WEEK IN REVIEW

NewNASETPublications and Articles of Interest in
Special Education and Disabilities

July 11, 2014 - Vol 10, Issue 28

Kids With ADHD More Likely to Abuse Drugs: Analysis

Children suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more than twice as likely to try and abuse drugs, a new analysis finds. However, that does not mean that the medications that are prescribed to treat the most common childhood disorder in the United States play a part in that increased risk. In fact, "one of the main points [of the finding] is that treating ADHD both with behavioral techniques and medications seems to lower the risk of substance abuse," said analysis co-author Dr. Sharon Levy, director of the adolescent substance abuse program at Boston Children's Hospital. To read more,click here

Many Parents of Kids with Autism Have Autistic Traits Too

Parents of children with autism are more likely to exhibit traits of the developmental disorder themselves, new research suggests. In a study looking at data on moms and dads of 256 children with autism and nearly 1,400 without, researchers found that parents of those on the spectrum tended to score higher on a questionnaire known as the Social Responsiveness Scale. "When there was a child with autism in the family, both parents more often scored in the top 20 percent of the adult population on a survey we use to measure the presence of autistic traits," said John Constantino of Washington University who worked on the study published online this month in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. To read more,click here

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Kids with Strong Bonds to Parents Make Better Friends, Can Adapt in Difficult Relationships

What social skills does a three-year-old bring to interactions with a new peer partner? If he has strong bonds to his parents, the child is likely to be a positive, responsive playmate, and he'll be able to adapt to a difficult peer by asserting his needs, according to a new study. "Securely attached children are more responsive to suggestions or requests made by a new peer partner. A child who has experienced a secure attachment relationship with caregivers is likely to come into a new peer relationship with positive expectations," said one expert.To read more,click here

Gut Cells May Be Coaxed to Make Insulin for People With Type 1 Diabetes

Scientists are hopeful that cells inside the human gut might someday be retrained to produce insulin, the metabolic hormone that's lacking in people with type 1 diabetes. The team from Columbia University Medical Center in New York City said their findings hold promise for the development of a new treatment for type 1 diabetes that does not involve stem cells. For people with type 1 diabetes, their body's natural insulin-producing cells, known as pancreatic beta cells, are destroyed by their immune system. For the past 20 years, scientists have been trying to help the body make new insulin-producing cells that replace those that are lost to the disease. To read more,click here

Worshippers with Disabilities Search for Acceptance

Lindsay Graham grew up in the same church attended by her parents and grandparents, and she expected the same would be true for her children. That changed when her son, J.D., was diagnosed with autism at age 2. There were outbursts and tantrums, calls in the middle of the church service from the Sunday school teacher that J.D. was being disruptive. There were disapproving looks from other members of the congregation. Even if they didn't say it, Graham knew what they were thinking: Can't you keep your child under control? "I felt very ostracized because he was always misbehaving. We just didn't fit that perfect family mold," said Graham, 33. To read more,click here

Anxiety-Like Behavior in Invertebrates Opens Research Avenues

For the first time, researchers have produced and observed anxiety-like behavior in crayfish, which disappears when a dose of anxiolytic is injected. This work shows that the neuronal mechanisms related to anxiety have been preserved throughout evolution. This analysis of ancestral behavior in a simple animal model opens up new avenues for studying the neuronal bases for this emotion. Anxiety can be defined as a behavioral response to stress, consisting in lasting apprehension of future events.To read more,click here

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK

StoryCorps Looks to Record Disability Experience

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act approaches next year, a new project is launching to encourage people within the disability community to share their stories. The effort known as the Disability Visibility Project is kicking off Monday as a community partnership with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit that allows everyday people to record casual, one-on-one conversations in an effort to preserve history. The recordings are frequently featured on NPR's "Morning Edition." StoryCorps' recording booth in San Francisco is making sessions available between July 10 and Dec. 13 specifically for members of the disability community to record their stories. Additional times are expected to be added leading up to the ADA's 25th anniversary in July 2015. To read more,click here

A Laptop May Boost a Hospitalized Child's Recovery

A hospital can be a lonely and stressful place for a sick child recuperating from a serious illness, but researchers say relief from boredom and isolation is just a mouse click away. Kids who regularly videoconference with family and friends exhibit significantly reduced stress by the end of their hospital stay, a study published online June 30 in Pediatrics reports. "This social connection is important to their state of mind, health and well-being," said senior author Dr. James Marcin, director of the pediatric telemedicine program at University of California, Davis, Children's Hospital. "The kids love it, and the parents love it. They are happier and more likely to participate in rehab." To read more,click here

Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy May Lead to Childhood Obesity, Diabetes

Maternal use of a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, resulted in increased fat accumulation and inflammation in the liver of the adult offspring, researchers have demonstrated for the first time in an animal model. This raises new concerns about the long-term metabolic complications in children born to women who take SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy.To read more,click here

Low Self-Esteem Sufferers Prefer Negative Comments - So Don't Cheer Them Up

Have you ever had a friend with low self-esteem that unwelcomingly meets your exhausting attempts at trying to reassure them that things will get better? A newstudy published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology byresearchers from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, found people with low self-esteem generally don't prefer optimism and would rather hear the negative comments they think about themselves are true."People with low self-esteem want their loved ones to see them as they see themselves. As such, they are often resistant to their friends' reminders of how positively they see them and reject what we call positive reframing-expressions of optimism and encouragement for bettering their situation," the study's lead author Denise Marigold, professor at Renison University College at Waterloo, said in a press release. To read more,click here

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Schizophrenia And Marijuana Use May Be Linked By The Same Set Of Genes

A new study published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that people who are genetically predisposed to developing schizophrenia may also have the propensity for cannabis use, influenced by the same set of genes. The study is a collaboration between King's College London and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia, partly funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC).For years researchers have linked the use of cannabis as a risk factor for developing schizophrenia. Experiments showed that people who used cannabis more frequently, had greater chances of experiencing schizophrenic episodes than those who did not. But the role of genes related to schizophrenia and cannabis use was not well-established until now. This new study suggests that there may be some genetic correlation between the two but it does not rule out the use of cannabis as a factor in developing schizophrenia. To read more,click here

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Family Dysfunction Strong Predictor of Emotional Problems in Children of Cancer Patients

A cancer diagnosis affects the whole family, and a significant number of children of cancer patients may be at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. New research suggests that family dysfunction may increase a child's risk of experiencing such problems after learning of a parent's illness. "This means that in view of a life-threatening disease in a parent, the level of family functioning predicts children's behavioral and emotional symptoms more than any other tested variable including illness-related factors," the lead author explained.To read more,click here

FDA Approves Inhaled Diabetes Medication

People with type 1 or 2 diabetes now have a new means of getting their medication, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval on Friday of the first inhaled medicine for the blood sugar disease. The drug, Afrezza, "is a new treatment option for patients with diabetes requiring mealtime insulin," Dr. Jean-Marc Guettier, director of the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release on Friday. He said that Afrezza's approval "broadens the options available for delivering mealtime insulin in the overall management of patients with diabetes who require it to control blood sugar levels." To read more,click here

For The Blind, Dreams Are More About Sounds And Feelings Than Visual Images

Ever wonder how blind people dream? Though some can dream visually, most of them use their other senses, namely hearing and touch. A new study, published in the journalSleep Medicine, shows that being blind certainly alters how one dreams. For the study, researchers observed 11 congenially blind, 14 late blind, and 25 sighted control participants over the course of four weeks. Every morning, participants completed surveys in relation to sensory construction of the dream, its emotional and thematic content, and the possible occurrence of nightmares. Scientists also tested participants' ability to produce visual images during waking cognition, sleep quality, and depression and anxiety levels. To read more,click here

Association Found Between Maternal Exposure to Agricultural Pesticides and Autism

Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay, a study by researchers has found. The study examined associations between specific classes of pesticides, including organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates, applied during the study participants' pregnancies and later diagnoses of autism and developmental delay in their offspring.To read more,click here

Honor Society for Special Education Teachers

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