Working memory is a better predictor of academic success than IQ

Published on December 21, 2010 by Tracy Packiam Alloway, PhD Working memory is the ability to hold information in your head and manipulate it mentally. You use this mental workspace when adding up two numbers spoken to you by someone else without being able to use pen and paper or a calculator. Children at school need this memory on a daily basis for a variety of tasks...

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"Accents in wombs"

BBC News ran a story yesterday on babies' ability to pick up certain aspects of their parents' accents in the womb. Before we get carried away by the image of neonates springing out into the world speaking broad Geordie or Brummie, we should look at the study (in press in the journal Current Biology) in a little more detail. The German researchers recorded and analysed the cries of some very young babies—between 2 and 5 days old—born into two language groups, French and German. There were 30 babies in each group. The analysis of the recordings...

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ADHD: Not Just Biology or Environment

ADHD is a biopsychosocial issue Published on October 4, 2010by Paul Cooper Last week there was a brief flaring of the public furore that surrounds ADHD from time to time. Researchers at Cardiff University were reported by BBC on line (and many other news outlets) to have found that "ADHD 'has a genetic link'" ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11437079). My first thought on seeing this was to be severely underwhelmed. There is longstanding evidence of likely genetic variations being associated with ADHD. For an early review see the Rosemary...

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Teletubbies is as bad for your child as a violent video game, says leading psychologist

By Dr Aric Sigman on 11th September 2010 We must prevent children under three from watching television or risk irreversibly damaging their health. It may sound shocking but, rest assured, far from being a Luddite, I am enjoying my brand-new iMac and we own a television set. However, I stopped my three youngest children watching TV before the age of three. Let me explain...

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Why Limit Screen Time? Scientific Research Explains

November 18, 2010 by Sherrelle Walker, M.A This past September in a blog posting about the importance of physical exercise, I opened with a comment about the powerful pull that the video screen exerts on young brains. To be sure, this useful evolutionary adaptation has served us very well. Our instinctive ability to focus and concentrate on fast-moving, bright stimuli is a survival mechanism that allowed our ancestors to escape from many a tight spot. Even so, with the advent of modern technologies such as computers and television, we...

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Sharing the Practices of Phonics Practice: 5 Instructional Approaches

November 23, 2010 by Terri Zezula Let’s talk about phonics teaching. Actually, let’s talk about phonics practice.Together, let’s figure out and share what works. But before we start our quest forward, let’s take a quick look back. The “Great Debate” between proponents of the whole language and phonics approaches to reading instruction and practice has gone on for decades....

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Research Suggests Link Between 'Handedness' and Dyslexia

Finding based on scan of genomes of 192 children with reading difficulties FRIDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) -- New genetic mapping of children with reading difficulties suggests that those who carry a particular gene mutation are particularly well-skilled in the use of their right hand. The apparent link between a specific variation of the so-called "PCSK6 gene" and hand-motor control among dyslexic children is the first hard evidence to suggest that there could be an association between "handedness" and language disorders, the researchers...

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Why does my baby crawl backwards?

Q:My 7-month-old daughter is finally attempting to crawl, but she only goes backwards and in circles. Is there reason for alarm or is this natural? — Submitted by Doug in Okeechobee Answer by Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, M.D., M.P.H. Pediatrics: Doug, your daughter's physical development is right on track. Most babies begin to crawl between 7 and 10 months of age. Once they can sit up well and see the interesting things around them, they want to move across the floor to explore their environment. But it can take weeks or months for babies...

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Does walking barefoot cause flat feet?

Question: My 10½-month-old son is cruising all around, and I don’t make him wear shoes. Well, my family says he needs to learn how to walk in shoes or he’ll become flat-footed. When he wears them he fumbles. What’s best for my son?— Submitted by Breanne in Napa Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, M.D., M.P.H.Pediatrics A:Darlene, letting your baby go barefoot as much as possible...

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Is TV Bad For Your Child?

The issue of kids watching television has been a hot debate in recent years. Most experts agree that while TV isn’t inherently bad, it should be watched only in small doses. The AAP changed their policy a few years ago to recommend that children under the age of 2 watch no TV at all, and children over that age watch only small amounts, no more than an hour a day. Still, for better or for worse television is a part of daily life in most homes. Most children do watch some television during the day, and there are benefits to be gained from...

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What Every Parent Should Know About Their Baby’s Developing Brain (Part 2)

October 28, 2010 by Martha Burns, Ph.D In my August post, I discussed how the primary job of the infant brain is to detect relevant information about language and the environment in which the baby is born and to design itself, in a relatively short period of time, to be an expert at that language and environment. This month, we will continue the discussion of how the brain develops in a young infant. The genes more or less provide the blueprint for the brain’s hardware and early wiring, but after a child is born, and perhaps even for several...

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Celebrities and Successful Entrepreneurs with Dsylexia

Billy Bob Thornton Talks About Dyslexia Orlando Bloom on Having Dyslexia Successful Entrepreneurs with Dyslexia Richard Branson ...

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Language delays found in siblings of children with autism

October 1, 2010 his graph tracks the symptoms of girls in one category of families affected by autism. Yellow denotes girls with histories of language delay and autistic traits who were never formally diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Blue represents unaffected girls, red represents those diagnosed with ASD. Credit: Image courtesy of The American Journal...

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Misdiagnosing ADHD

According to a study released by the University of Michigan, nearly 1 million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD. The research was conducted, not by a medical group, but by economist Todd Elder in the Journal of Health Economics (Elder et al. The importance of relative standards in ADHD diagnoses: Evidence based on exact birth dates. Journal of Health Economics, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.06.003). Elder found that the youngest or often the most immature children are misdiagnosed with the ADHD label...

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Top 10 snappy answers to annoying comments about autism

If you're a parent with a child on the spectrum, you've probably responded to the same annoying remarks and questions a thousand times. Here's a handy list of responses that...you'll probably never use out loud (but are fun to imagine using)! 1. He can’t be autistic -- he can talk! (or make eye contact, smile, engage)And yet, amazingly, he’s still autistic! Y’see, autism is a spectrum disorder, and that means … 2. Oh, she must be SO good at math! (or science or music)Actually, her great talent is in memorizing and reciting lines from Sponge...

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