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University of California Davis and Yale University study: Early intervention in dyslexia can narrow achievement gap

5 Nov

University of California Davis and Yale University study: Early intervention in dyslexia can narrow achievement gap
The National Center for Learning Disabilities described dyslexia in What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia at a Glance

Dyslexia is the name for specific learning disabilities in reading. Dyslexia is often characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition, decoding and spelling. Dyslexia may cause problems with reading comprehension and slow down vocabulary growth. Dyslexia may result in poor reading fluency and reading out loud. Dyslexia is neurological and often genetic. Dyslexia is not the result of poor instruction. With the proper support, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers.

As with other learning disabilities, dyslexia is a lifelong challenge that people are born with. This language processing disorder can hinder reading, writing, spelling and sometimes even speaking. Dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence or laziness. It is also not the result of impaired vision. Children and adults with dyslexia simply have a neurological disorder that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently.

Dyslexia occurs among people of all economic and ethnic backgrounds. Often more than one member of a family has dyslexia. According to the National Institute of Child and Human Development, as many as 15 percent of Americans have major troubles with reading.

Much of what happens in a classroom is based on reading and writing. So it’s important to identify dyslexia as early as possible. Using alternate learning methods, people with dyslexia can achieve success.
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurological and genetic disease.

Medical News Today reported in the article, What Is Dyslexia? What Causes Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific reading disability due to a defect in the brain’s processing of graphic symbols. It is a learning disability that alters the way the brain processes written material. It is typically characterized by difficulties in word recognition, spelling and decoding. People with dyslexia have problems with reading comprehension.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities1 says that dyslexia is a neurological and often genetic condition, and not the result of poor teaching, instruction or upbringing.
Dyslexia is not linked to intelligence.

What is dyslexia?

The problem in dyslexia is a linguistic one, not a visual one. Dyslexia in no way stems from any lack of intelligence. People with severe dyslexia can be brilliant.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) lived with dyslexia.

The effects of dyslexia, in fact, vary from person to person. The only shared trait among people with dyslexia is that they read at levels significantly lower than typical for people of their age. Dyslexia is different from reading retardation which may reflect mental retardation or cultural deprivation.

According to the University of Michigan Health System, dyslexia is the most common learning disability2. Eighty percent of students with learning disabilities have dyslexia.

The International Dyslexia Association3 estimates that 15% to 20% of the American population have some of the symptoms of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words.

The National Health Service4, UK, estimates that 4-8% of all schoolchildren in England have some degree of dyslexia.

It is estimated that boys are one-and-a-half to three times more likely to develop dyslexia than girls. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/186787.php

Since individuals manifest the condition of dyslexia in different ways, a debate is occurring about whether the diagnosis of dyslexia has meaning.

Science Daily reported in Early intervention in dyslexia can narrow achievement gap:

Identifying children with dyslexia as early as first grade could narrow or even close the achievement gap with typical readers, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Yale University.

The data indicate that it is no longer acceptable to wait until a child is in third grade or later before undertaking efforts to identify or address dyslexia.

“If the persistent achievement gap between dyslexic and typical readers is to be narrowed, or even closed, reading interventions must be implemented early, when children are still developing the basic foundation for reading acquisition,” said Emilio Ferrer, a UC Davis psychology professor. He is lead author of the article published in The Journal of Pediatrics this month.

Ferrer and his Yale colleagues, Bennett and Sally Shaywitz, report the results of a longitudinal study of reading from first grade to 12th grade and beyond. Compared with typical readers, dyslexic readers had lower reading scores as early as first grade, and their trajectories over time never converge with those of typical readers. These data demonstrate that such differences are not so much a function of increasing disparities over time, but instead reflect marked differences already present in first grade between typical and dyslexic readers.

The authors also conclude that implementing effective reading programs as early as kindergarten or even preschool offers the potential to close the achievement gap…. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151102184216.htm

Citation:

Early intervention in dyslexia can narrow achievement gap Intervention should begin in first grade, or earlier

Date: November 2, 2015
Source: University of California – Davis

Summary:

Data demonstrate marked differences already present in first grade between typical and dyslexic readers.
Journal Reference:

1. Emilio Ferrer, Bennett A. Shaywitz, John M. Holahan, Karen E. Marchione, Reissa Michaels, Sally E. Shaywitz. Achievement Gap in Reading Is Present as Early as First Grade and Persists through Adolescence. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2015; 167 (5): 1121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.07.045

Here is the press release from UC Davis:

Early intervention in dyslexia can narrow achievement gap, UC Davis study says
November 2, 2015

Identifying children with dyslexia as early as first grade could narrow or even close the achievement gap with typical readers, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Yale University.

The data indicate that it is no longer acceptable to wait until a child is in third grade or later before undertaking efforts to identify or address dyslexia.
“If the persistent achievement gap between dyslexic and typical readers is to be narrowed, or even closed, reading interventions must be implemented early, when children are still developing the basic foundation for reading acquisition,” said Emilio Ferrer, a UC Davis psychology professor. He is lead author of the article published in The Journal of Pediatrics this month.

Ferrer and his Yale colleagues, Bennett and Sally Shaywitz, report the results of a longitudinal study of reading from first grade to 12th grade and beyond. Compared with typical readers, dyslexic readers had lower reading scores as early as first grade, and their trajectories over time never converge with those of typical readers. These data demonstrate that such differences are not so much a function of increasing disparities over time, but instead reflect marked differences already present in first grade between typical and dyslexic readers.

The authors also conclude that implementing effective reading programs as early as kindergarten or even preschool offers the potential to close the achievement gap.
Related research in early intervention
The study builds on recent studies by UC Davis researchers and others that find that interventions in early reading are available and effective.

Ferrer is among a group of UC Davis faculty who recently received a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study and implement early reading intervention in schools in Yolo and Sacramento counties, and in Texas.
Additional information:
• Related: $3.5 million grant to UC Davis will help study early reading instruction
• Journal article
Media contact(s):
• Karen Nikos-Rose, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-6101, kmnikos@ucdavis.edu

Getting a correct early diagnosis of dyslexia, which is a learning disability is crucial to a child’s academic success.

Resources:

From One Teacher to Another
http://dyslexia.yale.edu/1Teacher2Another.html

Dyslexia
http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/questions/dyslexia

Dyslexia and Reading Problems
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/dyslexia.htm

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University of Glasgow study: Pressure to be on social media causes teen anxiety and depression

18 Oct

Alexandra Rice reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education article, Bleary-Eyed Students Can’t Stop Texting, Even to Sleep, a Researcher Finds:

Students, the researchers found, were losing an average of 45 minutes of sleep each week because of their cellphones.

The phones were disrupting sleep and, in turn, were associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression because of insufficient rest. While depression is a well-documented side effect of a lack of sleep, Ms. Adams said, the anxiety element was something new.

Students already average a “sleep debt” of two hours each night, according to Ms. Adams’s study, which reflects similar findings from national sleep studies. Her study and others suggest that college students need nine and one-quarter hours of sleep each night, though they get an average of only seven hours. So losing those extra 45 minutes hurts even more. The students who had the highest rates of technology use also had higher levels of anxiety and depression compared with the rest of the students in the Rhode Island study….http://chronicle.com/article/Bleary-Eyed-Students-Cant/129838/

Jason Dick wrote Internet Addiction and Children Hidden-Dangers and 15 Warning Signs http://ezinearticles.com/?Internet-Addiction-and-Children-Hidden-Dangers-and-15-Warning-Signs&id=546552 See also Disabled World’s Internet Addiction in Children http://www.disabled-world.com/health/pediatric/internet-addiction.php and CNN’s Internet Addiction Linked to ADHD, Depression in Teens http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/05/depression.adhd.internet.addiction/index.html Help Guide. Org has a good article, Internet Addiction http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/internet-and-computer-addiction.htm on treating internet addiction in teens.

Science Daily reported in Pressure to be available 24/7 on social media causes teen anxiety, depression:

The need to be constantly available and respond 24/7 on social media accounts can cause depression, anxiety and reduce sleep quality for teenagers says a study being presented September 11, 2015, at a British Psychological Society conference in Manchester.

The researchers, Dr Heather Cleland Woods and Holly Scott of the University of Glasgow, provided questionnaires for 467 teenagers regarding their overall and night-time specific social media use. A further set of tests measured sleep quality, self-esteem, anxiety, depression and emotional investment in social media which relates to the pressure felt to be available 24/7 and the anxiety around, for example, not responding immediately to texts or posts

Dr Cleland Woods explained: “Adolescence can be a period of increased vulnerability for the onset of depression and anxiety, and poor sleep quality may contribute to this. It is important that we understand how social media use relates to these. Evidence is increasingly supporting a link between social media use and wellbeing, particularly during adolescence, but the causes of this are unclear.”

Analysis showed that overall and night-time specific social media use along with emotional investment were related to poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem as well as higher anxiety and depression levels…. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150911094917.htm

Citation:

Pressure to be available 24/7 on social media causes teen anxiety, depression
The need to be constantly available, respond 24/7 on social media accounts can cause depression, anxiety

Date: September 11, 2015
Source: British Psychological Society
Summary: Overall and night-time specific social media use along with emotional investment were related to poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem as well as higher anxiety and depression levels, new research concludes.
British Psychological Society. “Pressure to be available 24/7 on social media causes teen anxiety, depression: The need to be constantly available, respond 24/7 on social media accounts can cause depression, anxiety.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 September 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150911094917.htm>.

Here is the press release from the University of Glasgow:

Pressure to be available 24/7 on social media causes teen anxiety and depression

Related links
• School of Psychology
• Dr Heather Woods – research profile
• British Psychological Society

Issued: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 00:01:00 BST

The need to be constantly available and respond 24/7 on social media accounts can cause depression, anxiety and decrease sleep quality for teenagers says a study being presented today, Friday 11 September 2015, at a British Psychological Society conference in Manchester.

The researchers, Dr Heather Cleland Woods and Holly Scott of the University of Glasgow, provided questionnaires for 467 teenagers regarding their overall and night-time specific social media use. A further set of tests measured sleep quality, self-esteem, anxiety, depression and emotional investment in social media which relates to the pressure felt to be available 24/7 and the anxiety around, for example, not responding immediately to texts or posts

Dr Cleland Woods explained: “Adolescence can be a period of increased vulnerability for the onset of depression and anxiety, and poor sleep quality may contribute to this. It is important that we understand how social media use relates to these. Evidence is increasingly supporting a link between social media use and wellbeing, particularly during adolescence, but the causes of this are unclear”.

Analysis showed that overall and night-time specific social media use along with emotional investment in social media were related to poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem as well as higher anxiety and depression levels.
Lead researcher Dr Cleland Woods said “While overall social media use impacts on sleep quality, those who log on at night appear to be particularly affected. This may be mostly true of individuals who are highly emotionally invested. This means we have to think about how our kids use social media, in relation to time for switching off.”

The study is presented at the BPS Developmental and Social Psychology Section annual conference taking place from the 9 to 11 September at The Palace Hotel in Manchester.
________________________________________
Media enquiries: ross.barker@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 8593 http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_419871_en.html

There is something to be said for Cafe Society where people actually meet face-to-face for conversation or the custom of families eating at least one meal together. Time has a good article on The Magic of the Family Meal http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html It also looks like Internet rehab will have a steady supply of customers according to an article reprinted in the Seattle Times by Hillary Stout of the New York Times. In Toddlers Latch On to iPhones – and Won’t Let Go http://www.seattletimes.com/lifestyle/toddlers-latch-onto-iphones-8212-and-wont-let-go/ Stout reports:

But just as adults have a hard time putting down their iPhones, so the device is now the Toy of Choice — akin to a treasured stuffed animal — for many 1-, 2- and 3-year-olds. It’s a phenomenon that is attracting the attention and concern of some childhood development specialists.

Looks like social networking may not be all that social.

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Mc Gill University study: Fathers have a profound effect on the genetics of their children

11 Oct

Benedict Carey reports in the New York Times article, Father’s Age Is Linked to Risk of Autism and Schizophrenia:

Older men are more likely than young ones to father a child who develops autism or schizophrenia, because of random mutations that become more numerous with advancing paternal age, scientists reported on Wednesday, in the first study to quantify the effect as it builds each year. The age of mothers had no bearing on the risk for these disorders, the study found.

Experts said that the finding was hardly reason to forgo fatherhood later in life, though it might have some influence on reproductive decisions. The overall risk to a man in his 40s or older is in the range of 2 percent, at most, and there are other contributing biological factors that are entirely unknown.
But the study, published online in the journal Nature, provides support for the argument that the surging rate of autism diagnoses over recent decades is attributable in part to the increasing average age of fathers, which could account for as many as 20 to 30 percent of cases.

The findings also counter the longstanding assumption that the age of the mother is the most important factor in determining the odds of a child having developmental problems. The risk of chromosomal abnormalities, like Down syndrome, increases for older mothers, but when it comes to some complex developmental and psychiatric problems, the lion’s share of the genetic risk originates in the sperm, not the egg, the study found. Previous studies had strongly suggested as much, including an analysis published in April that found that this risk was higher at age 35 than 25 and crept up with age. The new report quantifies that risk for the first time, calculating how much it accumulates each year.

The research team found that the average child born to a 20-year-old father had 25 random mutations that could be traced to paternal genetic material. The number increased steadily by two mutations a year, reaching 65 mutations for offspring of 40-year-old men.

The average number of mutations coming from the mother’s side was 15, no matter her age, the study found.

“This study provides some of the first solid scientific evidence for a true increase in the condition” of autism, said Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. “It is extremely well done and the sample meticulously characterized.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/health/fathers-age-is-linked-to-risk-of-autism-and-schizophrenia.html?emc=eta1

A Mc Gill University study shows that fathers have a profound effect on the genetics of their children.

Science Daily reported in Environmental memories transmitted from a father to his grandchildren:

If you have diabetes, or cancer or even heart problems, maybe you should blame it on your dad’s behaviour or environment. Or even your grandfather’s. That’s because, in recent years, scientists have shown that, before his offspring are even conceived, a father’s life experiences involving food, drugs, exposure to toxic products and even stress can affect the development and health not only of his children, but even of his grandchildren.

But, despite a decade of work in the area, scientists haven’t been able to understand much about how this transmission of environmental memories over several generations takes place. McGill researchers and their Swiss collaborators think that they have now found a key part of the molecular puzzle. They have discovered that proteins known as histones, which have attracted relatively little attention until now, may play a crucial role in the process.

They believe that this finding, which they describe in a paper just published in Science, has the potential to profoundly change our understanding of how we inherit things. That’s because the researchers show that there is something apart from DNA that plays an important role in inheritance in general, and could determine whether a father’s children and grandchildren will be healthy or not….

There’s more than just DNA involved in inheritance

What they discovered was that there were dire consequences for the offspring both in terms of their development e.g. where offspring were prone to birth defects and had abnormal skeletal formation, and in terms of their surviving at all. Moreover, what was most surprising, was that these effects could still be seen two generations later.

“When we saw the decreased survivability across generations and the developmental abnormalities we were really blown away as it was never thought that altering something outside the DNA, i.e. a protein, could be involved in inheritance,” said Sarah Kimmins, from McGill’s Dept. of Animal Science, and one of the lead authors on the paper. Kimmins is also the Canada Research Chair in Epigenetics, Reproduction and Development.

Kimmins added, “These findings are remarkable because they indicate that information other than DNA is involved in heritability. The study highlights the critical role that fathers play in the health of their children and even grand-children. Since chemical modifications on histones are susceptible to environmental exposures, the work opens new avenues of investigation for the possible prevention and treatment of diseases of various kinds, affecting health across generations.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151008142622.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Citation:

Environmental memories transmitted from a father to his grandchildren
Date: October 8, 2015

Source: McGill University

Summary:

If you have diabetes, or cancer or even heart problems, maybe you should blame it on your dad’s behavior or environment. Or even your grandfather’s. That’s because, in recent years, scientists have shown that, before his offspring are even conceived, a father’s life experiences involving food, drugs, exposure to toxic products and even stress can affect the development and health not only of his children, but even of his grandchildren. But, despite a decade of work in the area, scientists haven’t been able to understand much about how this transmission of environmental memories over several generations takes place. Scientists think that they have now found a key part of the molecular puzzle. They have discovered that proteins known as histones, which have attracted relatively little attention until now, may play a crucial role in the process.

Journal Reference:
1. Keith Siklenka, Serap Erkek, Maren Godmann, Romain Lambrot, Serge McGraw, Christine Lafleur, Tamara Cohen, Jianguo Xia, Matthew Suderman, Michael Hallett, Jacquetta Trasler, Antoine H. F. M. Peters, and Sarah Kimmins. Disruption of histone methylation in developing sperm impairs offspring health transgenerationally. Science, 8 October 2015 DOI: 10.1126/science.aab2006

Here is the press release from Mc Gill University:

The father effect

News

If you have diabetes, or cancer or even heart problems, maybe you should blame it on your dad’s behaviour or environment. Or even your grandfather’s. That’s because, in recent years, scientists have shown that, before his offspring are even conceived, a father’s life experiences involving food, drugs, exposure to toxic products and even stress can affect the development and health not only of his children, but even of his grandchildren.

But, despite a decade of work in the area, scientists haven’t been able to understand much about how this transmission of environmental memories over several generations takes place. McGill researchers and their Swiss collaborators think that they have now found a key part of the molecular puzzle. They have discovered that proteins known as histones, which have attracted relatively little attention until now, may play a crucial role in the process.

They believe that this finding, which they describe in a paper just published in Science, has the potential to profoundly change our understanding of how we inherit things. That’s because the researchers show that there is something apart from DNA that plays an important role in inheritance in general, and could determine whether a father’s children and grandchildren will be healthy or not.

Taking a new direction

In the past, most of the research in this area, which is known as epigenetics, has focused on a process involving DNA and certain molecules (known as methyl groups) that attach to DNA and act a bit like a dimmer switch – turning up or down the expression of specific genes.

The researchers were curious about whether histones might play a role in transmitting heritable information from fathers to their offspring because they are part of the content of sperm transmitted at fertilization. Histones are distinct from our DNA, although they combine with it during cell formation, acting a bit like a spool around which the DNA winds.

So, to test their theory about the possible role of histones in guiding embryo development the researchers created mice in which they slightly altered the biochemical information on the histones during sperm cell formation and then measured the results. (It’s a bit like putting a nick in a spool of thread and seeing how it affects the way the thread then loops around the spool.) They then studied the effects on the offspring.
________________________________________
• Gestational diabetes: A diabetes predictor in fathers
• Expectant dads get depressed too
________________________________________
There’s more than just DNA involved in inheritance

What they discovered was that there were dire consequences for the offspring both in terms of their development e.g. where offspring were prone to birth defects and had abnormal skeletal formation, and in terms of their surviving at all. Moreover, what was most surprising, was that these effects could still be seen two generations later.

“When we saw the decreased survivability across generations and the developmental abnormalities we were really blown away as it was never thought that altering something outside the DNA, i.e. a protein, could be involved in inheritance,” said Sarah Kimmins, from McGill’s Dept. of Animal Science, and one of the lead authors on the paper. Kimmins is also the Canada Research Chair in Epigenetics, Reproduction and Development.

Kimmins added, “These findings are remarkable because they indicate that information other than DNA is involved in heritability. The study highlights the critical role that fathers play in the health of their children and even grand-children. Since chemical modifications on histones are susceptible to environmental exposures, the work opens new avenues of investigation for the possible prevention and treatment of diseases of various kinds, affecting health across generations.”

Experts who have commented or are willing to be interviewed about the paper:
John R. McCarrey, Robert and Helen Kleberg Distinguished Chair in Cellular & Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio
Prof. Marisa Bartolomei, Dept. of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

“While there is substantial evidence that fathers can transmit diseases and adverse phenotypes to their children in the absence of genetic mutations, this is the first study that shows a feasible mechanism by which this can happen. This gives researchers confidence to pursue histone retention in the male germ cells as a mechanism of inheritance….and it also will serve as a reminder to fathers to be diligent protectors of their germline.”

The research was funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Genome Quebec, the Reseau de Reproduction Quebecois, Fonds de recherche Nature et technologies (FRQNT), Boehringer Ingelheim Fond, Swiss National Science Foundation and the Novartis Research Foundation.

Contact Information
Contact:
Sarah Kimmins
Organization:
Dept. of Animal Science
Email:
sarah.kimmins@mcgill.ca
Secondary Contact Information
Contact:
Katherine Gombay
Organization:
Media Relations Office
Secondary Email:
katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca
Office Phone:
514-398-2189

The increased rate of poverty has profound implications if this society believes that ALL children have the right to a good basic education. Moi blogs about education issues so the reader could be perplexed sometimes because moi often writes about other things like nutrition, families, and personal responsibility issues. Why? The reader might ask? Because children will have the most success in school if they are ready to learn. Ready to learn includes proper nutrition for a healthy body and the optimum situation for children is a healthy family.

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Poverty and effect on children: Ruling In Compton Schools Case: Trauma Could Cause Disability

7 Oct

Science Daily reported in Family income, parental education related to brain structure in children, adolescents:

Characterizing associations between socioeconomic factors and children’s brain development, a team including investigators from nine universities across the country reports correlative links between family income and brain structure. Relationships between the brain and family income were strongest in the lowest end of the economic range — suggesting that interventional policies aimed at these children may have the largest societal impact….

“Specifically, among children from the lowest-income families, small differences in income were associated with relatively large differences in surface area in a number of regions of the brain associated with skills important for academic success, ” said first author Kimberly G. Noble, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics and director of the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development (NEED) Lab of Columbia University Medical Center…..
Family income is linked to factors such as nutrition, health care, schools, play areas and, sometimes, air quality,” said Sowell, adding that everything going on in the environment shapes the developing brain. “Future research may address the question of whether changing a child’s environment — for instance, through social policies aimed at reducing family poverty — could change the trajectory of brain development and cognition for the better….” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150330112232.htm

A group of parents sued Compton School district about the trauma caused by poverty.

Cory Turner of NPR wrote in Ruling In Compton Schools Case: Trauma Could Cause Disability:

Students who experience traumatic events while growing up in poor, turbulent neighborhoods could be considered disabled, a federal judge has ruled in a high-profile case involving the Compton, Calif., schools.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, released on Wednesday, involves a class-action lawsuit filed against the Compton Unified School District. The plaintiffs argued that students who have experienced trauma are entitled to the same services and protections that schools must provide to traditionally disabled students.

The ruling wasn’t a complete win for the plaintiffs and the pro bono firm representing them, Public Counsel. Fitzgerald denied, for now, their request for class-action status because, he said, they hadn’t clearly established what’s known as numerosity.

The plaintiffs estimate that roughly 25 percent of the 22,000 students who attend CUSD have experienced at least two or more “severe traumas.” But the judge wrote that exposure to trauma does not guarantee that a child (1) will suffer “from cognizable trauma-induced disabilities for purposes of the proposed class definition, and (2) have been denied meaningful access to their education.”
It’s an important distinction Fitzgerald is making here. He’s not questioning whether exposure to traumatic events can disable a student. He’s saying that exposure to traumatic events does not guarantee disability. And that raises the bar for the plaintiffs as they try to define the size of their aggrieved class.
The court also refused a request to force Compton’s schools to provide additional, mandatory trauma training for staff. The district currently provides some training, but the plaintiffs argued that the program is insufficient.

Legally, this kind of request is an uphill fight. What’s known as a mandatory injunction — ordering someone to start doing something rather than to stop doing it — comes with a much higher standard, one the judge ruled the plaintiffs did not meet.

What happens next depends on both sides and whether this week’s ruling has encouraged any movement to the middle. A settlement between the plaintiffs and Compton Unified is still possible. If not, the lawsuit will move forward….
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/01/445001579/ruling-in-compton-schools-case-trauma-could-cause-disability

Here is an excerpt from Findlaw by Casey C. Sullivan, Esq.:

Are traumatized students disabled students, entitled to extra help and accommodations in schools? Yes, according to a new lawsuit brought by students and teachers against Compton Unified School District.
The class action lawsuit, which has its first hearing today, alleges that students exposed to trauma through violence, family disruption, discrimination, and extreme stress are disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act and are entitled to the same benefits and accommodations afforded students with more widely recognized learning disabilities.

The Effects of Trauma on Student Learning

The negative impacts of trauma can last throughout a child’s life. Traumatic experiences alter children’s developing brains and impede a child’s ability to learn, according to the lawsuit. Students who experience trauma are more likely to have trouble reading, concentrating, and learning than non-traumatized students. A quarter of all children will experience trauma before the age of 16, Susan Ko of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress told NPR.

And trauma isn’t hard to come by in Compton. The impoverished, largely minority community south of downtown L.A., is the 13th most deadly neighborhood in Los Angeles County and has murder rates five times the national average. That’s almost Oakland levels of violence.
The lawsuit and associated website detail the struggles many Compton students experience at a young age, from witnessing a murder before they’re ten years old to experiencing years of sexual abuse. Living constantly in fear and stress leaves such students unprepared for pursuing success at school, the suit alleges, yet their needs are most often met with discipline and punishment, rather than extra services. To wit: one member of the class action, Virgil, lived on the roof of his school after becoming homeless. When the school discovered him, he wasn’t offered help. Instead, the school suspended him.

A Systematic Approach

The class action doesn’t seek to match students with individualized educational programs, the typical approach to helping disabled students. Such IEPs would be insufficient in addressing the problem, according to the suit. Rather, the plaintiffs want “implementation of schoolwide trauma-sensitive practices.” That would include extra training for educators, avoidance of punitive discipline measures, and consistent mental health support…..
http://blogs.findlaw.com/california_case_law/2015/08/should-schools-treat-traumatized-students-as-disabled.html

This government and both parties, has failed to promote the kind of economic development AND policy which creates livable wage jobs. That is why Mc Donalds is popular for more than its dollar menu. They are hiring people. This economy must start producing livable wage jobs and educating kids with skills to fill those jobs. Too bad the government kept the cash sluts and credit crunch weasels like big banks and financial houses fully employed and destroyed the rest of the country.

Related:

Hard times are disrupting families

Hard times are disrupting families

3rd world America: The link between poverty and education

3rd world America: The link between poverty and education

3rd world America: Money changes everything

3rd world America: Money changes everything

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King’s College London study: Interpreting social cues in schizophrenia

3 Oct

Caralee J. Adams reported in the Education Week article, ‘Soft Skills’ Pushed as Part of College Readiness:

To make it in college, students need to be up for the academic rigor. But that’s not all. They also must be able to manage their own time, get along with roommates, and deal with setbacks. Resiliency and grit, along with the ability to communicate and advocate, are all crucial life skills. Yet, experts say, many teenagers lack them, and that’s hurting college-completion rates. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/14/12softskills_ep.h32.html?tkn=WQRFgl%2Bkfw2CUbzDpa48iaX0xbRF0HCUXIpI&cmp=clp-edweek&intc=es

Soft skills are skills associated with “emotional intelligence.”

Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Melinda Smith, M.A. have wrote the excellent article, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) for HELPGUIDE.Org.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and diffuse conflict. Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others.
If you have a high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize your own emotional state and the emotional states of others and engage with people in a way that draws them to you. You can use this understanding of emotions to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life.

Emotional intelligence consists of four attributes:

• Self-awareness – You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior, know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
• Self-management – You’re able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Social awareness – You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.
• Relationship management – You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.
Why is emotional intelligence (EQ) so important?
• As we know, it’s not the smartest people that are the most successful or the most fulfilled in life. You probably know people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially inept and unsuccessful at work or in their personal relationships. Intellectual intelligence or IQ isn’t enough on its own to be successful in life. IQ can help you get into college but it’s EQ that will help you manage the stress and emotions of sitting your final exams…. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq5_raising_emotional_intelligence.htm

Whether one calls success traits “emotional intelligence” or “soft skills” is really not important. The traits associated are those more likely to result in a successful outcome for the individual.

Science Daily reported in Why do people with schizophrenia misinterpret social cues?

A new study from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London sheds light on why people with schizophrenia misinterpret social cues in others, often leading to unpleasant paranoid and persecutory thoughts.

Insights from this research, published in Psychological Medicine, could help develop psychological interventions to assist people with schizophrenia to interpret social cues, which might also improve their symptoms.

The researchers studied the behaviour of 54 participants, including 29 people with schizophrenia, as they viewed the body position and gestures of an actor on a silent video clip. These included gestures such as putting a finger to the lips to indicate ‘be quiet’ or incidental movements such as scratching an eye.

They found that patients with schizophrenia are able to interpret meaningful gestures and incidental movements as accurately as healthy subjects. However, when the direction of the gestures was ambiguous (i.e. not obviously directed at or away from them), they were much more likely to misinterpret the gestures as being directed towards them.
According to the researchers, this could indicate an increased tendency to self-infer these ambiguous social cues or to ‘hyper-mentalise’, whereby intent is falsely inferred from the actions of others. Both of these misinterpretations could underpin the incidence of paranoid thought experienced by patients with schizophrenia, suggest the study authors. The patients’ confidence in their interpretation was found to be strongly associated with their propensity to experience hallucinatory symptoms….
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150930110445.htm

Citation:

Why do people with schizophrenia misinterpret social cues?
Date: September 30, 2015

Source: King’s College London

Summary:
A new study sheds light on why people with schizophrenia misinterpret social cues in others, often leading to unpleasant paranoid and persecutory thoughts. The study could help develop psychological interventions to assist people with schizophrenia to interpret social cues, which might also improve their symptoms.

Journal Reference:
1. T. P. White, F. Borgan, O. Ralley, S. S. Shergill. You looking at me?: Interpreting social cues in schizophrenia. Psychological Medicine, 2015; 1 DOI: 10.1017/S0033291715001622

Here is the press release from King’s College London:

Why do people with schizophrenia misinterpret social cues?

Posted on 30/09/2015

A new study from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London sheds light on why people with schizophrenia misinterpret social cues in others, often leading to unpleasant paranoid and persecutory thoughts.

Insights from this research, published in Psychological Medicine, could help develop psychological interventions to assist people with schizophrenia to interpret social cues, which might also improve their symptoms.

The researchers studied the behaviour of 54 participants, including 29 people with schizophrenia, as they viewed the body position and gestures of an actor on a silent video clip. These included gestures such as putting a finger to the lips to indicate ‘be quiet’ or incidental movements such as scratching an eye.

They found that patients with schizophrenia are able to interpret meaningful gestures and incidental movements as accurately as healthy subjects. However, when the direction of the gestures was ambiguous (i.e. not obviously directed at or away from them), they were much more likely to misinterpret the gestures as being directed towards them.

According to the researchers, this could indicate an increased tendency to self-infer these ambiguous social cues or to ‘hyper-mentalise’, whereby intent is falsely inferred from the actions of others. Both of these misinterpretations could underpin the incidence of paranoid thought experienced by patients with schizophrenia, suggest the study authors. The patients’ confidence in their interpretation was found to be strongly associated with their propensity to experience hallucinatory symptoms.

Professor Sukhi Shergill from the Department of Psychosis Studies, said: ‘Humans are social beings, often finding joy in interacting with others. While most attention is on talking with each other, non-verbal behaviour such as gestures, body movement and facial expression also play a very important role in conveying the message.
‘However, the message being conveyed is not always clear, or perceived as a positive one, and an extreme example is evident in patients suffering from schizophrenia who show a strong tendency to misinterpret the intentions of other people in a malevolent manner.

‘Our study offers a basis for psychological interventions aimed at improving gestural interpretation. It could also provide guidance for health professionals and carers on how to communicate with patients who have schizophrenia, in order to reduce misinterpretations of non-verbal behaviour.’

Professor Shergill added: ‘The recent advent of adaptable virtual-reality technology provides a means of investigating the psychological effects of gestural communication with greater flexibility, which may prove a boon for our future understanding of social deficits in schizophrenia.’

Example gestural video-clips in the left column and example incidental movements in the right column. Movements were performed towards (top row), ambiguously (middle row) or perpendicularly (away; bottom row) in relation to the viewer.

Notes to editors

White, T. P. et al (2015) You looking at me?: Interpreting social cues in schizophrenia, Psychological Medicine, doi:10.1017/S0033291715001622
For further media information please contact Jack Stonebridge, Press Officer, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London on +44 (0) 20 7848 5377 or jack.stonebridge@kcl.ac.uk.
For further information about King’s visit our ‘King’s in Brief’ page.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/news/records/2015/September/Why-do-people-with-schizophrenia-misinterpret-social-cues-.aspx

If you or your child needs help for depression or another illness, then go to a reputable medical provider. There is nothing wrong with taking the steps necessary to get well.

Related:

Schools have to deal with depressed and troubled children
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/schools-have-to-deal-with-depressed-and-troubled-children/

School psychologists are needed to treat troubled children
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/school-psychologists-are-needed-to-treat-troubled-children/

Battling teen addiction: ‘Recovery high schools’
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/battling-teen-addiction-recovery-high-schools/

Resources:

1. About.Com’s Depression In Young Children http://depression.about.com/od/child/Young_Children.htm

2. Psych Central’s Depression In Young Children http://depression.about.com/od/child/Young_Children.htm

3. Psychiatric News’ Study Helps Pinpoint Children With Depression http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=106034

4. Family Doctor’s What Is Depression? http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/depression.html

5. WebMD’s Depression In Children http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-children

6. Healthline’s Is Your Child Depressed?
http://www.healthline.com/hlvideo-5min/how-to-help-your-child-through-depression-517095449

7. Medicine.Net’s Depression In Children http://www.onhealth.com/depression_in_children/article.htm

If you or your child needs help for depression or another illness, then go to a reputable medical provider. There is nothing wrong with taking the steps necessary to get well.

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study: More time for school lunches equals healthier choices for kids

1 Oct

Moi wrote about the limited amount of time some students get to eat lunch in Do kids get enough time to eat lunch? Given the amount that must be packed into the school day, it is no surprise that the lunch period often get short shrift. https://drwilda.com/2012/08/28/do-kids-get-enough-time-to-eat-lunch/
Eric Westervelt of NPR reported in the story, These Days, School Lunch Hours Are More Like 15 Minutes:

The school lunch hour in America is a long-gone relic. At many public schools today, kids are lucky to get more than 15 minutes to eat. Some get even less time.
And parents and administrators are concerned that a lack of time to eat is unhealthful, especially given that about one-third of American kids are overweight or obese…
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/12/04/248511038/these-days-school-lunch-hours-are-more-like-15-minutes

A T.H. Chan School of Public Health confirms kids are not getting enough time to eat lunch.

Science Daily reported in More time for school lunches equals healthier choices for kids: Children are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when given at least 25 minutes for lunch, according to a new study the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:

Elementary and middle school students who are given at least 25 minutes to eat lunch are more likely to choose fruits and consume more of their entrees, milk, and vegetables according to a new study released in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Each day, over 30 million U.S. students receive a free or discounted meal thanks to the National School Lunch Program. For children from low-income households, these meals can account for almost half of their daily caloric intake, so it is vitally important for schools to find ways to improve student selections and consumption and limit food waste.

This new study examined the association between the length of the lunch period and the food choices and intake of students. Data for the study were collected on six nonconsecutive days throughout the 2011 to 2012 school year as part of the MEALS study, a large, school-based randomized controlled trial. The MEALS study was a collaboration between the nonprofit organization Project Bread and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health to improve the selection and consumption of healthier school foods. Researchers conducted a plate waste study, which is the gold standard for assessing children’s diets.

Investigators found that when kids have less than 20 minutes of seated time in the cafeteria to eat lunch, they were significantly less likely to select a fruit when compared to peers who had at least 25 minutes to eat lunch (44% vs 57%, respectively). Furthermore, the study found that children with less than 20 minutes to eat lunch consumed 13% less of their entrees, 10% less of their milk, and 12% less of their veggies when compared to students who had at least 25 minutes to eat their lunch. This indicates that kids who were given less time at lunch may be missing out on key components of a healthy diet such as fiber-rich whole grains and calcium.

“Policies that improve the school food environment can have important public health implications in addressing the growing socioeconomic disparities in the prevalence of obesity and in improving the overall nutrient quality of children’s diets,” explained lead investigator Juliana F. W. Cohen, ScD, ScM, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA. “This research suggests that enabling students to have sufficient time to eat their meals can help address this important issue.”

According to the study, another challenge kids face is the minutes they must use during their school lunchtime period for activities besides eating or sitting. Many students spend a considerable amount of time traveling to the cafeteria and then waiting in line to get their lunch. After taking this into account, some children in the study had as little as 10 minutes to eat their lunch….. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150911094910.htm

Citation:

Ellen Parker, MBA, MSW
,
Eric B. Rimm, ScD
Received: April 16, 2015; Accepted: July 24, 2015; Published Online: September 11, 2015
Publication stage: In Press Corrected Proof

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.07.019
Article Info
Purchase access to this article (PDF Included)
$31.50 USD (24 hour online access)
Subscribe to this title
• Abstract
• Full Text
• References
Abstract
Background

There are currently no national standards for school lunch period length and little is known about the association between the amount of time students have to eat and school food selection and consumption.
Objective

Our aim was to examine plate-waste measurements from students in the control arm of the Modifying Eating and Lifestyles at School study (2011 to 2012 school year) to determine the association between amount of time to eat and school meal selection and consumption.

Design
We used a prospective study design using up to six repeated measures among students during the school year.
Participants/setting
One thousand and one students in grades 3 to 8 attending six participating elementary and middle schools in an urban, low-income school district where lunch period lengths varied from 20 to 30 minutes were included.
Main outcome measures
School food selection and consumption were collected using plate-waste methodology.
Statistical analyses performed
Logistic regression and mixed-model analysis of variance was used to examine food selection and consumption.

Results
Compared with meal-component selection when students had at least 25 minutes to eat, students were significantly less likely to select a fruit (44% vs 57%; P<0.0001) when they had <20 minutes to eat. There were no significant differences in entrée, milk, or vegetable selections. Among those who selected a meal component, students with <20 minutes to eat consumed 13% less of their entrée (P<0.0001), 10% less of their milk (P<0.0001), and 12% less of their vegetable (P<0.0001) compared with students who had at least 25 minutes to eat.

Conclusions
During the school year, a substantial number of students had insufficient time to eat, which was associated with significantly decreased entrée, milk, and vegetable consumption compared with students who had more time to eat. School policies that encourage lunches with at least 25 minutes of seated time might reduce food waste and improve dietary intake.

Keywords:
School lunch, Lunch period length, Fruit intake, Vegetable intake, Milk intake

More time for school lunches equals healthier choices for kids
Children are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when given at least 25 minutes for lunch, according to a new study the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Date: September 11, 2015

Source: Elsevier Health Sciences

Summary:
Elementary and middle school students who are given at least 25 minutes to eat lunch are more likely to choose fruits and consume more of their entrees, milk, and vegetables according to a new study.

Journal Reference:
1. Juliana F.W. Cohen, Jaquelyn L. Jahn, Scott Richardson, Sarah A. Cluggish, Ellen Parker, Eric B. Rimm. Amount of Time to Eat Lunch Is Associated with Children’s Selection and Consumption of School Meal Entrée, Fruits, Vegetables, and Milk. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2015.07.019

Here is the press release from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health:

Short lunch periods in schools linked with less healthy eating

For immediate release: September 11, 2015

Boston, MA ─ Students with less than 20 minutes to eat school lunches consume significantly less of their entrées, milk, and vegetables than those who aren’t as rushed, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The study will appear online Friday, September 11, 2015 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
“Many children, especially those from low-income families, rely on school meals for up to half their daily energy intake so it is essential that we give students a sufficient amount of time to eat their lunches,” said Juliana Cohen, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School, assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Merrimack College, and lead author of the study.
“Every school day the National School Lunch Program helps to feed over 30 million children in 100,000 schools across the U.S., yet little research has been done in this field,” said Eric Rimm, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School and the study’s senior author. (Watch Rimm discuss the study on CBS Boston.)
While recent federal guidelines enhanced the nutritional quality of school lunches, there are no standards regarding lunch period length. Many students have lunch periods that are 20 minutes or less, which can be an insufficient amount of time to eat, according to the authors.
The researchers wanted to examine the effect of lunch period length on students’ food choices and intake. They looked at 1,001 students in six elementary and middle schools, with lunch periods ranging from 20-30 minutes, in a low-income urban school district in Massachusetts, as part of the Modifying Eating and Lifestyles at School (MEALS) study, a collaboration between Project Bread and Harvard Chan School. They analyzed the students’ food selection and consumption by monitoring what was left on their plates at the end of the lunch period.
The researchers found that students with less than 20 minutes to eat lunch consumed 13% less of their entrées, 12% less of their vegetables, and 10% less of their milk than students who had at least 25 minutes to eat. While there were no notable differences between the groups in terms of entrée, milk, or vegetable selections, those with less time to eat were significantly less likely to select a fruit (44% vs. 57%). Also, there was more food waste among groups with less time to eat.
Waiting in serving lines or arriving late to lunch sometimes left children in the study with as little as 10 minutes to actually sit and eat. The researchers acknowledged that while not all schools may be able to lengthen their lunch periods, they could develop strategies to move kids more quickly through lunch lines, such as by adding more serving lines or setting up automated checkout systems.
“We were surprised by some of the results because I expected that with less time children may quickly eat their entrée and drink their milk but throw away all of their fruits and vegetables,” said Rimm. “Not so—we found they got a start on everything, but couldn’t come close to finishing with less time to eat.”
Jaquelyn Jahn, a master’s student in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard Chan School, was a co-author.
The study was funded by a grant from Project Bread and Arbella Insurance. Cohen was supported by the Nutritional Epidemiology of Cancer Education and Career Development Program (R25 CA 098566).
“Amount of Time to Eat Lunch Is Associated with Children’s Selection and Consumption of School Meal Entrée, Fruits, Vegetables, and Milk,” Juliana F. W. Cohen, Jaquelyn L. Jahn, Scott Richardson, Sarah A. Cluggish, Ellen Parker, Eric B. Rimm, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, online September 11, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2015.07.019
Visit the Harvard Chan website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.
For more information:
Todd Datz
tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu
617-432-8413
Photo: iStockphoto.com
###
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people’s lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America’s oldest professional training program in public health.

In order to ensure that ALL children have a basic education, we must take a comprehensive approach to learning.
A healthy child in a healthy family who attends a healthy school in a healthy neighborhood ©

Related:

School dinner programs: Trying to reduce the number of hungry children

https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/school-dinner-programs-trying-to-reduce-the-number-of-hungry-children/

School lunches: The political hot potato

https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/school-lunches-the-political-hot-potato/

The government that money buys: School lunch cave in by Congress

https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/the-government-that-money-buys-school-lunch-cave-in-by-congress/

Where information leads to Hope. ©

Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
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Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
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Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University study: Early exposure to tobacco can cause behavioral problems in children

28 Sep

There are numerous reasons why smoking is considered bad for an individual and there are numerous research studies which list the reasons. Studies are showing how bad second hand smoke is for children. A MNT article, Smoking During Pregnancy May Lower Your Child’s Reading Scores:

Babies born to mothers who smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day while pregnant have lower reading scores and a harder time with reading tests, compared with children whose mothers do not smoke.
This is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine and published in The Journal of Pediatrics in November 2012. The reading tests measured how well children read out loud and understood what they were reading.

This isn’t the first study to suggest that smoking in pregnancy may affect a child’s future health and development. A study released in August 2012 said that smoking during pregnancy increases a child’s risk of asthma. In addition, a 2009 study linked smoking during pregnancy to behavioral problems among 3 and 4 year olds boys.

Jeffrey Gruen, M.D., professor of pediatrics and genetics at Yale and his team examined data from over 5,000 kids enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which is an extensive trial of 15,211 kids from the years 1990 to 1992 at the University of Bristol in the U.K.

The experts compared 7 different areas with smoking during pregnancy:
• single-word identification
• reading speed
• spelling
• accuracy
• reading comprehension
• real reading
• non-word reading

The researchers adjusted for socioeconomic status, how the mother and child interacted with one another, and 14 other impacting factors.

This latest study is another in a line of studies suggesting that giving up smoking could play an important role in your child’s future health and wellbeing.

Experts discovered through their experiments that the children whose mothers smoked at least one pack a day while pregnant, had reading scores that were 21% lower than the children whose mothers did not smoke while pregnant. The reading tests were given to the kids when they were 7 years old, and again when they were 9.

On average, kids who were born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy were ranked 7 spots lower in terms of reading accuracy and capability to comprehend reading material than their classmates whose mothers did not smoke…. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/253100.php

An Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University study adds behavior problems to the list of woes children of smokers suffer.

Science Daily reported in Early exposure to tobacco can cause behavioral problems in children:

Researchers from Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), in collaboration with the university hospitals of 6 French cities, have analysed data on pre- and postnatal exposure to tobacco in the homes of 5,200 primary school children. They show that this exposure is associated with a risk of behavioural disorders in children, particularly emotional and conduct disorders. The association is stronger when exposure takes place both during pregnancy and after birth. These data show the risk associated with smoking in early life and its behavioural repercussions when the child is of school-going age.These results are published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The consequences of tobacco exposure are widely documented. It leads to many illnesses, including asthma. However, the potential role of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is much less well known in terms of its link to behavioural problems in children. In this context, the team led by Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Inserm Research Director at Unit 1136, “Pierre Louis Public Health Institute” (Inserm/UPMC) examined the association between pre- and postnatal ETS exposure and behavioural problems in children….

These data come from the 6 Cities Study (see box), which targeted 5,221 primary school children. Prenatal (in utero smoking) and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke in the home was assessed using a standardised questionnaire completed by the parents. Behavioural disorders were assessed via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) used to assess the behavioural and psychosocial functioning of the children, which was also completed by the parents.

In greater detail, emotional disorders are associated with exposure to ETS during both the prenatal and postnatal periods, which concerns 21% of the children in the study. Conduct disorders are also associated with ETS exposure in these children. The association also exists in cases of prenatal or postnatal exposure alone, but is less pronounced.

These observations seem to confirm those carried out in animals, i.e. that the nicotine contained in tobacco smoke may have a neurotoxic effect on the brain. During pregnancy, nicotine in tobacco smoke stimulates acetylcholine receptors, and causes structural changes in the brain. In the first months of life, exposure to tobacco smoke generates a protein imbalance that leads to altered neuronal growth….. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150928103029.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Citation:

Early exposure to tobacco can cause behavioral problems in children
Date: September 28, 2015

Source: INSERM

Summary:
Researchers have analyzed data on pre- and postnatal exposure to tobacco in the homes of 5,200 primary school children, and have found that early exposure to tobacco can lead to behavioral problems in children.

Journal Reference:
1. Julie Chastang, Nour Baïz, Jean Sébastien Cadwallader, Sarah Robert, John L Dywer, Denis André Charpin, Denis Caillaud, Frédéric de Blay, Chantal Raherison, François Lavaud, Isabella Annesi-Maesano. Correction: Postnatal Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure Related to Behavioral Problems in Children. PLOS ONE, 2015; 10 (9): e0138164 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138164

Here is the summary of the research from PLOS:

Postnatal Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure Related to Behavioral Problems in Children
Julie Chastang,#1,2,3 Nour Baïz,#1,3,* Jean Sébastien Cadwalladder,2 Sarah Robert,2 John Dywer,1 Denis André Charpin,4 Denis Caillaud,5 Frédéric de Blay,6 Chantal Raherison,7 François Lavaud,8 and Isabella Annesi-Maesano1,3
Kenji Hashimoto, Editor
Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►
This article has been corrected. See PLoS One. 2015 September 9; 10(9): e0138164.
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Go to:
Abstract
Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between pre and post environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and behavioral problems in schoolchildren.

Methods
In the cross-sectional 6 cities Study conducted in France, 5221 primary school children were investigated. Pre- and postnatal exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke at home was assessed using a parent questionnaire. Child’s behavioral outcomes (emotional symptoms and conduct problems) were evaluated by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by the parents.

Results
ETS exposure during the postnatal period and during both pre- and postnatal periods was associated with behavioral problems in children. Abnormal emotional symptoms (internalizing problems) were related to ETS exposure in children who were exposed during the pre- and postnatal periods with an OR of 1.72 (95% Confidence Interval (CI)= 1.36-2.17), whereas the OR was estimated to be 1.38 (95% CI= 1.12-1.69) in the case of postnatal exposure only. Abnormal conduct problems (externalizing problems) were related to ETS exposure in children who were exposed during the pre- and postnatal periods with an OR of 1.94 (95% CI= 1.51-2.50), whereas the OR was estimated to be 1.47 (95% CI=1.17-1.84) in the case of postnatal exposure only. Effect estimates were adjusted for gender, study center, ethnic origin, child age, low parental education, current physician diagnosed asthma, siblings, preterm birth and single parenthood.

Conclusion
Postnatal ETS exposure, alone or in association with prenatal exposure, increases the risk of behavioral problems in school-age children.
Go to:
Introduction
The consequences of childhood environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure have often been described [1, 2] and include many physical symptoms or diseases such as asthma or sudden infant death syndrome. However, much less is known about the potential role of ETS exposure in the development of behavioral problems in children. Association between behavioral problems and ETS exposure during fetal development has been suggested in several studies [3–5]. Recently, a dose-response relationship was reported between postnatal ETS exposure at home and hyperactivity/inattention as well as conduct problems in preschool children [6]. Furthermore, in a prospective birth cohort study, Tiesler et al. investigates the impact of passive smoking on behavioral problems. In this study, they found that not only maternal smoking during pregnancy but also paternal smoking at home is associated with hyperactivity/inattention problems in children [7].
Few studies have investigated the relationship between postnatal ETS and emotional symptoms or conduct problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate, in a large population-based sample of children and using internationally referenced instruments, the relationships between behavioral problems (emotional symptoms and conduct problems) and exposure to pre- and mostly postnatal ETS exposure.
Go to:

Materials and Methods
Participants
9615 children were recruited in primary school (CM1 and CM2 in France) in the frame of the French 6 Cities Study (6C Study) according to a protocol described in a previous study [8]. The sample was taken from all pupils in the 401 relevant classes from 108 schools randomly selected in the six French communities (Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Creteil, Marseille, Strasbourg and Reims), which were chosen for the contrast in their air quality.
7781 questionnaires have been collected. A total of 5221 children (54.3%), for whom complete data on ETS exposure and at least one of the two outcome variables (emotional symptoms or conduct problems) were available, have been included in the present study.

Behavioral problems
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a validated questionnaire used to assess mental and behavioral strengths and difficulties in 3–16 years old children, which has been endorsed in France [9]. All the questionnaires were completed by the parents of the children. Emotional symptoms and conduct problems were measured through the SDQ on childrens’ behavior in the past 6 months. In each scale, five items were scored, using a three-point Likert scale: 0 for « not true », 1 for « somewhat true » or 2 for « very true » and summed up into score ranging from 0 to 10. According to the normative banding method for parent-reported SDQ scores in France [9], the scores were categorized to « normal », « borderline » or « abnormal » using the following cut-off points: 0–3, 4 and 5–10 respectively for emotional problems and 0–2, 3, 4–10 for conduct problems.

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)
Active smoking behavior of the mother, the father and any other household members at home during pregnancy, at 1 year of age and at the moment of the study was reported in the questionnaire. Children were defined as « never » being exposed to ETS when the mother reported no smoking during pregnancy, and when no smoking at home (mother, father and other members) was reported at 1 year of age and at the moment of the study.
Children were classified as being only prenatally exposed to ETS when the mother reported smoking during pregnancy but no smoking at home was reported at 1 year of age and at the moment of the study. Children were classified as being only postnatally exposed to ETS when smoking at home at 1 year of age or at the moment of the study was reported, but when the mother did not smoke during pregnancy. Pre- and postnatal ETS exposure was defined for children whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy and whose family had reported smoking at home at 1 year of age or at the moment of the study.

Statistical analysis
The characteristics of our study population (N = 5221) were compared to the sample of children without complete data (N = 2560), by using Chi-square tests. We also compared these characteristics in children according to their emotional symptoms and conduct problems, using Kruskal-Wallis tests.
In the unadjusted models, a total of 5077 children were included in the analyses of emotional symptoms and of 5126 children in the analyses of conduct problems.
We used a multinomial logistic regression model to analyze the association between behavioral problems and ETS exposure [10]. The dependent variables (emotional symptoms and conduct problems) were classified in three categories (normal, borderline and abnormal). Results are presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Covariate selection was based on the statistical significance of comparison tests between our study population and the rest of the population, and based on the known relationships to behavioral problems and/or ETS exposure. Parental education was defined as high if both parents attained tertiary level and low otherwise (primary and/or secondary). Children were considered to have a recent asthma diagnosis if they had been diagnosed by a doctor with asthma in the last 12 months. The variable “siblings” was classified into “presence of one or more siblings” and “no sibling”. Preterm birth was defined as a live birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation.
The final models were adjusted for gender, study center, ethnic origin, child age, low parental education, current physician diagnosed asthma, siblings, preterm birth and single parenthood.
In addition, interactions between ETS exposure and the covariates have been tested.
Dataset used in this work is given in S1 Dataset. All statistical analyses were performed using the statistical software SAS version 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).

See, Prenatal care fact sheet http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/prenatal-care.html

Our goal as a society should be a healthy child in a healthy family who attends a healthy school in a healthy neighborhood. ©

Resources:

1. A History of Tobacco
http://archive.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.html

2. American Lung Association’s Smoking and Teens Fact Sheet Women and Tobacco Use
African Americans and Tobacco Use
American Indians/Alaska Natives and Tobacco Use
Hispanics and Tobacco Use
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Tobacco Use
Military and Tobacco Use
Children/Teens and Tobacco Use
Older Adults and Tobacco Use
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/specific-populations.html

3. Center for Young Women’s Health A Guide for Teens http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/smokeinfo.html

4. Kroger Resources Teens and Smoking

http://kroger.staywellsolutionsonline.com/Wellness/Smoking/Teens/

5. Teens Health’s Smoking

http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/tobacco/smoking.html

6. Quit Smoking Support.com
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/teens.htm

Where information leads to Hope. Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

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http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

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Penn State study: Double standard in early sexual relationships

6 Sep

Maybe, because some parents may not know what is age appropriate for their attire, they haven’t got a clue about what is appropriate for children. There is nothing sadder than a 40 something, 50 something trying to look like they are twenty. What wasn’t sagging when you are 20, is more than likely than not, sagging now.

Kristen Russell Dobson, the managing editor of Parent Map, has a great article in Parent Map. In Are Girls Acting Sexy Too Young? https://www.parentmap.com/article/are-girls-acting-sexy-too-young Dobson says:

A 2003 analysis of TV sitcoms found gender harassment in nearly every episode. Most common: jokes about women’s sexuality or women’s bodies, and comments that characterized women as sex objects. And according to the 2007 Report of the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, “Massive exposure to media among youth creates the potential for massive exposure to portrayals that sexualize women and girls and teach girls that women are sexual objects.”

Those messages can be harmful to kids because they make sex seem common — even normal — among younger and younger kids. In So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids, co-authors Diane E. Levin, Ph.D., and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., write that “sex in commercial culture has far more to do with trivializing and objectifying sex than with promoting it, more to do with consuming than with connecting. The problem is not that sex as portrayed in the media is sinful, but that it is synthetic and cynical.” http://www.parentmap.com/article/are-girls-acting-sexy-too-young

The culture seems to be sexualizing children at an ever younger age and it becomes more difficult for parents and guardians to allow children to just remain, well children, for a bit longer. Still, parents and guardians must do their part to make sure children are in safe and secure environments. A pole dancing fourth grader is simply unacceptable.

Science Daily reported in Unlike boys, girls lose friends for having sex, gain friends for making out:

Early adolescent girls lose friends for having sex and gain friends for “making out,” while their male peers lose friends for “making out” and gain friends for having sex, finds a new study that will be presented at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

“In our sample of early adolescents, girls’ friendship networks shrink significantly after they have sex, whereas boys’ friendship networks expand significantly,” said Derek A. Kreager, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of sociology and criminology at Pennsylvania State University. “But what really surprised us was that ‘making out’ showed a pattern consistent with a strong reverse sexual double standard, such that girls who ‘make out’ without having sex see significant increases in friendships, and boys who engage in the same behavior see significant decreases in friendships.”

The study relies on data from the PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) longitudinal study, which tracked two cohorts of youth from 28 rural communities in Iowa and Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2007 when they were in sixth to ninth grade and 11 to 16-years-old. Students were surveyed in five waves: in the Fall of sixth grade and in the Spring of sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Kreager’s study focuses on 921 students in the second PROSPER cohort who completed in-home surveys that included measures of sexual behavior.

As part of the PROSPER study, students were asked to nominate their best or closest friends in the same grade. In order to identify changes in peer acceptance, Kreager and his colleagues considered how many friendship nominations participants received in each wave.

According to Kreager, in waves where they reported having sex, on average, girls experienced a 45 percent decrease in peer acceptance and boys experienced an 88 percent increase. On the other hand, in waves where they reported “making out” without having sex, on average, girls experienced a 25 percent increase in peer acceptance, while boys experienced a 29 percent decrease in peer acceptance.

“Our results are consistent with traditional gender scripts,” said Kreager. “Men and boys are expected to act on innate or strong sex drives to initiate heterosexual contacts for the purpose of sex rather than romance and pursue multiple sexual partnerships. In contrast, women and girls are expected to desire romance over sex, value monogamy, and ‘gatekeep’ male sexual advances within committed relationships. A sexual double standard then arises because women and girls who violate traditional sexual scripts and have casual and/or multiple sexual partnerships are socially stigmatized, whereas men and boys performing similar behaviors are rewarded for achieving masculine ideals.”

Kreager found that girls, who defy traditional gender scripts by having sex, lose both male and female friendships. In contrast, boys who defy gender scripts by “making out” without having sex mainly lose male friends.
“This pattern suggests that other boys are the peers that police social norms when it comes to masculinity, whereas girls receive strong messages about gender-appropriate sexual behavior from boys and girls,” Kreager explained. “It is not surprising that girls do not punish boys for ‘making out,’ as this behavior is rewarding for girls both socially and physically. However, there is somewhat of a paradox for boys stigmatizing girls who have sex because these boys are punishing girls for behavior that benefits boys both socially and sexually. We believe one reason for this is that only a small minority of boys have such sexual access, so those who do not have sex negatively define the girls who are having sex.”

While recent research that shows men and women are held to different standards of sexual conduct largely focuses on college “hook-up culture,” by studying early adolescents, Kreager was able to show that sexual double standards also affect youth who have only just reached sexual maturity…. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150824064731.htm

Citation:

• Social Psychology Quarterly
• Vol. 72, No. 2, Jun., 2009
• The Sexual Double St…

The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Peer Acceptance

Derek A. Kreager and Jeremy Staff

Social Psychology Quarterly

Vol. 72, No. 2 (Jun., 2009), pp. 143-164

Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25593915
Page Count: 22

Abstract

The belief that women and men are held to different standards of sexual conduct is pervasive in contemporary American society. According to the sexual double standard, boys and men are rewarded and praised for heterosexual sexual contacts, whereas girls and women are derogated and stigmatized for similar behaviors. Although widely held by the general public, research findings on the sexual double standard remain equivocal, with qualitative studies and early attitudinal surveys generally finding evidence of the double standard and more recent experimental vignette designs often failing to find similar results. In this study, we extend prior research by directly measuring the social status of sexually permissive youth. We use data collected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to relate adolescents’ self-reported numbers of sexual partners to a network measure of peer acceptance. Results suggest that the association between lifetime sexual partnerships and peer status varies significantly by gender, such that greater numbers of sexual partners are positively correlated with boys’ peer acceptance, but negatively correlated with girls’ peer acceptance. Moreover, the relationship between boys’ sexual behaviors and peer acceptance is moderated by socioeconomic origins; sexually permissive boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are predicted to have more friendships than permissive boys from more advantaged backgrounds. Our results thus support the existence of an adolescent sexual double standard and suggest that sexual norms vary by both gender and socioeconomic origins. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25593915?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Here is the press release from the American Sociological Association:

Public Release: 24-Aug-2015 Unlike boys, girls lose friends for having sex, gain friends for making out
American Sociological Association

CHICAGO — Early adolescent girls lose friends for having sex and gain friends for “making out,” while their male peers lose friends for “making out” and gain friends for having sex, finds a new study that will be presented at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

“In our sample of early adolescents, girls’ friendship networks shrink significantly after they have sex, whereas boys’ friendship networks expand significantly,” said Derek A. Kreager, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of sociology and criminology at Pennsylvania State University. “But what really surprised us was that ‘making out’ showed a pattern consistent with a strong reverse sexual double standard, such that girls who ‘make out’ without having sex see significant increases in friendships, and boys who engage in the same behavior see significant decreases in friendships.”

The study relies on data from the PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) longitudinal study, which tracked two cohorts of youth from 28 rural communities in Iowa and Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2007 when they were in sixth to ninth grade and 11 to 16-years-old. Students were surveyed in five waves: in the Fall of sixth grade and in the Spring of sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Kreager’s study focuses on 921 students in the second PROSPER cohort who completed in-home surveys that included measures of sexual behavior.

As part of the PROSPER study, students were asked to nominate their best or closest friends in the same grade. In order to identify changes in peer acceptance, Kreager and his colleagues considered how many friendship nominations participants received in each wave.

According to Kreager, in waves where they reported having sex, on average, girls experienced a 45 percent decrease in peer acceptance and boys experienced an 88 percent increase. On the other hand, in waves where they reported “making out” without having sex, on average, girls experienced a 25 percent increase in peer acceptance, while boys experienced a 29 percent decrease in peer acceptance.

“Our results are consistent with traditional gender scripts,” said Kreager. “Men and boys are expected to act on innate or strong sex drives to initiate heterosexual contacts for the purpose of sex rather than romance and pursue multiple sexual partnerships. In contrast, women and girls are expected to desire romance over sex, value monogamy, and ‘gatekeep’ male sexual advances within committed relationships. A sexual double standard then arises because women and girls who violate traditional sexual scripts and have casual and/or multiple sexual partnerships are socially stigmatized, whereas men and boys performing similar behaviors are rewarded for achieving masculine ideals.”

Kreager found that girls, who defy traditional gender scripts by having sex, lose both male and female friendships. In contrast, boys who defy gender scripts by “making out” without having sex mainly lose male friends.
“This pattern suggests that other boys are the peers that police social norms when it comes to masculinity, whereas girls receive strong messages about gender-appropriate sexual behavior from boys and girls,” Kreager explained. “It is not surprising that girls do not punish boys for ‘making out,’ as this behavior is rewarding for girls both socially and physically. However, there is somewhat of a paradox for boys stigmatizing girls who have sex because these boys are punishing girls for behavior that benefits boys both socially and sexually. We believe one reason for this is that only a small minority of boys have such sexual access, so those who do not have sex negatively define the girls who are having sex.”

While recent research that shows men and women are held to different standards of sexual conduct largely focuses on college “hook-up culture,” by studying early adolescents, Kreager was able to show that sexual double standards also affect youth who have only just reached sexual maturity.
“During early adolescence, peer evaluations of initial sexual behaviors and virginity loss are likely to have large and lasting impacts on later sexual adjustment,” Kreager noted.
###

Study co-authors include Jeremy Staff, an associate professor of sociology and criminology at Pennsylvania State University; Robin Gauthier, a post-doctoral fellow at REACH of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Eva S. Lefkowitz, a professor of human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University; and Mark E. Feinberg, a research professor of health and human development at Pennsylvania State University.
About the American Sociological Association

The American Sociological Association, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions to and use of sociology by society.

The paper, “The Double Standard at Sexual Debut: Gender, Sexual Behavior and Early Adolescent Peer Acceptance,” will be presented on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 2:30 p.m. CDT in Chicago at the American Sociological Association’s 110th Annual Meeting.

To obtain a copy of the paper; for assistance reaching the study’s author(s); or for more information on other ASA presentations, members of the media can contact Daniel Fowler, ASA Media Relations Manager, at (202) 527-7885 or pubinfo@asanet.org. During the Annual Meeting (Aug. 22-25), ASA Public Information Office staff can be reached in the on-site press office, located in the Hilton Chicago’s Boulevard Room B, at (312) 294-6616 or (914) 450-4557 (cell).

Papers presented at the ASA Annual Meeting are typically working papers that have not yet been published in peer reviewed journals.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/asa-ubg081815.php

This society is setting up women and girls to make some personally destructive choices which have nothing to do with a liberating and healthy sexuality. Much of the culture is simply aimed at demeaning and trivializing women. Children of both sexes need to be urged toward education, training, and life experiences which grow them as responsible and caring people. They should be urged to make choices which benefit them and the society in which they live. Unfortunately, there are some who enter the world of whoredom because they are forced. There is a lot of information about human trafficking http://www.euronews.com/2010/07/02/un-targets-human-trafficking-for-prostitution/ No one in their right mind would honestly advocate that someone they care about was “in the life” or “on the game.” But if young women are going to voluntarily take the road of whoredom, then you need to sell yourselves for Goldman Sachs type $$$$$$$$$$. That is what Miley, Britney, Janet and the other pop tarts have done. Short of that, you might as well be walking the streets looking for a really nice car that isn’t leased so that you can become the next “Pretty Woman.”

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

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European College of Neuropsychopharmacology study: How to prevent suicide?

31 Aug

People of all ages may have feelings of profound sadness, loss, and depression. There is no one on earth, despite what the ads attempt to portray, who lives a perfect life. Every life has flaws and blemishes, it is just that some cope better than others. For every person who lives to a ripe old age, during the course of that life they may encounter all types of loss from loss of a loved one through death, divorce or desertion, loss of job, financial reverses, illness, dealing with A-holes and twits, plagues, pestilence, and whatever curse can be thrown at a person. The key is that they lived THROUGH whatever challenges they faced AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME. Woody Allen said something like “90% of life is simply showing up.” Let moi add a corollary, one of the prime elements of a happy life is to realize that whatever moment you are now in, it will not last forever and that includes moments of great challenge. A person does not have to be religious to appreciate the story of Job. The end of the story is that Job is restored. He had to endure much before the final victory, though.

Science Daily reported in How can we prevent suicide? Major study shows risk factors associated with depression:

A major multi-national study of suicides has identified the behaviour patterns which precede many suicide attempts. This may lead to changes in clinical practice in the care of patients affected with depression, as it shows the clinical factors which confer major risk of suicide attempts.

The statistics for suicide are frightening. According to the WHO, more than 800,000 people commit suicide every year, with perhaps 20 times that number attempting suicide. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the young (in the UK for example, it is the leading cause of death in men under 35) see notes, below. Effective measures of suicide prevention are urgently needed.

The BRIDGE-II-MIX study is a major international study looking at depression and suicide. The researchers evaluated 2811 patients suffering from depression, of whom 628 had already attempted suicide. Each patient was interviewed by a psychiatrist as if it were a standard evaluation of a mentally-ill patient. The parameters studied included previous suicide attempts, family history, current and previous treatment, patients’ clinical presentation, how they scored on the standard Global Assessment of Functioning scale, and other parameters. The study looked especially at the characteristics and behaviours of those who had attempted suicide, and compared these to depressed patients who had not attempted suicide. They found that certain patterns recur before suicide attempts.

According to author Dr. Dina Popovic (Barcelona):
‘We found that “depressive mixed states” often preceded suicide attempts. A depressive mixed state is where a patient is depressed, but also has symptoms of “excitation,” or mania. We found this significantly more in patients who had previously attempted suicide, than those who had not. In fact 40% of all the depressed patients who attempted suicide had a “mixed episode” rather than just depression. All the patients who suffer from mixed depression are at much higher risk of suicide.
We also found that the standard DSM criteria identified 12% of patients at showing mixed states, whereas our methods showed 40% of at-risk patients. This means that the standard methods are missing a lot of patients at risk of suicide.”

In a second analysis of the figures, they found that if a depressed patient presents any of the following symptoms:

• risky behaviour (e.g. reckless driving, promiscuous behaviour)
• psychomotor agitation (pacing around a room, wringing one’s hands, pulling off clothing and putting it back on and other similar actions)
• impulsivity (acting on a whim, displaying behaviour characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences),
then their risk of attempting suicide is at least 50% higher.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150830152601.htm

Citation:

How can we prevent suicide? Major study shows risk factors associated with depression
Date: August 30, 2015

Source: European College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Summary:

A major multi-national study of suicides has identified the behavior patterns which precede many suicide attempts. This may lead to changes in clinical practice in the care of patients affected with depression, as it shows the clinical factors which confer major risk of suicide attempts.

• Abstract

Send to:
J Clin Psychiatry. 2015 Mar;76(3):e351-8. doi: 10.4088/JCP.14m09092.
Mixed features in patients with a major depressive episode: the BRIDGE-II-MIX study.
Perugi G1, Angst J, Azorin JM, Bowden CL, Mosolov S, Reis J, Vieta E, Young AH; BRIDGE-II-Mix Study Group.
Author information

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate the frequency of mixed states in patients diagnosed with major depressive episode (MDE) according to conceptually different definitions and to compare their clinical validity.

METHOD:

This multicenter, multinational cross-sectional Bipolar Disorders: Improving Diagnosis, Guidance and Education (BRIDGE)-II-MIX study enrolled 2,811 adult patients experiencing an MDE. Data were collected per protocol on sociodemographic variables, current and past psychiatric symptoms, and clinical variables that are risk factors for bipolar disorder. The frequency of mixed features was determined by applying both DSM-5 criteria and a priori described Research-Based Diagnostic Criteria (RBDC). Clinical variables associated with mixed features were assessed using logistic regression.

RESULTS:

Overall, 212 patients (7.5%) fulfilled DSM-5 criteria for MDE with mixed features (DSM-5-MXS), and 818 patients (29.1%) fulfilled diagnostic criteria for a predefined RBDC depressive mixed state (RBDC-MXS). The most frequent manic/hypomanic symptoms were irritable mood (32.6%), emotional/mood lability (29.8%), distractibility (24.4%), psychomotor agitation (16.1%), impulsivity (14.5%), aggression (14.2%), racing thoughts (11.8%), and pressure to keep talking (11.4%). Euphoria (4.6%), grandiosity (3.7%), and hypersexuality (2.6%) were less represented. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, RBDC-MXS was associated with the largest number of variables including diagnosis of bipolar disorder, family history of mania, lifetime suicide attempts, duration of the current episode > 1 month, atypical features, early onset, history of antidepressant-induced mania/hypomania, and lifetime comorbidity with anxiety, alcohol and substance use disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

CONCLUSIONS:

Depressive mixed state, defined as the presence of 3 or more manic/hypomanic features, was present in around one-third of patients experiencing an MDE. The valid symptom, illness course and family history RBDC criteria we assessed identified 4 times more MDE patients as having mixed features and yielded statistically more robust associations with several illness characteristics of bipolar disorder than did DSM-5 criteria.
© Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
Comment in
• “Mixed” depression: drawbacks of DSM-5 (and other) polythetic diagnostic criteria. [J Clin Psychiatry. 2015]
• Mixed depression: a farewell to differential diagnosis? [J Clin Psychiatry. 2015]
PMID:
25830457
[PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25830457

Here is the press release from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology:

Public Release: 29-Aug-2015 How can we prevent suicide? Major study shows risk factors associated with depression

European College of Neuropsychopharmacology

A major multi-national study of suicides has identified the behaviour patterns which precede many suicide attempts. This may lead to changes in clinical practice in the care of patients affected with depression, as it shows the clinical factors which confer major risk of suicide attempts.

The statistics for suicide are frightening. According to the WHO, more than 800,000 people commit suicide every year, with perhaps 20 times that number attempting suicide. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the young (in the UK for example, it is the leading cause of death in men under 35) see notes, below. Effective measures of suicide prevention are urgently needed.

The BRIDGE-II-MIX study is a major international study looking at depression and suicide. The researchers evaluated 2811 patients suffering from depression, of whom 628 had already attempted suicide. Each patient was interviewed by a psychiatrist as if it were a standard evaluation of a mentally-ill patient. The parameters studied included previous suicide attempts, family history, current and previous treatment, patients’ clinical presentation, how they scored on the standard Global Assessment of Functioning scale, and other parameters. The study looked especially at the characteristics and behaviours of those who had attempted suicide, and compared these to depressed patients who had not attempted suicide. They found that certain patterns recur before suicide attempts.

According to author Dr. Dina Popovic (Barcelona):
‘We found that “depressive mixed states” often preceded suicide attempts. A depressive mixed state is where a patient is depressed, but also has symptoms of “excitation”, or mania. We found this significantly more in patients who had previously attempted suicide, than those who had not. In fact 40% of all the depressed patients who attempted suicide had a “mixed episode” rather than just depression. All the patients who suffer from mixed depression are at much higher risk of suicide.

We also found that the standard DSM criteria identified 12% of patients at showing mixed states, whereas our methods showed 40% of at-risk patients. This means that the standard methods are missing a lot of patients at risk of suicide”.

In a second analysis of the figures, they found that if a depressed patient presents any of the following symptoms:

• risky behaviour (e.g. reckless driving, promiscuous behaviour)
• psychomotor agitation (pacing around a room, wringing one’s hands, pulling off clothing and putting it back on and other similar actions)
• impulsivity (acting on a whim, displaying behaviour characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences),
then their risk of attempting suicide is at least 50% higher.
Dr Popovic continued:

“In our opinion, assessing these symptoms in every depressed patient we see is extremely important, and has immense therapeutical implications. Most of these symptoms will not be spontaneously referred by the patient, the clinician needs to inquire directly, and many clinicians may not be aware of the importance of looking at these symptoms before deciding to treat depressed patients.

This is an important message for all clinicians, from the GPs who see depressed patients and may not pay enough attention to these symptoms, which are not always reported spontaneously by the patients, through to secondary and tertiary level clinicians. In highly specialized tertiary centres, clinicians working with bipolar patients are usually more aware of this, but that practice needs to extent to all levels.

The strength of this study is that it’s not a clinical trial, with ideal patients – it’s a big study, from the real world”.
Commenting ECNP President, Professor Guy Goodwin (Oxford) said:

The recognition of increased activation in the context of a severe depression is an important practical challenge. While many psychiatrists recognize that this constitutes an additional risk for suicide, and would welcome better scales for its identification, the question of treatment remains challenging. We need more research to guide us on best practice. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/econ-hcw082615.php

What Should You Do if You Know Someone Who Thinking About Suicide?

If you are thinking of suicide or you know someone who is thinking about suicide, GET HELP, NOW!!!! The Suicide Prevention Resource Center http://www.sprc.org/basics/roles-suicide-prevention has some excellent advice about suicide prevention http://www.sprc.org/basics/roles-suicide-prevention
Resources:

Suicide Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/youth_suicide.html

Teen Suicide Overview
http://www.teensuicidestatistics.com/

Teen’s Health’s Suicide
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/feeling_sad/suicide.html

American Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Teen_Suicide_10.aspx

Suicide Prevention Resource Center
http://www.sprc.org/basics/roles-suicide-prevention

Teen Depression
http://helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm

Jared Story.Com
http://www.jaredstory.com/teen_epidemic.html

CNN Report about suicide                                                                                                                                    http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/20/lia.latina.suicides/index.html

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
http://www.afsp.org This group is dedicated to advancing the knowledge of suicide and the ability to prevent it.

SA\VE – Suicide Awareness\Voices of Education
http://www.save.org SA\VE offers information on suicide prevention. Call (800) SUICIDE

About.Com’s Depression In Young Children                                                                                            http://depression.about.com/od/child/Young_Children.htm

Psych Central’s Depression In Young Children                                                                                          http://depression.about.com/od/child/Young_Children.htm

Psychiatric News’ Study Helps Pinpoint Children With Depression
http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=106034

Family Doctor’s What Is Depression?
http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/depression.html

WebMD’s Depression In Children
http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-children

Healthline’s Is Your Child Depressed?
http://www.healthline.com/hlvideo-5min/how-to-help-your-child-through-depression-517095449

Medicine.Net’s Depression In Children                                                                                                             http://www.onhealth.com/depression_in_children/article.htm

If you or your child needs help for depression or another illness, then go to a reputable medical provider. There is nothing wrong with taking the steps necessary to get well.

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

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Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center study: Exposure to pesticide linked to ADHD in boys

17 Jun

Many parents will be presented with a diagnosis of ADHD regarding their child. Yahoo medical reported in the article, Top 10 Myths About ADHD:

Myth #1: Only kids have ADHD.
Although about 10% of kids 5 to 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD, at least 4% of adults have it, too — and probably many more, since adult ADHD is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. That’s partly because people think only kids get it.

Myth #2: All kids “outgrow” ADHD.
Not nearly always. Up to 70% of children with ADHD continue to have trouble with it in adulthood, which can create relationship problems, money troubles, work strife, and a rocky family life.

Myth #3: Medication is the only treatment for ADHD.
Medication can be useful in managing ADHD symptoms, but it’s not a cure. And it’s not the only treatment. Lifestyle changes, counseling, and behavior modification can significantly improve symptoms as well. Several studies suggest that a combination of ADHD treatments works best.

Myth #4: People who have ADHD are lazy and lack intelligence and willpower.
This is totally not true. In fact, ADHD has nothing to do with intelligence or determination. It’s a neurobehavioral disorder caused by changes in brain chemicals and the way the brain works. It presents unique challenges, but they can be overcome — which many successful people have done. Even Albert Einstein is said to have had symptoms of ADHD.

Myth #5: ADHD isn’t a real disorder.
Not so. Doctors and mental-health professionals agree that ADHD is a biological disorder that can significantly impair functioning. An imbalance in brain chemicals affects brain areas that regulate behavior and emotion. This is what produces ADHD symptoms.

Myth #6: Bad parenting causes ADHD.
Absolutely not! ADHD symptoms are caused by brain-chemical imbalances (see #4 and #5) that make it hard to pay attention and control impulses. Good parenting skills help children deal with their symptoms.

Myth #7: Kids with ADHD are always hyper.
Not always. ADHD comes in three “flavors”: predominantly inattentive; predominantly hyperactive-impulsive; and combined, which is a mix of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Although kids with hyperactive-impulsive or combined ADHD may be fidgety and restless, kids with inattentive ADHD are not hyper.

Myth #8: Too much TV time causes ADHD.
Not really. But spending excessive amounts of time watching TV or playing video games could trigger the condition in susceptible individuals. And in kids and teens who already have ADHD, spending hours staring at electronic screens may make symptoms worse.

Myth #9: If you can focus on certain things, you don’t have ADHD.
It’s not that simple. Although it’s true that people with ADHD have trouble focusing on things that don’t interest them, there’s a flip side to the disorder. Some people with ADHD get overly absorbed in activities they enjoy. This symptom is called hyperfocus. It can help you be more productive in activities that you like, but you can become so focused that you ignore responsibilities you don’t like.

Myth #10: ADHD is overdiagnosed.
Nope. If anything, ADHD is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Many children with ADHD grow up to be adults with ADHD. The pressures and responsibilities of adulthood often exacerbate ADHD symptoms, leading adults to seek evaluation and help for the first time. Also, parents who have children with ADHD may seek treatment only after recognizing similar symptoms in themselves.
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/top-10-myths-about-adhd-2528710.html

 Whether drug or behavior therapy is chosen to treat ADHD depends upon the goals of the parents.

Science Daily reported in Study links exposure to common pesticide with ADHD in boys:

A new study links a commonly used household pesticide with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young teens.

The study found an association between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and ADHD, particularly in terms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, rather than inattentiveness. The association was stronger in boys than in girls.

The study, led by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, is published online in the journal Environmental Health.

“Given the growing use of pyrethroid pesticides and the perception that they may represent a safe alternative, our findings may be of considerable public health importance,” says Tanya Froehlich, MD, a developmental pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s and the study’s corresponding author.

Due to concerns about adverse health consequences, the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned the two most commonly used organophosphate (organic compounds containing phosphorus) pesticides from residential use in 2000-2001. The ban led to the increased use of pyrethroid pesticides, which are now the most commonly used pesticides for residential pest control and public health purposes. They also are used increasingly in agriculture.

Pyrethroids have often been considered a safer choice because they are not as acutely toxic as the banned organophosphates. Animal studies, on the other hand, suggested a heightened vulnerability to the effects of pyrethroid exposure on hyperactivity, impulsivity and abnormalities in the dopamine system in male mice. Dopamine is a neurochemical in the brain thought to be involved in many activities, including those that govern ADHD.

The researchers studied data on 687 children between the ages of 8 and 15. The data came from the 2000-2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is a nationally representative sample of the United States population designed to collect information about health.

The 2000-2001 cycle of NHANES was the only cycle of the study that included a diagnostic interview of children’s ADHD symptoms and pyrethroid pesticide biomarkers. Pesticide exposure measurements were collected in a random sample of the urine of half the 8-11 year olds and a third of the 12-15 year olds.

ADHD was determined by meeting criteria on the Diagnosic Interview Schedule for Children, a diagnostic instrument that assesses 34 common psychiatric diagnoses of children and adolescents, or by caregiver report of a prior diagnosis. The DISC is administered by an interviewer…

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150601122535.htm

Citation:

Study links exposure to common pesticide with ADHD in boys

Date:              June 1, 2015

Source:           Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Summary:

A new study links a commonly used household pesticide with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and young teens. The study found an association between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and ADHD, particularly in terms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, rather than inattentiveness. The association was stronger in boys than in girls.

Journal Reference:

  1. Melissa Wagner-Schuman, Jason R Richardson, Peggy Auinger, Joseph M Braun, Bruce P Lanphear, Jeffery N Epstein, Kimberly Yolton, Tanya E Froehlich.Association of pyrethroid pesticide exposure with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a nationally representative sample of U.S. children. Environmental Health, 2015; 14 (1) DOI: 1186/s12940-015-0030-y

Here is the press release from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center:

Study Links Exposure to Common Pesticide With ADHD in Boys

Monday, June 01, 2015

A new study links a commonly used household pesticide with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young teens.

The study found an association between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and ADHD, particularly in terms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, rather than inattentiveness. The association was stronger in boys than in girls.

The study, led by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, is published online in the journal Environmental Health.

“Given the growing use of pyrethroid pesticides and the perception that they may represent a safe alternative, our findings may be of considerable public health importance,” says Tanya Froehlich, MD, a developmental pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s and the study’s corresponding author.

Due to concerns about adverse health consequences, the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned the two most commonly used organophosphate (organic compounds containing phosphorus) pesticides from residential use in 2000-2001. The ban led to the increased use of pyrethroid pesticides, which are now the most commonly used pesticides for residential pest control and public health purposes. They also are used increasingly in agriculture.

Pyrethroids have often been considered a safer choice because they are not as acutely toxic as the banned organophosphates. Animal studies, on the other hand, suggested a heightened vulnerability to the effects of pyrethroid exposure on hyperactivity, impulsivity and abnormalities in the dopamine system in male mice. Dopamine is a neurochemical in the brain thought to be involved in many activities, including those that govern ADHD.

The researchers studied data on 687 children between the ages of 8 and 15. The data came from the 2000-2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is a nationally representative sample of the United States population designed to collect information about health.

The 2000-2001 cycle of NHANES was the only cycle of the study that included a diagnostic interview of children’s ADHD symptoms and pyrethroid pesticide biomarkers. Pesticide exposure measurements were collected in a random sample of the urine of half the 8-11 year olds and a third of the 12-15 year olds.

ADHD was determined by meeting criteria on the Diagnosic Interview Schedule for Children, a diagnostic instrument that assesses 34 common psychiatric diagnoses of children and adolescents, or by caregiver report of a prior diagnosis. The DISC is administered by an interviewer.

Boys with detectable urinary 3-PBA, a biomarker of exposure to pyrethroids, were three times as likely to have ADHD compared with those without detectable 3-PBA. Hyperactivity and impulsivity increased by 50 percent for every 10-fold increase in 3-PBA levels in boys. Biomarkers were not associated with increased odds of ADHD diagnosis or symptoms in girls.

“Our study assessed pyrethroid exposure using 3-PBA concentrations in a single urine sample,” says Dr. Froehlich. “Given that pyrethroids are non-persistent and rapidly metabolized, measurements over time would provide a more accurate assessment of typical exposure and are recommended in future studies before we can say definitively whether our results have public health ramifications.”

This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01ES015991, R01ES015991-04S1, P30ES005022, K23 MH083881, K24 MH064478, R00 ES020346, and R01ES015517-01A1.

About Cincinnati Children’s

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center ranks third in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 Best Children’s Hospitals. It is also ranked in the top 10 for all 10 pediatric specialties. Cincinnati Children’s, a non-profit organization, is one of the top three recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health, and a research and teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The medical center is internationally recognized for improving child health and transforming delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org. Connect on the Cincinnati Children’s blog, via Facebookand on Twitter.

Contact Information

Jim Feuer, 513-636-4656, Jim.Feuer@cchmc.org

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/news/release/2015/study-links-pesticide-ADHD-in-boys-06-01-2015/

If you suspect that your child might have ADHD, you should seek an evaluation from a competent professional who has knowledge of this specialized area of medical practice.

Reference Links:

Edge Foundation ADHD Coaching Study Executive Summary

http://edgefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Edge-Foundation-ADHD-Coaching-Research-Report.pdf

Edge Foundation ADHD Coaching Study Full Report

http://edgefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Edge-Foundation-ADHD-Coaching-Research-Report.pdf

ADHD and College Success: A free guide

http://www.edgefoundation.org/howedgehelps/add-2.html

ADHD and Executive Functioning

http://edgefoundation.org/blog/2010/10/08/the-role-of-adhd-and-your-brains-executive-functions/

Executive Function, ADHD and Academic Outcomes

http://www.helpforld.com/efacoutcomes.pdf

Related:

Louisiana study: Fit children score higher on standardized tests

https://drwilda.com/2012/05/08/louisiana-study-fit-children-score-higher-on-standardized-tests/

Studies: ADHD drugs don’t necessarily improve academic performance

https://drwilda.com/2013/07/14/studies-adhd-drugs-dont-necessarily-improve-academic-performance/

ADHD coaching to improve a child’s education outcome

https://drwilda.com/2012/03/31/adhd-coaching-to-improve-a-childs-education-outcome/

An ADHD related disorder: ‘Sluggish Cognitive Tempo’

https://drwilda.com/2014/04/12/an-adhd-related-disorder-sluggish-cognitive-tempo/

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