I think I am going to do a bit everyday (depending on what I find) of news bits. I enjoy putting this segment together.
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Photo Credit: KnowYourCell.com |
I am in the camp that think autism is often, not always, a symptom of another problem. In an article recently published in Nature (Amino-acid Deficiency Underlies Rare Form of Autism) is a perfect example of this. Joseph Gleeson, a child neurologist at the University of California, San Diego made this startling discovery. Six children (who were related as 1st Cousins) of Middle Eastern descent were found to have a genetic mutation that prevented the children from breaking down branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). These are amino acids that the body gets only from the break down of food. Why does this mechanism cause autism? That is a good question. So far researchers do not know but it was found that by modifying the diet to increase the amount of foods enriched with branched-chain amino acids the children appeared to improve. It allowed the children to increase their blood levels of the branch-chain amino acid and the parents reported improvement in their children's autistic characteristics.
“If 5 or 10% are caused by metabolic disorders and there’s a simple imbalance that one can correct with nutrition, that’s something that human genetics will identify over the next five to ten years,” says Daniel Geschwind, a neurogeneticist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “That’s exciting.”Nature - doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11375
Maria Rickert Hong, a Holistic Health Counselor, is having a webinar on Gut Dysbiosis: An Underlying Factor in Autism, ADHD, Allergies, Asthma, Autoimmune and More on September 12th. I am sure it will be great and if this topic interests you please stop by her web page and sign up to attend.
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Photo Credit: coppellstudentmedia.com |
- Get clarification on general statements
- Ask whether there will be punishment involved
- Figure out your parental level of involvement
- What is the purpose of the homework
- Search your soul
- Ask questions
- Stand your ground
If they quote Robert Marzano or Harris Cooper, pull up this blog post, http://resultsonlylearning.blogspot.com/2011/12/exposing-bad-homework-research.html. Plus, you can tell them that LA Unified Schools, the second-largest in the nation, are minimizing the value of homework and disallowing completely at some grades.
To follow the school theme an article by Rivka Schonfeld discusses the struggles people experience with dyslexia and dysgraphia. Having dyslexia in my family and major issues with reading and spelling as a child I can relate to the article. It is great and gives good tips on how to identify and help children with dyslexia and dysgraphia issues.
That's all the news bits for today! Tune in tomorrow.
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