New research led by Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School and his colleagues reported in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday that piracetam is listed as an ingredient on the labels of five supplements for sale online. Side Effects Side effects of piracetam are numerous and include anxiety, and depression, hyperkinesia, or even severe cognitive…
Parenting Special Needs
Study: Toddlers using ‘screens’ more than 1 hour a day may have lower speech skills
“In addition to the MRI results, excessive screen time was significantly associated with poorer emerging literacy skills and ability to use expressive language, as well as testing lower on the ability to rapidly name objects on cognitive tests” Associations Between Screen-Based Media Use and Brain White Matter Integrity in Preschool-Aged Children John Hutton MD JAMA…
“Picky eater” teen loses vision and hearing due to junk food diet
40% of a typical 2 to 18-year old’s diet consists of “empty calories” (commonly known as “junk food”), and even in the remaining 60 percent of their diet, there are often roadblocks to gaining essential nutrients. Elimination and fad diets often prevent children from meeting daily requirements. Dietary sources of energy, solid fats, and added…
I’m learning to speak, please don’t mind me while I eat
We recently saw an article about a family who was asked to leave a restaurant when their child with Apraxia made a nearby patron uncomfortable with his attempts at speech. That had us thinking… We previously created an information card to hand out while Trick-Or-Treating at Halloween. It’s obvious that parents need similar information cards…
How to use songs to stimulate speech
There is evidence to support music therapy, but you don’t have to be a music therapist to get the benefits of singing to and with your child. Your child doesn’t care if you are a professional singer, or if you are singing the right words, or making it up as you go. Singing can help…
20 Inspiring Children’s Book Quotes
All of us know the book ‘All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. That wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school. Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess….
Should contingency management plans include planned aversive consequences?
Should only positive reinforcement be specified or should plans be made to use multiple contingencies that include aversive consequences? With “normal” subjects addition of a mildly aversive contingency will often neither help nor hurt. Hundert (1976) compared giving tokens, taking tokens away for failure to emit the target behaviors a mildly aversive token cost punishment…
In Memory Of Sophie Prunty
Sophie Rae died peacefully. The house is way too quiet. 25 years of love and memories to hold. ~Jody Prunty I first met Jody on a parent’s group and she stood out as a mom that not only had a great deal of knowledge, but also compassion and kindness. Jody has always been the type…
AI Brings Voice To Vulnerable Children
For children on the neurological spectrum, there is a 28 time higher risk than that of typical children for suicidal thoughts or attempts. Depression was the strongest single predictor of suicide contemplation or attempts in children with autism. Penn State College of Medicine researchers New Study Finds AI Can Detect Hidden Depression in a Child’s…
Visiting The Happiest Place on Earth With Special Needs
My son was diagnosed with autism at 5. My husband and I also fall somewhere on the Sensory Processing Spectrum and I unfortunately also passed my “superpower”, anxiety disorder, on to my sweet boy. I call it my “superpower” because anxiety has made me the most organized planner and organized special/different needs mother I can…
