones and joints. It turns out there are some key molecular interactions that are stimulated by movement and which guide the cells and tissues of the embryo to build a functionally robust yet malleable skeleton. If an embryo doesn't move, a vital signal may be lost or an inappropriate one delivered in error, which can lead to the development of brittle bones or abnormal joints.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
ABA in the News
[Source:  Disability Scoop]

An Indianapolis company is bringing two autism therapy centers to central Ohio as part of a plan to ultimately open 20 sites and provide about 1,000 jobs across the state.
The Hopebridge centers, slated to open in late April in Dublin and Westerville, are among 10 the company plans to have operating within a year, said chief executive Dennis May.
Four have already opened: three in the Cincinnati area and one outside Dayton. Other centers are planned for Akron, Cleveland, and Toledo. They join a network of 17 Hopebridge clinics across Indiana and Kentucky.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
How Medicaid Became A Go-To Funder For Schools
[Disability Scoop]

Gerardo Alejandrez used to punch classmates, throw chairs and curse at his teachers, conduct that forced him to switch from school to school. "I had a lot of anger issues," the 16-year-old said recently.
Then Gerardo entered a class at Oakland Technical High School for students who have mental health or behavior issues. In that classroom, the teacher gets support from Erich Roberts, a psychiatric 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
Would you love the opportunity to live in an area with breathtaking scenery? We are searching for a school psychologist for a school contract assignment for the 2018-19 school year. Enjoy living near the beautiful Oregon coast, with an easy 2-hour drive to all the cultural, sporting, shopping, etc. activities offered in Portland. Outdoor enthusiasts love this area for hiking, fishing, and loads of water activities.

Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog
School district in Rockford, IL is in need of a Speech-Language Pathologist for the rest of the school year.

* The position is located in the Poplar Grove area
* The position is 5 days per week beginning April 3rd
* The caseload includes about 45 students at 3 buildings
* Two of the buildings are immediately adjacent to each other

Learn More About / Apply for This Job on our Blog
We are in need of an RN or an LPN to work with one student in an elementary school near Medinah, Illinois for the remainder of the current school year.  If you are interested in assisting one student with medical needs on a part-time basis, this position might be right for you.

Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog
10 Simple Activities to Improve Grip Strength in Children
[Source: Your Therapy Source]

Developing grip strength in children in super important for everyday functional skills.  Kids need to have the adequate muscle strength to use the monkey bars, hold a writing utensil, use school supplies and getting dressed.  Young children can work on improving grip strength through play and everyday activities.  Here are 10 simple activities to improve grip strength in children.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link on our Blog
Spring Play Dough Activities 
[Source:  No Time for Flashcards]

Play dough is the one activity I had out every single day I taught preschool over the last few years. I would switch up the tools from time to time, and we'd make different colored play dough every month, but every single day my students would dig in and play. These spring play dough activities are simple, have wide boundaries so that children can create with them, not complete them. These activities should be invitations to play and create not an activity to accomplish. The play dough table was my favorite place to be because just like the sensory table this is where so much talking took place, which gave me a chance to use new vocabulary, to closely observe where each student was at and most importantly, 

Transportation Speech and Language Activities
[Source: Speech Room News]

Transportation is one of my favorite themes because it's easy to motivate kids to participate in speech therapy when it includes wheels and tires. Today I'm going to give you the rundown of some of my favorites! Affiliate links are included in this post.

The nesting garages from Melissa and Doug are a great staple for your toy chest. We delivered mini objects to our garages to incorporate phonology with these toys. You can also work on size, matching, colors, and positional concept words.

Game Review: Tickety Toc Chime Time
[Source: The Playful Otter]

Work on visual discrimination, figure-ground, spatial relations/position in space, eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, thumb opposition, web space development, coordinated use of both hands, vestibular and proprioceptive perception, gross motor movement and coordination, process skills, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

Read the Rest of Game Review on the Playful Otter
School Psych Corner:  How One District is Spreading Social Emotional Learning Throughout its Schools
[ Source: Education Week]

Students in algebra class at Jason Lee Middle School gathered in small groups to teach each other how to work through a complex math problem. Some of them stood. Some sat at desks. And some pedaled away on stationary bicycles.

In the front of each group, one student stood at a whiteboard, circling the part of the problem he or she didn't understand. The other students asked questions until they could navigate their classmate to the right answer.


SLP Corner: The SLP's Role in Diagnosing Dyslexia
[Source: The ASHA Leader Blog]

While language-based learning disorders-like dyslexia-fall squarely in the purview of speech-language pathologists, I've talked to several pediatric SLPs who don't feel entirely comfortable treating-let alone diagnosing-this disorder. In my relatively short career as an SLP, I've worked with skilled SLPs treating children with dyslexia. We address various language and reading needs every day with our clients. When faced with the prospect of providing a diagnosis of dyslexia, however, I felt uneasy. Until recently.


Peds Therapy Corner: Understanding Auditory Processing Disorder
Editor's Note:  This article was written for parents, but is nevertheless excellent background on CAPD

[Source:  Understood]

Auditory processing disorder (also known as central auditory processing disorder or CAPD) is a condition that makes it hard for kids to recognize subtle differences between sounds in words. It affects their ability to process what other people are saying. Here are the signs of auditory processing disorder (APD) and suggestions for how you can help your child.

  Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

OT Corner: Accepting a "Weird" Pencil Grasp
[Source: The Anonymous OT]

As a pediatric OT, I most frequently receive questions about pencil grasps. In fact, I wrote an entire article about When to Fix a Pencil Grasp.  However, we also need to talk about those children (or even adults) that aren't ever going to achieve a grasp that looks "normal."
I know, it might be one of those things that makes them stand out. For some children, the last thing they want is to have one more thing that presents differently than their peers. However, all too often I see an obsession to change and tweak a grasp to the point that it actually interferes with the other skills a child should be developing.
PT Corner: Ideas to Target the Core
[Source:  Starfish Therapies]

I don't know about you, but I know my core muscles (abdominals, back extensors, shoulder girdle, and hips) can always stand to be stronger. This also goes for our kids, typically developing as well as kids with a neuromuscular challenge. While there are lots of ideas for targeting specific muscle groups, sometimes its good to do exercises that get a bigger bang for their buck. There are some exercises that can target multiple areas of the core at the same time. Here are a few:

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

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