WEEK IN REVIEW

NewNASETPublications and Articles of Interest in Special Education and Disabilities That Were Reported This Week

June 15, 2012 - Vol 8, Issue 22

New This Week on NASET

JAASEP

To Help With Dyslexia, S p a c e L e t t e r s A p a r t

Simply widening the space between letters in words markedly increases reading speed and accuracy among children with dyslexia -- an easy fix with e-books and other forms of technology that readily allow text manipulation, new research suggests. Analyzing 34 Italian and 40 French dyslexic children between the ages of 8 and 14, researchers from the University of Padua in Italy found that extra-wide letter spacing sped up the students' reading by more than 20 percent and doubled the children's text-reading accuracy. "We were surprised by the magnitude of the spacing benefit," said study author Marco Zorzi, a professor of psychology and artificial intelligence. "The average increase in reading speed is equivalent to that observed across one year of school -- and the halving of the number of errors speaks for itself." To read more,click here

Teens Whose Moms Smoked While Pregnant May Have Worse Asthma

Black and Hispanic children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at increased risk for uncontrolled asthma, a new study finds. University of California, San Francisco, researchers analyzed data from nearly 2,500 black and Hispanic children and found that those aged 8 to 17 with uncontrolled asthma were far more likely to have mothers who smoked during pregnancy. This finding did not change when the researchers controlled for factors such as education, socioeconomic level and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke. Asthma that is not controlled by regular medication results in more "asthma attacks," or acute flare-ups. To read more,click here

Did You Know That....

City Kids More Prone to Food Allergies Than Rural Peers

City children are more likely than rural kids to have food allergies, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data from more than 38,000 children in different areas of the United States and found that 9.8 percent of city children have food allergies, compared with 6.2 percent of rural children. Compared to rural kids, children in cities are twice as likely to have peanut allergies (2.8 percent vs. 1.3 percent) and more than double the rate of shellfish allergies (2.4 percent vs. 0.8 percent). Food allergies were equally severe regardless of where children live, and nearly 40 percent of food-allergic children in the study had experienced a severe, life-threatening reaction to a particular food. Symptoms of a life-threatening reaction include trouble breathing, a swelling in the throat and a drop in blood pressure, the researchers said. To read more,click here

Child CT Scans Might Up Risk of Brain Cancer, Leukemia

Children who undergo CT scans of the head may raise their risk of developing brain cancer or leukemia later in life, a new study says. Although multiple CT scans could triple the risk, the absolute risk remains small -- one case in 10,000 scans of the head, the researchers said. "We have shown small increased risks associated with the radiation exposures from CT," said study co-author Louise Parker, from the Canadian Cancer Society and a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. To read more,click here

Tylenol Overdose Can Be Deadly for a Child

Overdoses of the pain and fever drug acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol) are a leading cause of acute liver failure in children, and more public education is needed to warn parents and others of this danger, experts say. Acetaminophen is a widely available over-the-counter medication, but repeated doses above the recommended level, or overdoses due to errors or intentional consumption, can lead to acute liver failure and even death in children, according to Dr. Rod Lim, of the Children's Hospital at the London Health Sciences Center in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues. To read more,click here

Lehigh University Special Education Law Symposium, June 24-29, 2012

Lehigh University's intensive week-long special education law symposium provides a practical analysis of legislation, regulations, and case law relating to the education of students with disabilities. The symposium provides a thorough analysis of the leading issues under the IDEA and Section 504. Special features include: parallel tracks for basic and advanced practitioners, starting with a keynote dinner and presentation by Dr. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, and ending with a post-luncheon crystal-ball session  by Chicago attorney Darcy Kriha; a balance of knowledgeable district, parent, and neutral perspectives; essential topics with proven effective presenters for the basic track; and a brand new set of "hot topics" and faculty presenters for the advanced track.For more information visit http://www.lehigh.edu/education/law. Questions? Contact Tamara Bartolet (tlp205@lehigh.edu or 610/758-3226).

Parental Abuse, Neglect Linked to Increased Skin Cancer Risk

New research suggests that early childhood abuse and neglect may raise the risk for recurring skin cancer later in life. According to the findings, early childhood neglect and maltreatment by parents may actually trigger a lowered immune response that lasts a lifetime. This may make a person more susceptible to cancers that are often successfully fought off by the immune system, which includes the most common form of skin cancer, known as basal cell carcinoma. Of 91 people with a history of basal call skin cancer, those who said they were mistreated by their mom or dad as kids were at a much greater risk for a second skin cancer when faced with a major stressful event, according to the report in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. They also had a less intense immune reaction to their cancers. To read more,click here

NASET Sponsor - Arkansas State University

TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Head Injury's Location Key to Concussion Effects

Abnormalities that occur in various areas of the brain and change over time may explain why concussions affect people differently, according to a new study. Patients can have widely varying responses to concussions. Most recover with no lasting problems, but as many as 30 percent have permanent effects, such as a personality change. Previous research has shown there are differences between the brains of people who have suffered concussions and people who haven't, but it hadn't been determined if there were differences between the brains of concussion patients. To read more,click here

Depressed Teens Who Respond to Treatment Less Likely to Abuse Drugs

Teens with major depression who receive and respond to treatment are less likely to abuse drugs in the following years, a new study suggests. The study included 192 participants, aged 12 to 18, at 11 sites across the United States who were treated for major depression and then followed for five years. The study participants had no preexisting drug or alcohol abuse problems. During the follow-up, 10 percent of those whose depression receded after 12 weeks of treatment later abused drugs, compared with 25 percent of those who did not respond to depression treatment, the researchers found. To read more,click here

Low-Fiber Diet May Raise Teens' Risk for Heart Disease, Diabetes

Teens who eat a low-fiber diet are at increased risk for heart disease and diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at 559 teens, ages 14 to 18, in Augusta, Ga., and found that they consumed an average of about one-third of the daily recommended amount of fiber. Only about 1 percent of the teens met the recommended daily fiber intake of 28 grams for females and 38 grams for males. Teens who didn't eat enough fiber tended to have bigger bellies and higher levels of inflammatory factors in their blood. Both of those conditions are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, the Georgia Health Sciences University researchers said. To read more,click here

Most 'Extreme Preemies' Grow Into Happy, Healthy Teens

The tiniest, most underweight babies emerge as teens who feel good about themselves, rating their health about the same as children born at normal weights, according to a new study. The research, which tracked children who weighed less than 2.2 pounds at birth, found that 69 percent reported their health as good to excellent when they were teenagers. That was about the same rate reported by both a control group of teens who weighed at least 7 pounds as newborns, and the general population of adolescents in the United States. While severely underweight babies do have more health problems and learning disabilities than other children, the study's lead author stressed that the research revealed how they feel about themselves in their teen years. To read more,click here

Stress May Delay Brain Development in Early Years

Stress may affect brain development in children, altering growth of a specific piece of the brain and abilities associated with it, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "There has been a lot of work in animals linking both acute and chronic stress to changes in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in complex cognitive abilities like holding on to important information for quick recall and use," says Jamie Hanson, a UW-Madison psychology graduate student. "We have now found similar associations in humans, and found that more exposure to stress is related to more issues with certain kinds of cognitive processes." To read more,click here

U.S. in Top 10 for Premature Births

The United States is among the 10 countries with the highest number of premature births, according to a new study. Worldwide, nearly 15 million babies were born prematurely in 2010 -- more than one in 10 of all births. The majority of premature births -- 60 percent -- occurred in developing nations in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, according to researchers. But premature birth is not a problem limited to the poorest nations. In 2010, 517,000 babies were born preterm (before 37 weeks gestation) in the United States, according to the report by researchers from Save the Children in South Africa. Full term is 40 weeks. To read more,click here

Brain Cell Activity Imbalance May Account for Seizure Susceptibility in Angelman Syndrome

New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have pinpointed an underlying cause of the seizures that affect 90 percent of people with Angelman syndrome (AS), a neurodevelopmental disorder. Angelman syndrome occurs in one in 15,000 live births. The syndrome often is misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism. Its characteristics, along with seizures, include cognitive delay, severe intellectual disability, lack of speech (minimal or no use of words), sleep disturbance, hand flapping and motor and balance disorders. Published online June 6, 2012 in the journal Neuron, researchers led by Benjamin D. Philpot, PhD, professor of cell and molecular physiology at UNC, describe how seizures in individuals with AS could be linked to an imbalance in the activity of specific types of brain cells. To read more,click here

Disaster-Preparedness Tips for People With Disabilities

People with disabilities need to be prepared to quickly escape their homes in the event of emergencies such as fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes, a Mayo Clinic expert says. Preparations for people with disabilities are more complicated than those for able-bodied people. "As we learned during Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, persons with disabilities need to consider a number of different factors, such as identifying who is in their support system, special transportation needs and what supplies to include in their emergency-preparedness kits," clinical nurse specialist Lisa Beck said in a Mayo news release. To read more,click here

Vaccinations of US Children Declined After Publication of Now-Refuted Autism Risk

New University of Cincinnati research has found that fewer parents in the United States vaccinated their children in the wake of concerns about a purported link (now widely discredited) between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism. Lenisa Chang, assistant professor of economics in UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business, found that the MMR-autism controversy, which played out prominently in the popular media following publication in a 1998 medical journal, led to a decline of about two percentage points in terms of parents obtaining the MMR vaccine for their children in 1999 and 2000. And even after later studies thoroughly refuted the alleged MMR-autism link, the drop off in vaccination rates persisted. To read more,click here