September 14, 2012
Weekly Edition
Issue 29, Volume 5
It's All About the Choices!     
          
 
Greetings and Happy Friday!  Please enjoy our weekly newsletter offering.  Check out some exciting breaking news for SLPs (last item in the news section)


News Items:
  • Matt Stutzman, American Archer with No Arms Wins Silver at Paralympics
  • Meet the Cat Helping a Boy with Selective Mutism
  • Students With ADHD Must Better Prepare for College 
  • Listening Aids May Help Boost Reading Skills of Kids with Dyslexia 
  • Necessity Drives Mother's Invention That Comforts Babies
  • Genetic Test Predicts Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Stem Cell Treatment Restores Hearing in Gerbils
  • Presidential Candidates To Address Disability Issues at One-of-a-Kind Forum
  • Breaking News: #SLPeeps to Have Their Own Booth at ASHA12!  
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • App Review: Touch and Write / Cursive Touch and Write
  • Book Review:  Me First 
  • Therapy Idea of the Week: "I'm Bored!" Activities 

Articles and Special Features  

  • SLP Corner:  Playing with Idioms
  • Pediatric Therapy Corner:  Discovery Through Mask Making 
  • Parents' Corner: What the Mom of a Child with Visual Impairment Wants You to Know 
  • Worth Repeating:  Back to School Apps for Kids with ADHD
  • Also Worth Repeating: Angelman Syndrome & Speech-Language Therapy
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Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team





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Monday Inspiration:  Matt Stutzman, American Archer with No Arms Wins Silver at Paralympics

[Source NPR.org]

 

Here is some Monday inspiration for your kiddos!  Everyone one of these Paralympians is exceptional, but Matt is something else even among that crowd!   Matt won a silver medal this past week at the Paralympics with NO ARMS!  He also holds a Guinness World Record for Longest Accurate Shot (by anyone!)

 

Selective Mutism in the News:  Meet the Cat Helping a Boy with Selective Mutism

[Source: BBC]

A boy who has the condition selective mutism, which inhibits his ability to communicate, has been helped by the family cat.

Lorcan Dillon's life has been transformed by Jessi-Cat, who he speaks more freely with, improving his confidence at home and school.

Lorcan's mother Jayne and brother Luke praised the feline friend, who has received two awards for her contribution.

 

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

ADHD in the News: Students With ADHD Must Better Prepare for College

[Source:  Education Week/On Special Education]

In a small study of students with ADHD, a Kansas State University researcher found that students with ADHD aren't adequately preparing for college.

For her study, researcher Kristy Morgan interviewed eight college freshmen at the end of their first semester of college. The four men and four women were all living on campus at a school at least an hour from home.

Students didn't factor ADHD into their decision-making about college, but rather chose a college based on how the campus felt, the reputation of the school or that it was where they had always wanted to attend.

 

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

Dyslexia in the News: Listening Aids May Help Boost Reading Skills of Kids with Dyslexia

[Source:  Health Day via US News.com]

Devices that amplify the sound of a teacher's voice may help children with dyslexia improve their reading skills, new research suggests.

After a year of wearing the devices in the classroom, children with dyslexia had improved scores on tests of phonological awareness and reading.

"We saw improvements in reading, and when we measured the brain's response to speech sounds, not only did the kids who wore the device become more consistent to the very soft and rapidly changing elements of sound that help distinguish one consonant from another, but their brains responded more consistently to sounds," said study senior author Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. "That improved stability was linked with reading improvement."

 

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

Preemies in the News: Necessity Drives Mother's Invention That Comforts Babies

Editor's Note:  Special thanks to Deb Discenza of Preemie World for this link!

[Source:  Houston Chronicle]

The comforting arm that cradled newborn Zachary Jackson through long nights in the hospital after his premature birth belonged to neither his mom nor dad. They couldn't stay with him overnight at the neonatal intensive care unit.

So his mother, industrial engineer Yamile Jackson, invented a surrogate - a soft, double-layered polyester sleeve filled with plastic pellets and covered with a fabric imbued with the familiar scent of his parents. Nurses let the infant rest against the armlike sheath.

 

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

Autism in the News:  Genetic Test Predicts Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder 

[Source: Science Daily]

 

A team of Australian researchers, led by University of Melbourne has developed a genetic test that is able to predict the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Lead researcher Professor Stan Skafidas, Director of the Centre for Neural Engineering at the University of Melbourne said the test could be used to assess the risk for developing the disorder. "This test could assist in the early detection of the condition in babies and children and help in the early management of those who become diagnosed," he said. "It would be particularly relevant for families who have a history of autism or related conditions such as Asperger's syndrome," he said.

  

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

Audiology Research in the News:  Stem Cell Treatment Restores Hearing in Gerbils 

[Source: Los Angeles Times]


A novel treatment using human embryonic stem cells has successfully restored some hearing to previously deaf gerbils, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature.

Hearing loss is generally caused by the interruption of two different types of cells: The loss of hair cells in the ear, which transform vibrations into electrical signals, and loss of the auditory nerve, which transmits the signals detected by the hair cells to the brainstem. While cochlear  

 

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

National Dialogue in the News:  Presidential Candidates To Address Disability Issues at One-of-a-Kind Forum  

[Source:  Disability Scoop]

A CNN veteran is set to moderate a one-of-a-kind presidential forum later this month focused on disability issues.

The event sponsored by more than 50 disability organizations from across the country is being billed as the only one of the presidential campaign to look exclusively at the candidates' views on issues pertaining to Americans with disabilities.

Known as the National Forum on Disability Issues, the gathering is set to take place Sept. 28 at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio.

 

 Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Breaking News for SLPs:  #SLPeeps to Have Own Booth at ASHA 2012 

The other day, I blogged that about the buzz on Twitter about ASHA 2012.    Lots of the #SLPeeps are excited to be headed to Atlanta to meet all the other 'peeps,' at the Tweet-up Friday, November 16, at 5PM in the Leader Lounge.   You can add yourself to the list of show attendees HERE.

I also mentioned in that post, that other exciting plans were in the news too, and to stay tuned...   Well, now they those plans are official!

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

App Review of the Week:  Touch and Write / Cursive Touch and Write

[Source: Advance for OT]

 

Touch and Write and Cursive Touch and Write are both excellent apps for occupational
therapists working with children in the schools when they want to make learning to
write letters fun. The apps include 28 choices of paper to write on, such as cheerio cereal,
sandpaper, regular lined, shaded lined, nonlined, zebra, just to name a few.

 

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog

Book Review:  Me First  

Reprinted with explicit permission of All4MyChild as it appeared on their blog

Title: Me First

 

Author: Helen Lester. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

 

Description: Pinkerton the pig always has to be first. No matter what! He learns a lesson that "being first isn't always best."

 

Goals:

  • Perspective Taking
  • Figurative Language
  • Narrative Language
  • Social Skills
Read the Rest of this Review Through a Link our Blog

Therapy Idea of the Week: 'I'm Bored!' Activities 

Thanks to Your Therapy Source for this Week's Therapy Idea!

Another tip of the day for therapists... provide classrooms with folders that have activities to do when students are bored.  If the students have completed their assignments or they have some free time, then they could independently go access a folder or list of activity ideas to keep them busy.

 

 Read the Rest of this Post Through a Link our Blog

SLP Corner: Playing with Idioms 

by:   Rachel Lynette 

 

Teaching idioms can be more fun than a barrel of monkeys or it can be about as interesting as watching paint dry. I am always a little sad when I see an idiom worksheet, because I think there are so many better ways to teach this fun and intriguing concept.  To me, it is fascinating that a group of words that seems to mean one thing actually means something completely different. I also love how many idioms sound silly or make absolutely no sense unless you know the meaning.  Consider the idiom,  "I'm all ears." If you know the real meaning, you probably picture a person listening intently. If you don't, an image of a person covered in ears may come to mind; a funny image for most kids, which brings me to the first idea in this post:

 

 Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

Pediatric Therapy Corner: Discovery Through Mask Making 

By: Pamela Ullmann, ATR-BC, LCAT

 

Within many different cultures and throughout the course of human history, we have seen a variety of masks created for aesthetics, symbolism and ritual. As an art therapist, I have found mask making with clients to be an incredibly powerful and often an enlightening process for both the client and myself.

Designing a mask and then wearing it allows us to expose certain parts of ourselves that we are not usually willing to recognize in everyday life. However, on the flip side, a mask may cover up who we really are at that moment, and then acts as a protective shield from our true feelings. More often, we may simply be trying on a different "persona" and allowing  

 

 Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

Parents Corner: What the Mom of a Child with Visual Impairment Wants You to Know

Editor's Note:   I started chatting with Amber Bobnar, (the mom interviewed in this article) after PediaStaff discovered the WonderBaby.org website.  She and I discussed that PediaStaff audience of therapy clinicians would benefit and enjoy this "Ask the Mom" column she wrote for Perkins School for the Blind.

[Source:  Perkins.org]

Amber Bobnar is the mother of an adorable little five-year-old boy, Ivan. Ivan attends the Early Learning Center at the Perkins School for the Blind and is completely blind. He also has a rare neurological condition called Joubert Syndrome that affects his muscle tone and balance as well as a seizure disorder and language processing disorder. Amber runs the website

WonderBaby.org, a site designed to provide parents of children who are blind with information and support. She also has advice for teachers when working with parents of children who are blind.

 

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

Worth Repeating: Back to School Apps for Kids with ADHD 

[Source: Medical News Today]

 

As this new school year begins, ADHD is a condition that more and more U.S. families are facing.  What can parents and teachers do to help students manage this disorder so that academic success is possible for them?

We have just compiled a new list of ADHD apps that should especially help families with ADHD management this school year. We hope our readers will take a look at them and decide which ones might work best for their children, their students or perhaps even for themselves.

 

Also Worth Repeating: Angelman Syndrome & Speech-Language Therapy

[Source:  Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics]

Individuals with Angelman Syndrome, regardless of genetic subtype should receive and will benefit from speech and language therapy ("SLT"). SLT will encompass much more than merely facilitating an individual to produce sounds. Functional communication for an individual with Angelman Syndrome will alleviate potential behavioral issues, frustration and isolation that can occur if someone cannot make themselves understood.

 

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

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