The Buzz is a weekly/biweekly post, in which I summarize and reference various articles and blogposts, etc. that might be of interest to Kids At Thought readers.
1). While some of us would cringe at the idea of preschoolers hammering, drilling, and building, The Austin SkillsUSA club from Riverland Community College helped preschoolers in Albert Lea build stools using wood and real equipment to expose them to novel activities.
2). And, if preschoolers as builders is not enough, watch here as special needs preschoolers learn how to make cheese, bread, pasta and pizza at the Daily News hosted Restaurant Day along Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Hands on activities rock!
3). Charlie’s parents have gone through what so many parents suffer from. Charlie has behavior problems. Who should he see? A pediatrician? A pediatric neurologist? A child psychiatrist? Who should pay? Insurance? Out-of pocket? Should they go to a University for an “expert” opinion? Dr. Shirah Volmer makes the case for the importance of getting a good assessment for a child with behavioral difficulties. She illustrates the point with a great case study of how ADHD can be confused with Asperger’s syndrome which may lead to the wrong course of treatment.
4). It’s always nice to see schools involving their children in taking responsibility. This school in Pennington, New Jersey is getting the preschoolers mind the environment by implementing a “No Trash Lunch Challenge.”
5). An old debate reignited: To let your baby cry or not? Is it abusive and neglectful to not respond to your baby’s cries although it will eventually teach him to self-soothe? Or, will ignoring baby lead to brain damage and later on anxiety?
6). Giddy Up! Children with autism show improved cognition, communication, and motivation after participating in therapy involving interaction with horses. The participants in the study quoted in this article also improved significantly in the areas of sensory seeking, emotional reactivity, inattention/distractibility, and sensory sensitivity.
7). There are currently two major sets of beliefs about child behavior in the United States. A new approach, Collaborative problem solving (CPS), offers parents an alternative attitude that is contrary to the view that children want to defy adult authority. The CPS approach can be summarized as “children do well if they can”. The job of parents and therapists, then, is to identify factors in the child and the environment that make it hard for the child to do well, and to work co-operatively with the child to eliminate or improve these factors.
8). The Examiner pays homage to the life and work of Dr. Stanley Greenspan who passed away last week. Dr. Greenspan was the founder and creator of the DIR/Floortime model used to treat children with a variety of developmental disabilities, particularly children on the autism spectrum.
You can read the tribute to Dr. Greenspan I posted on this blog, Kids At Thought, here.
9). Move over Atkins. Childhood obesity is by every measure an epidemic here in the U.S. Many ideas and solutions have been proposed, but it’s kind of hard to get children to eat spinach, cut out the soda, and ignore the lights flashing from the fast food joints. One researcher is conducting a study to see whether children who chew sugar-free gum have less of an urge to eat and, subsequently, lose weight. I’ll be on the lookout for the results.
10). Speaking of obesity, PsychCentral has a very interesting article on how individuals with ADHD are at risk for being overweight. The article outlines how people with ADHD may eat excessively to compensate for deficient dopamine levels in their brain, and it explains the role of stimulant medication in all this.
This issue piques my curiosity. When I first read the report, it sounded counterintuitive. Shouldn’t individuals with ADHD be at a reduced risk of obesity if they are “hyper” active and, hence, expending more energy? Note to self: look into this and report back here.
Did I miss anything? Please feel free to contact me with additional tips and information.
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