Negative Stereotypes

A recent study from Indiana University revealed that women who were reminded of the negative stereotypes about math and visual processing for females did not display actual learning of the material presented to them. The researchers stated that the women who were under threat of the stereotype appeared to try too hard in a non […]

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Watch Out Pediatric Therapists… Robots May Take Over Our Jobs

Two researchers at the University of Connecticut received a large grant ($404,639 to be exact) to study whether robots can improve the motor skills of children with autism. They are developing a robot that can gradually increase the complexity of motor movements. The researchers hypothesize that the robots are simpler and more predictable therefore easier […]

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Self Injurious Behavior in Children with Developmental Disabilities

The Journal of Pediatrics completed a retrospective chart review on 196 children less than 6 years of age with various developmental disabilities. Sixty three of the children (32%) were reported to exhibit self injurious behaviors. When comparing the children with self injurious behaviors and those without no differences were seen between the two groups regarding […]

Unhealthy Diet Linked to ADHD

Recent research in the Journal of Attention Disorders states that a Western diet may be linked to ADHD. A Western diet was described as high in take out food, confectioneries, processed, fried and refined foods. A healthy diet was described as a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fish. Almost 1800 […]

Free Head Mouse Via Webcam

This is super cool! Enable Viacam (eViacam) is a free download that allows your webcam to become a head mouse. All you have to do is download the software and open up the webcam. After testing it myself, it seems to work great. Once downloaded, the program allows you to use your head just as […]

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Signs of Autism at 1 Month

The August issue of Pediatrics reports on a retrospective study over 11 years of over 2100 NICU newborns. The researchers discovered that the infants who later received a diagnosis of autism had a higher incidence of persistant neurobehavioral abnormalities such as increased upper extremity muscle tone and asymmetrical visual tracking at one month of age. […]

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Functional Skills of Children with Cerebral Palsy

A cross sectional study of 562 Swedish children with cerebral palsy (ages 3-18 years) was performed from 1990-2005. The researchers analyzed data regarding how a child sits, stands, stands up, sits down and the use of assistive devices. The results indicated the following:– 57% of children used standard chairs– 62% could stand independently– 62% could […]