ADHD in the News:  EEG Brainwave Tests Help Diagnose ADHD Symptoms

Comparative Behavior in the News: Young Apes Manage Emotions Like Humans

[Source: Science Daily]

Researchers studying young bonobos in an African sanctuary have discovered striking similarities between the emotional development of the bonobos and that of children, suggesting these great apes regulate their emotions in a human-like way. This is important to human evolutionary history because it shows the socio-emotional framework commonly applied to children works equally well for apes. Using this framework, researchers can test predictions of great ape behavior and, as in the case of this study, confirm humans and apes share many aspects of emotional functioning.

Prosthetics in the News:  New Artificial Leg Technology Comes Close to Achieving Natural Gait  

[Source:  Michigan Tech News]

Walking is tricky business, as any toddler knows. And while most artificial feet and limbs do a pretty good job restoring mobility to people who have lost a leg, they have a ways to go before they equal the intricacy of a natural gait. As a result, over half of all amputees take a fall every year, compared to about one-third of people over 65.

In cooperation with a Mayo Clinic scientist, researchers at Michigan Technological University are taking a giant step toward solving the problem. They are making a bionic foot that could make an amputee's walk in the park feel, well, like a walk in the park.

Writing Skills in the News:  School Psychologists Call For Evidence-Based Practices, Especially for Students Who Struggle With Writing 

[Source:  Medical News Today]

Writing instruction in U.S. classrooms is "abysmal" and the Common Core State Standards don't go far enough to address glaring gaps for students and teachers, a Michigan State University education scholar argues.

In a new study, Gary Troia calls for a fresh approach to professional development for teachers who must help students meet the new writing standards. His research, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, appears in the journal School Psychology Review.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Efficacy of Pre-school in the News:  New Study Provides Mountain of Evidence That Quality Preschool Is the 'Most Cost-Effective' Educational Intervention 

[Source:  New York Times]

by Randy Hoder

A decade or so ago, when it was time to send my children to preschool, it never occurred to me to do anything else. For an upper-middle-class family like mine, enrolling my kids in a half-day nursery school program with all of its benefits (socialization and school readiness, among them) was a no-brainer.

Now, amid a highly contentious national debate about whether preschool should be made available to all children, a new study provides a mountain of evidence that my parental instincts were right on the money. Literally. High-quality preschool programs are "the most cost-effective educational interventions and are likely to be profitable investments for society  

Development of Empathy in the News:  Babies Know When You're Faking, Psychology Researchers Show  

[Source: Science Daily]

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands! That's easy enough for children to figure out because the emotion matches the movement. But when feelings and reactions don't align, can kids tell there's something wrong? New research from Concordia University demonstrates that they can - as early as 18 months.

In a study recently published in Infancy: The Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies, psychology researchers Sabrina Chiarella and Diane Poulin-Dubois demonstrate that infants can detect whether a person's emotions are justifiable given a particular context. They show that babies understand how the meaning of an experience is directly linked to the expressions that follow.

Autism Rates in the News:  Autism Rates Rise in U.S., Plateau in U.K.   

[Source:  The Washington Times] 

By Cheryl Wetzstein

In a finding researchers are still trying to understand, autism rates in British children appear to have plateaued in the past decade, according to a new study released Wednesday.

These findings differ from U.S. data, which estimate that the prevalence of the disorder is still rising in this country.

The authors of the new study in BMJ Open, an "open-access" medical journal put out by an arm of the British Medical Association, said that it was possible that increased public awareness and expanded diagnoses for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) led to increased diagnoses in the 1990s that 

Holiday Themed Therapy Share of the Week:  Check Out Great Halloween Therapy Ideas on Instagram and Pinterest!  

Halloween is second only to Christmas for pediatric therapists when it comes to the great activities out there that make sessions fun.

Before the social media explosion, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and PTs had search the internet (and before that local filing cabinets!) for holiday themed activities.  Thanks to Pinterest, Instagram and the rest, no clinician should ever have to look far for interesting lessons!

PediaStaff Therapist Placement of the Week:  In Beautiful Minnesota  

Megan will be working with "speech only" students as well as with children with multiple disabilities in an elementary school setting and also early childhood.   After she covers a maternity leave, Megan will support two or three elementary schools.

Great, job Megan!

Book Review:  Autism Sleeps  

Review by Margaret Rice

If you are like me, you have frequently had questions from parents regarding how to help their children with sensory processing difficulties fall asleep and to stay asleep.  Now there is Autism Sleeps, written by Ileana McCaigue, OTR, who has over 36 years of experience as an occupational therapist and she has sensory integration certification.

Autism Sleeps™ serves as a thorough resource of sleep sensory strategies and suggestions for preparing the "sleep environment". Sample bedtime and wake-up routines are provided as templates, especially to guide parents of children with sleep difficulties.

App of the Week:  Make a Zombie  

Fine Motor / Sensory Idea of the Week:  Candy Corn on the Cob

Social Media Share of the Week:  Halloween Temporal Directions Activity

Seen on Ms. Lane's SLP Materials Blog, posted to Pinterest and then shared on Instagram - This worksheet has been wildly popular with hundreds of repins, likes and shares!

These "before" and "after" temporal directions have a Halloween theme.  For example: "After you touch the bat, touch the skeleton."  I like using these worksheets to target following directions with basic concepts from the CELF-4 assessment.  This is also a fun concept to target using real life objects