Children who are often hospitalized in intensive care units are more likely to have attention deficit disorders later, and new research finds a possible culprit: a high level of plastic-softening chemicals called phthalates circulating in the blood. The researchers, who will present their study results Friday at The Endocrine Society's 98th annual meeting in Boston, suggest these chemicals, which are added to indwelling medical devices such as plastic tubes and catheters, seep into the child's bloodstream. "Phthalates have been banned from children's toys because of their potential toxic and hormone-disrupting effects, but they are still used to soften medical devices," said lead researcher Sören Verstraete, MD, a PhD student at KU (Katholieke Universiteit) Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. "We found a clear match between previously hospitalized children's long-term neurocognitive test results and their individual exposure to the phthalate DEHP during intensive care." Read More

Even experienced teachers may be involuntarily affected by psychological bias related to pupils' ethnicity. This could affect key decisions related to a child's educational career. University of Luxembourg researchers have shown that these biases can be overcome. Numerous academic studies suggest that people make "differential" judgments and decisions under the influence of expectations. Work from the University of Luxembourg (in The effect of students' ethnicity on teachers' judgments and recognition memory) demonstrates that differential expectations among school teachers can lead to errors in the way they make decisions. The research team led by Prof. Sabine Krolak-Schwerdt probed this further (in Accuracy of teachers' tracking decisions: short- and long-term effects of accountability). Read More

Attention to other people is a fundamental role for social cognitive development in the early stages of life. However, infants born prematurely show a different attentional pattern. In a new study, a Kyoto University team found evidence that such babies are less interested in other people compared to infants born full-term, when tested at 6 and 12 months of age. This new study brings light to the links between premature birth, development of social communication skills, and ultimately autism. Recent studies illustrate that infants born prematurely are at more risk of autism. Read More

Many brain studies show that bilingual adults have more activity in areas associated with executive function, a set of mental abilities that includes problem-solving, shifting attention and other desirable cognitive traits. Now new findings reveal that this bilingualism-related difference in brain activity is evident as early as 11 months of age, just as babies are on the verge of producing their first words. "Our results suggest that before they even start talking, babies raised in bilingual households are getting practice at tasks related to executive function," said Naja Ferjan Ramírez, lead author and a research scientist at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) at the University of Washington. Read More

Pediatric researchers, using high-speed DNA sequencing tools, have identified a new syndrome that causes intellectual disability (ID). Drawing on knowledge of the causative gene mutation, the scientists' cell studies suggest that an amino acid supplement may offer a targeted treatment for children with this condition. "Intellectual disability is a common diagnosis, but it includes many different diseases, with multiple genetic causes, and few targeted therapies," said first author Elizabeth Bhoj, M.D., Ph.D., a Genetics fellow in the Center for Applied Genomics (CAG) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). "This study may represent an early step toward the types of precision medicine treatment that may become more common as we draw on genomic research." Read More

Elementary school-age children who improved their sleep habits also improved in their academic performance, according to a study by researchers at McGill University and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in partnership with the Riverside School Board in Montreal. Using a collaborative approach, called Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR), the team developed a program in conjunction with educators using experiential learning to provide students with competencies needed for real-world success by addressing real-world problems and situations through teacher directed and facilitated learning. "We found that cumulative average extension of five nights × 18.2 min = 91 min in total had a significant impact on report card grades," says McGill professor and lead researcher Reut Gruber. Read More

Increasing exposure to outdoor light is the key to reducing the myopia (short-sightedness) epidemic in children, according to ground-breaking research by Australian optometrists. Optometrist and lead researcher on the project, Associate Professor Scott Read who is the director of research at QUT's School of Optometry and Vision Science, said children need to spend more than an hour and preferably at least two hours a day outside to help prevent myopia from developing and progressing. Speaking at the Australian Vision Convention in Queensland on the weekend, Professor Read said it was not 'near work' on computer and other screens causing myopia, but a lack of adequate outdoor light. Read More

About one in 68 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their parents consistently report greater stress levels, caregiving burden and depression than parents of typically developing children. Chronic caregiving stress has also been associated with poorer physical health -- more pain, more disruptions from physical-health problems and lower overall health-related quality of life. One powerful way to reduce their stress: social support. That's according to a new study published in Family Relations by researchers from Concordia University in Montreal. And that support is essential as children -- and their parents -- age. It could also have important consequences for health costs. Read More

Parents could be pushing their kids too hard, but how do you keep children motivated without pushing them to their breaking point? Researchers said ADHD diagnoses have increased about 30 percent over the past 20 years and believe it's largely based on environmental factors. A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association of Pediatrics talks about a connection between adults with unreasonable expectations and their children getting diagnosed with ADHD. Most parents and teachers said pushing children too much can make things worse - and that goes for children with ADHD, too. Read More